Applying evolutionary psychology in understanding the Darwinian roots of consumption phenomena

Consumer scholars have amassed an impressive body of knowledge using a wide range of methodological approaches and paradigms. Despite the scientific rigor of the consumer behavior discipline, most scholars that have reviewed the field agree that it has yielded a fragmented and confused literature. It is argued here that this is in part due to the near paucity of evolutionary‐based theorizing within the theoretical frameworks used by consumer scholars. While evolutionary psychology focuses on ultimate causation namely the adaptive origins of a particular cognition, emotion, preference, or behavior, the consumer behavior discipline has overwhelmingly addressed proximate mechanisms. Both levels of analyses are needed for a full understanding of consumption phenomena.