Stephanie Rudnicki BSC255 Spring 2010 Gender and Power: Decision Making in Purchases within Relationships

Conict within relationships is at times inevitable. Often enough, these

confrontations between loving couples are the results of trivial bickering about mundane activities. However, these conicts may not be as trivial as they appear on the surface. ! Ordinary household activities mirror larger social structures, such as the

distribution of work and leisure activities according to gender. Much like the wage difference between men and women, amounts of work and leisure are uneven amongst the sexes. Women perform more undesirable work than men within the household while experiencing fragmented leisure time at home. An uneven balance of power in relationships can be demonstrated through more obvious manifest expressions or less observable latent expressions. However, the exertion of power from one partner over another, both manifest and latent, can be seen in such mundane activities as using the remote control, an activity where men often control the programs being watched according to their own desires (Walker, 1996). ! Uneven distribution of work and leisure has also been prominent in household

shopping, where women have traditionally taken the role of shopper. Gender differences in shopping are apparent in the beliefs and values of consumers. Traditionally, men see shopping as something driven by needs and tend to view the activity as undesirable work. However, women are more likely to describe shopping as enjoyable, labeling the

activity as a leisure. Because of the undesirable quality of shopping, men spend less time in store and, as a result, often spend more than women. Men are also more likely in comparison to women to spend on technological devices rather than fashion and apparel (Bakewell & Wayne Mitchell, 2004). ! Because of the unequal distribution of work and leisure amongst couples

(Walker, 1996) and opposing attitudes of men and women towards shopping (Bakewell & Wayne Mitchell, 2004), the purpose of this study is see how gender affects purchasing decisions within relationships. It is hypothesized that in a content analysis of television commercials, which have been shown to reect gender-stereotyped roles (Gilly, 1988), women will exert more power over men in a joint shopping experience due to womens classication of shopping as leisure activity. Men, viewing shopping as undesirable work, will be compliant during a joint shopping experience, letting women exert this power and shop according to the womans preference rather than the mans. Method Materials ! Five American-aired commercials were used to examine the behavior of couples

in purchasing situations. All commercials feature both a man and woman purchasing an item together or discussing the values of a purchase. No commercial was longer than 45 seconds long. All commercials were made in the last 10 years and found online through the use of a video search engine.

Design ! Power was represented by dominating the conversation or speaking for longer

periods of time, interacting more with a salesperson if a salesperson was present in the commercial, and ultimately getting his or her way in the purchasing decision. Procedure ! Television commercials were examined for depiction of power exercised by men

and women in situations where a couple was purchasing an item together. How long each member of the couple spoke was timed. The amount and length of time each member of the couple interacted with the salesperson, if one was present, was recorded. Finally, which member in the relationship ultimately got his or her way was noted. Results ! Content analysis of several television commercials has shown that women play a

far more active role than men while shopping or discussing purchases as a couple. Women tend to dominate the conversation, often asking more product related questions and providing in depth responses and feedback. Mens contributions are minimal in comparison and are usually limited to one or two word responses. ! When comparing the amount of time speaking according to gender, women

spoke on average almost ve times longer than men. This relationship is very similar when also comparing the amount of time interacting with a salesperson. In addition to speaking for longer periods of time, women appeared to be more assertive and detail oriented in their responses.

In an advertisement for SONIC Drive-In, a couple is shown sitting inside of a

car at the restaurant with recently bought food. The man in the relationship says that he is very pleased with his iced drink. Immediately, the woman agrees and begins to express her relief at no longer having to deal with ordering coffee at competitive locations. She goes on to describe the coffee she orders as standard, containing ice cream, dark chocolate, chocolate drizzle, and whipped cream. As the woman goes on, her partner nods his head in simple agreement. ! The number of times where interaction with a salesperson occurred tended to be

equal according to gender. In an ad for Progressive auto insurance, a couple browsing for new car insurance is shown speaking to a salesperson. For each prompt given by the salesperson, usually related to how much or how quickly the couple can save, both members of the couple responded an equal amount of times. However, it is important to note that the woman in the relationship speaks far longer than the man when responding to prompts. Moreover, the mans responses generally followed and agreed with those of the woman. ! Despite the contributions and assertiveness of women when interacting with their

male partners or salespersons, nal decisions on purchases generally reected the desires of both members of each relationship. However, this nding could demonstrate the passivity of men when making joint decisions and tendency to agree with women in order to save time and avoid confrontation. ! In the one instance where the man of the relationship clearly got his way in

opposition to the interests of the woman, the man was buying Progressive insurance for a motorcycle, RV, and boat. The woman was unaware that the man even owned

these vehicles and was clearly displeased by the purchase. This ad may be reective of mens tendencies to spend more willingly on technology. ! The sample of television commercials studied has shown that women are more

actively involved than men in the process of buying and discussing purchases. This nding shows womens exertion of power over men in at least the beginning stages of purchase making as a couple. However, the ultimate nal decision in purchase making or evaluation of a purchase seems to generally reects the values and needs of both members in a relationship. The apparent equality in nal decisions could represent a balance of power in the nal stages of purchasing. However, it could also reect a male tendency to agree with women rather than create opposition.

References Bakewell, C., & Wayne Mitchell, V. (2004). Male consumer decision-making styles. Int. ! Rev. of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 223240

Gilly, M. (1988). Sex roles in advertising: A comparison of television advertisements in ! ! Australia, Mexico, and the United States. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 75-85

Walker, A. (1996). Couples watching television: Gender, power, and the remote control. ! Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 813-823

Criterion Topic and method are appropriate to qualitative research, and ethically sound. The new variable added to the question is theoretically sound and interesting.

Self-assessment

Yes, my topic and method were both approved before beginning. Yes, I believe the concept of gender roles as a means for women to exert power over men is not commonly thought of. Scholarly journal used effectively to support new Yes, the scholarly articles I found idea. reflected the different roles of men and women in shopping as well as how commercials reflect gender stereo-typed roles. Introduction makes logic of idea clear. Yes, I believe I structured the introduction so that all my evidence links and helps explain my idea. Method is clearly described. Yes Data have been collected. Data have been analyzed appropriately. Results are clearly communicated, using thick description that is the hallmark of qualitative work. Paper follows APA format well. Yes Yes Yes, I provided several descriptive examples which supported my findings Yes

Paper is clear and well written at ICM Level 3 or Yes above. Format and deadlines observed. Yes

From: kris.vasquez@alverno.edu Subject: Paper 2: Qualitative Research feedback Date: April 13, 2010 8:00:27 AM CDT To: rudnicsl@alverno.edu Assignment: Paper 2: Qualitative Research Comments: Wow. This is tremendous work. Your writing is incredible; this paper reads to me like early graduate level. It was so good that despite my fatigue in working through a big stack of papers, you totally pulled me in. Your command of scientific writing is incredible: very professional, very clear, great command of detail. You set up an introduction that really makes your case well, using the inverted triangle perfectly and using scholarly work to support your argument. Youve chosen a theoretically appropriate variable, shopping decision-making, as the extension to the assigned Walker paper. You chose to do a content analysis, which is a reasonable method to use to look at cultural expectations. Your results section is amazing, with careful analysis supported by beautiful detail. You clearly get what qualitative research is supposed to do, and youve done it here in an exemplary way. This paper was a treat to read, and I truly appreciate the work you put into it. Grade: S (of course) !