Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior

Geoffrey Miller again doesn't disappoint, and his recent book Spent represents the natural result of the outstanding previous book "The Mating Mind". Maybe not as immediately fascinating as The MM (I've read it twice in a row, having much more pleasure in the second reading), Spent reveals once again how deep and unconventional is prof.Miller's intellectual work, even compared to other Evolutionary Psychology scholars. Engaging and insightful read, it enriches the discussion made earlier by Prof. Miller, which focused mostly on the birth of human intelligence as a means of self-promotion to potential partners (mating signal), and widens it to include the display of personal traits to friends and relatives as well (social signal). From this broader perspective Miller can make a critical analysis of the behavior of modern humankind, and in particular of the consumerist behavior, which happens to be the preferred way to display our own qualities in the modern world. His analisys of modern consumerism is not negative and unfavorable in every aspects, as could be a marxist one, as he acknowledges the marketers ability to turn our world into a big playground. The problem is that through the purchase of consumer products, and this is one of the theses of the book, we have chosen a very poor and inadequate way of "advertise" our traits, conveying often no information about ourselves but our spending power (Pecunia non olet mode). And what's more important is that, although the urge to display is unescapable (doomed to display), the way we do it is not carved in stone, but contingent and determined by historical conditions, and could have been different. Miller then suggests some ways to counteract this state of things, trying, for example, to create local communities of like-minded people, where it is easier to be valued and appreciated without the necessity to pass through the consumeristic gate. I have to say that some advices could result a bit visionary and utopian, but they are anyway witty and thought-provoking. Eagerly waiting for the next book, I strongly recommend this one, in particular to those high in Openness.

I found this book enjoyable to read. The author takes us to prehistoric times to explain why we buy certain products such as cars. He argues that we buy things to showcase to others our potential as mates or friends. For example, men might buy masculine looking cars with the hope of attracting women. We buy brand name products, because we want to be seen as cool and associated with the brand and the people who endorse the brand such as athletes. Marketers work very hard to create this illusion for us so that we buy their products. We might think of ourselves as sophisticated, but in reality we are not much different from the people before us. We simply want to be accepted and viewed in a positive light by other people in the society. I think that this book makes us aware of our choices and educates us on how to be better consumers. - Mariusz Skonieczny, author of Why Are We So Clueless about the Stock Market? Learn how to invest your money, how to pick stocks, and how to make money in the stock market

_Spent_ offers a valuable opportunity to escape from consumerism craziness and get back in touch with our evolutionary roots. Geoffrey Miller does an amazing job in showing how consumer capitalism preys on our evolutionary drives for displaying fitness indicators and chasing fitness cues, but it ultimately results in our flaunting traits that are often redundant, misleading, useless, or counterproductive. Under the spell of runaway consumerism, we get distracted from the truth that "we humans have already spent millions of years evolving awesomely effective ways to display our mental and moral traits to one another through natural social behaviors such as language, art, music, generosity, creativity, and ideology. We can all do so without credentials, careers, credit ratings, or crateloads of product." Highly entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking, _Spent_ is one of those books that stays with you long after you've read the last word.

My husband and I play a game when we drive: he points out a car and I tell him what I think that driver thinks other people think of his choice of car. Then I say what I think it really reveals. A Hummer? The driver is a primal hunter-gatherer, powerful and dripping in testosterone. There are very different stories about the Jeep with no doors, the yellow Beetle, the big slow Cadillac. Spent is all about the prehistoric origins behind the decisions to buy these cars, and every other product, as well. The science of human nature, called evolutionary psychology, teaches us that people decide to buy stuff to advertise "our biological potential as mates and friends." Understanding the reasons behind these decisions can help us become better consumers, and more aware of why people act the way they do. It's a fascinating read! The idea that you can use the Info section on Facebook to accurately sum up a person is right on target. And I loved the quiz identifying the Central 6 human characteristics: General intelligence, openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness, stability and extraversion. Apparently I'm very open and pretty extraverted; I'll have to work on my stability! Here's the chapter list: 1. Darwin Goes to the Mall 2. The Genius of Marketing 3. Why Marketing is Central to Culture 4. This Is Your Brain on Money 5. The Fundamental Consumerist Delusion 6. Flaunting Fitness 7. Conspicuous Waste, Precision and Reputation 8. Self-Branding Bodies, Self-Marketing Minds 9. The Central Six 10. Traits That Consumers Flaunt and Marketers Ignore 11. General Intelligence 12. Openness 13. Conscientiousness 14. Agreeableness 15. The Centrifugal Soul 16. The Will to Display 17. Legalizing Freedom Exercises for the Reader Further Reading and Viewing

True to the spirit of this book, I purchased a flawless copy of it at a library book sale for $5 (I believe it was an unread review copy). As an insatiable reader of Evolutionary Psychology books, I immediately read it, even though I have several thousand other books previously purchased from library sales waiting in my queue. This is one of the most entertaining books I have read, both in terms of its academic content and the writing style (the author has a great sense of humor). The book does not assume background knowledge, though I found that it tied together ideas I had previously encountered in books such as "The Moral Animal", The Third Chimpanzee", "The Red Queen", "The Origins of Virtue", "The Economic Naturalist", etc. (all of which I also highly recommend). The description of consumers as narcissists (great spelling bee word, I hope I got it right) and the various discussions of the central six personality traits are quite thought-provoking. The author isn't afraid to discuss issues backed by evidence that are, however, "politically incorrect", such as the negative effects of the dearth of shared norms in culturally diverse communities. The book also stays consistently well-written and informative throughout (i.e. it shows no evidence of the last third of the book being rushed to meet a deadline or padded to meet a length requirement). The section toward the end about consumption taxes and negative/positive externalities should be required reading for everyone. One final thing I admire about the book. Concerned parties (author, publisher, editor, etc.) didn't submit a fake 5-star first review posted by someone who has only reviewed one book and writes in an obviously promotional style. I think this book will receive great reviews based on merit. I actually read the book and highly recommend it. Oh, one other thing. The jacket design is superb. The picture reminds me of myself hunting/gathering at Trader Joe's.