关键词: 童年社会经济地位, 绿色消费, 炫耀性消费, 生命史策略, 中国传统价值观

Abstract: Due to the rapid development of China Reform and Opening-up for 40 years, and the impact of strong collision between eastern and western cultures, the consumption behavior of contemporary Chinese people presents diversity and complexity. Currently, most of existing research about consumption behavior is based on proximate level, but life history theory from evolutionary psychology is based on ultimate level to trace back to individual childhood, so it helps to explore deeper causes of behaviors. This study is to explore the causes and influence mechanism of two typical consumption behaviors of contemporary Chinese people: green consumption and conspicuous consumption from the perspective of life history theory in evolutionary psychology. In the first step, formal questionnaire was confirmed after the analysis about the data of 247 samples collected by pre survey, then 1028 valid samples data were collected by formal survey in 8 large or medium-sized cities in China during Aug. to Oct. 2019. In the second step, analyzed the data with multi-step analysis strategy. Firstly, established multi-dimensional regression analysis equation model to investigate the influence of multiple independent variables and control variables on two typical consumption; secondly, explored how the interaction between individual adult life history strategy, China traditional values of“unity and harmony”and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) affects the consumption. We introduced mediating variable and moderating variable step by step to test whether the life history strategy and China traditional values play a mediation and a moderator role. The results showed that: (1) childhood SES has a significant impact on individual consumption behaviors in adulthood. If the individual childhood SES is higher, the level of green consumption is higher and the level of conspicuous consumption is lower no matter what the current SES is in adulthood. (2) Life history strategy plays a full mediation role between childhood SES and green consumption, and a part of mediation role between childhood SES and conspicuous consumption. (3) If the level of individual traditional values of “unity and harmony” is higher, the level of green consumption is higher and the level of conspicuous consumption is lower; “Unity and harmony” plays a moderator role in the process of life history strategy affecting green consumption and in the process of childhood SES affecting conspicuous consumption. The study is helpful to understand the deeper reasons of consumption of contemporary Chinese people from the perspective of life history strategy and values. It can be a reference for the public to cultivate healthy and rational consumption. Furthermore, it confirmed the impact of China traditional values of “unity and harmony” on consumption. China traditional values emphasize self-transcendence and the restriction of desire with the help of moral power. It does not form a fundamental opposition with the material civilization. Therefore, the influence of China traditional values on consumption shows more complexity. In the future, we should further analyze the influence from China traditional values on consumption. Limited by time and resources, there are some shortcomings in this study. Firstly, because of using retrospective method, samples may be affected by current subjective feelings or social expectations; secondly, the subjective survey data cannot accurately reflect the objective consumption behaviors; thirdly, conspicuous consumption and green consumption are only two typical consumption behaviors of individuals. In the future, we suggest to use more rigorous methods in data collection; design psychological behavior experiments to accurately grasp consumption behaviors; study different consumption behaviors, such as impulsive consumption, online consumption, etc.

Key words: childhood socioeconomic status, green consumption, conspicuous consumption, life history strategy, China traditional values