Premium
Consumer Education As A Means of Alleviating Dissatisfaction
Author(s) -
SCHERF GERHARD W. H.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.1974.tb00880.x
Subject(s) - interdependence , scope (computer science) , argument (complex analysis) , consumer education , marketing , interpersonal communication , economics , business , psychology , social psychology , sociology , social science , biochemistry , chemistry , computer science , programming language
In this paper the traditional approaches to Consumer Education are analyzed with respect to their possible impact on the currently wide‐spread dissatisfaction among consumers. The argument is raised that the dissemination of knowledge of good buymanship alone cannot change the prevailing dissatisfaction because of the inevitable collective interdependency of consumers' fate in the marketplace and the economic benefits they can derive from their alternative role as producers, employees and wage earners. On the other hand, it is shown that greater improvements could be obtained if some of the knowledge available from studies of job satisfaction could be applied to man's satisfaction in the consumer role. Such an endeavor would enlarge the present scope of consumer education from its sole concern with competitive economics into that of interpersonal relationships and other behavioral aspects of man's life as consumer.