#89 Gad Saad: The Evolution of Consumer Behavior, and the Enemies of Science
Dr. Gad Saad is Professor of Marketing at Concordia University, holder of the Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption. He’s the founder of the field of Darwinian Consumption. He was an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Psychology (2012-2015) and of Customer Needs and Solutions (2014- ). He’s been the recipient of several awards, and he’s also a prolific writer, a popular blogger for Psychology Today, and the author of three books, including The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption.
In this episode, we start off by talking about some of the main subjects covered by Dr. Saad’s work. First, I ask him to tell us why he decided to apply evolutionary theory to consumer behavior. We then move on to talk about cultural artifacts as fossils of the human mind, the four great cognitive pillars of consumer behavior, and why some people have addictive behaviors. After I ask him if he has sold his soul to the capitalist devil, we talk about the many ways intellectual terrorists try to butcher evolutionary psychology, the entire field of Psychology, and even science itself as an intellectual enterprise.
Time Links:
How Dr. Saad decided to apply evolutionary theory to consumer behavior
Cultural products as fossils of the human mind
The four great modules of consumer behavior
Addictive behaviors
Has Dr. Saad sold his soul to the capitalist devil?
Behavior is the result of evolution
Not understanding the process of natural selection
About intellectual terrorists
Nomological networks of cumulative evidence
Consilience
A SJW story from Portugal
Why Psychology is a science
About “The Parasitic Mind”
Final message from Dr. Saad
Follow Dr. Saad’s work:
Faculty page: https://tinyurl.com/y6ukk2ol
Books: https://tinyurl.com/ya7ydo9r
Twitter handle: @GadSaad
Facebook page: facebook.com/Dr.Gad.Saad
YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLH7qUqM0PLieCVaHA7RegA