A Sampling of E-Value Motivations
One wag reduced human development across the life span to two hormones: testosterone, which dominates the first half of life and estrogen, which dominates the second half.
Whatever the deficiencies of that picture of human development, it does capture the essence of differences between the pre-40 crowd and the post 40 crowd. This is clearly evident in people’s behavior in the energy category of core needs.
The list of E-Value motivations appearing in the accompanying box typify the nature of activities people in the first and second half of life, respectfully, engage in to “recharge” their batteries.
In the first half of life,
energy renewal behavior frequently involves escape from the routine. This is
completely understandable given that the young are generally subject to having
much of their lives controlled by others, such as bosses, peers who set social
standards and even domestic partners and children. Getting away is the panacea
from this domination by the external world.
Power with absolute control of one’s destiny is Holy Grail of the young that fires their dreams and ambitions. This is where testosterone, the hormone of aggression, comes into play. BTW, we often forget that females have testosterone in their systems, too.
The so-called reality shows on TV celebrate the testosterone-dominated life of the young (though these shows are less reality and more a caricature of life among the young).
As we move into the second half of life, we are likelier to recharge our batteries by getting more deeply involved in the routine. We have less need to escape because we operate with a higher level of autonomy than when we were younger.
Extreme anything seems silly to us. We become more balanced in our activities and outlook on life. Beginning in midlife, we blossom, as it were, into a kinder and gentler way of being. We experience life with a kind of passion we've not known since childhood. It’s a passion not based on competitiveness, but on deepened sense of awe about life and our place in the Cosmic scheme of things. (Granted, there are exceptions. Some people never get beyond the immaturity of youth; they are hopelessly developmentally retarded.)
David Gutmann who has examined this midlife shift in worldview says,
"We find that, by contrast to younger men, older men are more interested
in giving and receiving love than in conquering or acquiring power.
“We also find, across a wide range of cultures, that women age in
psychologically the reverse direction. Even in normal patriarchal societies,
women become more aggressive in later life, less affiliated and more managerial
or political.”
Men don’t become more feminine while women become more masculine.
Instead, men and women alike experience (generally) the emergence of a fuller
and more expressive self.
Yet, how many ads directed to middle age and older men reflect the
emergence of a more nurturing self? And how many ads intended for older women
are likewise appropriate? Few indeed, because the young people who create ads
typically understand manhood and womanhood only from the perspective of young
adulthood. Thus the ads they create for older people usually reflect those more
youthful perspectives.
Next: The Meaning and Role of Value in Consumer Behavior.
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