فصلنامه فرهنگی - تربیتی زنان و خانواده
سال پنجم شماره 16 (زمستان 1389)

The consumption pattern of households undergoes changes over time andunder the influence of cultural, social and income transformations. Thesechanges alter consumption basket of households. Therefore, manufacturersand economic planners are expected to work in coordination with the marketand structure the production, imports, and, in general, the attitude towardsconsumer goods in a realistic perspective and in accordance with accuratestatistics and information.Therefore, considering the approach to identifying and correcting theconsumption pattern and using these data, the authors have examined theconsumption basket of households in Tehran between the years 1997 to 2007in various income groups. The purpose is to introduce the consumption rateand the consumption basket tendencies of households in Tehran during thepast 10 years by calculating the costs. Then, on the basis of the obtainedinformation, the future consumption trend and the types of goods needed inthe luxury goods groups are identified so that the policymakers can behelped to correct the consumption pattern of these goods.

In the present study, the major aspects of the concept, position, and the curses of lacking an appropriate consumption pattern compatible with leisure time along with the benefits of having a correct pattern and the strategies for its optimum utilization are discussed on the basis of the Islamic teachings. Offering a comprehensive definition for leisure time, the present study deals with its role and position in the religious teachings of Islam, enumerates the curses of spending leisure time in an undesirable way, and explains different aspects of the optimal spending pattern of leisure time benefiting from theQuranic verses and the hadiths from the Holy Prophet and the infallible Imams. Considering the Supreme Leader’s calling the year 1388 as the year of correcting consumption pattern in all fields, the present study gives a list of practical ways for benefiting from leisure time and consequently improving the material and spiritual life of Muslims.The research method employed here is document analysis and to collect the necessary data for answering the research questions, all the available documents related to the research topic were analyzed using the data collection form and qualitative method. The main research findings are as follows.

Obsessive or compulsory shopping is described as a kind of chronic and repeated shopping which is a preliminary response to events and negative feelings. The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence rate of this behavior among university students and to explore the role of familial (individuals’ perception of their parents’ obsessive shopping tendencies), psychological (self-confidence, perceived social status associated withshopping, fantasizing), sociological (watching TV, peer effects, frequency of hanging out in shopping centers, use of and access to credit cards) and demographic factors (gender, age, and social-economic status) through a correlational-descriptive investigation.The sample utilized in this study included 268 students (146 males and 122 females) from Shahid Rajaee University and the University of Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, who were selected through sampling. The obsessive shopping scale (Faber and Auguin, 1992), the self-confidence scale (Rosenberg, 1965), the family and peer effects scale (D. Austos et. al, 1990), a demographic information questionnaire and several other short ratingscales for evaluating fantasizing, the perceived social status, watching TV, and the rate of hanging out in shopping centers, and access to credit cards were utilized.Some of the findings are as follows: 1) There is a positive relationship between the rate of individuals’ perception of their obsessive shopping tendencies and obsessive shopping behavior; 2) There is a negative relationship between individuals’ self-confidence and their obsessive shopping behavior; 3) There is a positive relationship between the perceivedsocial status associated with shopping and obsessive shopping behavior; 4) There is a relationship between the rate of fantasizing and obsessive shopping behavior; 5) There is a positive relationship between watching TV and obsessive shopping behavior; 6) A positive relationship is observed between peer pressure and obsessive shopping behavior; 7) There is a negative relationship between age and obsessive shopping behavior; 8) Therate of obsessive shopping behavior is higher among female students; 9) There is a positive relationship between using credit cards and obsessive shopping behavior. The nature of the findings and their implications are discussed at the end.

Although English language has always been an efficient tool in the field of international communications, teaching this language can be a covert instrument for promoting the Western consumer culture. English language books are considered among the major mechanisms for transmission of Western culture. This study aims at studying the attitudes of English language teachers towards promoting Western consumer culture in English language books in English language schools. Theoretical Framework: Recent studies confirm that the increasing expansion of language schools and language teaching courses throughout the country have enhanced students’ tendencies to getting familiar with the Western culture and learning the lifestyle of the Western societies. The new foreign language teaching methods based on the theories of cross-cultural relations not only consider the use of the target culture as a language learning tool, but they deem that the basis of language learning is the transmission of cultural information. Consumerism as a heritage imposed by the Western civilization on developing countries is among the phenomena that can be easily and quickly transmitted to language learners through the English language books. The method of the present study is descriptive survey. To assess the attitudes of the English language teachers towards the promotion of the Western consumer culture in English language teaching books, 60 language teachers working in language schools of Tehran were selected through availability sampling. The data collection instrument was a self-made questionnaire. The validity of this instrument was calculated using the internal method with an alpha coefficient of 0.84. The English language teachers evaluated in this study believe that the English language books play a little role in correcting consumption pattern and transmit the Western consumer culture in two major ways: 1) transmission of the Western inappropriate nutrition culture (the use of fast food and eating in restaurants instead of eating home-made foods), and 2) lack of proper materials related to correct energy consumption and economizing. The real and reasonable correction of consumption pattern depends not only on understanding economic problems but also developing awareness towards the cultural and social origins of the consumptionbehaviors of individuals. Therefore, monitoring the content of the language teaching books and attempts aimed at developing language teaching materials compatible with correction of consumption and behavioral patterns and discouragement of consumerism in these books should be carried out within the framework of the educational plantings of the country.

Textbook is considered one of the most important sources of learning for students in educational systems. This source has an important role in the educational system of our country too. Due to the role that textbook content plays in information dissemination, instruction and promotion of the correct consumption culture on the one hand, and the ample emphasis of religious teachings on the correct consumption pattern, on the other, in this research work, the content of the primary school books has been analyzed todetermine the extent to which they deal with the consumption pattern construct and its relevant factors. The most important question of the present study is: To what extent does the content of the primary school textbooks deal with consumption pattern and its factors? The research instrument utilized here includes nine factors and its reliabilitybased on the ratio of the agreed factors to the total factors is equal to 92/59.The research findings indicate that the highest frequency of the consumption pattern factors in primary school textbooks is related to Ulume Tajrobi and the lowest frequency is related to Madani books. Among the primary school grades, the highest frequency was observed in fifth grade books and the lowest frequency was seen in the first grade and the third grade books. In the primary school textbooks, the highest frequency was related to water and the lowest frequency was related to clothing. The frequency of water as an economizing factor was higher than other factors in Farsi and Ulume Tajrobibooks, while in Madani, Hedyehaye Asmani and Quran, the frequency of the term "generally" is more than other factors. Water factor has been considered more than other factors in the first four primary school grades and this factor has the highest frequency in the fifth grade.

Utilization of the media is a natural phenomenon these days, because the media occupy an important part of the time and space in our daily lives. The media influence on individuals’ lives can be seen in the role they play in identity creation process, and daily life’s becoming enjoyable and structured. The media create a symbolic reality for us beside the true reality that exists. To facilitate their access to the audience, they classify their audience on the basis of people’s lifestyles. They alter people’s tastes and ultimately change their consumption pattern. The media, including TV, can create and popularize certain images and impressions of life and lifestyle and in so doing influence the values and attitudes leading to the formation of a behavior and consumption style in life. Based on the theory of Bourdieu, people consume cultural and material products due to having different types of capitals (cultural, economic and social). People often try to pronouncetheir class change by consuming particular types of goods or clothing, and, thus, gain a class identity and a new lifestyle. In TV serials, the upper class are shown more than the lower and middle classes. Demonstration of the lifestyle of the affluent causes people to be attracted towards this kind of lifestyle and consumerism.

Providing basic needs is not the only objective of consumption. Through consumption, other people gain some benefits as well. A correct consumption pattern brings us both individual and social benefits. Consumption pattern refers to a set of consumer items (goods and services) and a combination of their qualities and quantities. It is formed under the influence of the consumption standards, income, social status and people’sattitudes towards cultural, religious, social, and geographic issues, and problems such as sustainable consumption, desires of the future generations, domestic production, and the extent of imports should be considered in it. Consumerism leads to some destructive and deleterious consequences in society the most important of which are the increasing of imports and the shortage of infrastructural investments. The role of the internationalcompanies and the role that mass media play in promoting a consumer culture and the cultural poverty of societies need to be considered here. In addition, the respective institutions’ failure to offer a correct consumption pattern is among the other factors which leads to the development of an inappropriate consumption pattern in households.Consumption pattern can be considered at the three levels of family, institutions and the government. This study aims at correcting the consumption pattern at family level and an examining the effect of the economic management of household on the consumption pattern. For this purpose, some appropriate indicators such as per capita consumption, percapita expenditure and the budget share of the household in each of the household consumption groups (bread and cereals, meat, dairy, oils and fats, fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, sugar, spices and flavorings, soft drinks and fast food) have been identified on the basis of the international standard classification and the values of these indicators in Iran have been compared against the global average and the average values of the seven industrialized nations as a desirable standard.The findings of the present research indicate that besides the government policies (including pricing, aimless subsidies, unreasonable imports etc.) and the economic structure of Iran which, in most cases, have led to the development of an inappropriate consumption pattern, households have also played an important role in carrying on this consumption pattern. Therefore, proper economic management of households can, at least, lead to the correction of consumption pattern at family level.