Conflict, compromise and consensus: A deeper look at consumer roles, patterns and preferences in culturally diverse families

This research comprises three essays which examine the impact of cultural heterogeneity on the food consumption practices and choices of culturally diverse households. The first essay is theoretical and provides the conceptual framework for the other two empirical studies which investigate everyday and ritualized food consumption patterns. Essay two focuses on the various ways in which blending processes are manifested in the lives of culturally diverse families within the context of Thanksgiving celebrations, exploring implications for creolization, innovation and institutional change. The third essay builds on the second, studying everyday food consumption activities in bi-national households by examining the purchase preferences and choices of consumers through observations and discussions of their kitchen pantries. These studies make a theoretical contribution to the knowledge base on household and family decision making, consumer choice, creolization and innovation, as well as add to our overall understanding of the consumer behavior and integration of immigrant populations in the marketplace and overall U.S. society.