英语原版-产品生命周期研究

Life Cycle Concept in Marketing ResearchWILLIAM D. WELLSandGEORGE GUBAR*This article reviews the ways life cycle position has been used as an independentvariable in marketing research.In the United States today most households passthrough an orderly progression of stages:1. The bachelor stage； young, single people.2. Newly married couples； young, no children.3. The full nest I； young married couples withdependent children.a. youngest child under six.b. youngest child six or over.4. The full nest II； older married couples withdependent children.5. The empty nest； older married couples with nochildren living with them.a. head in labor force.b. head retired.6. The solitary survivors； older single people.a. in labor force.b. retired.Adapted from 5, 6 and 9.These stages are so obviously related to importantchanges in purchasing behavior that they have some-times been used along with, or in place of, chronologicalage in analyzing survey data. This article reviews theuses of the life cycle concept and reasserts the value ofusing life cycle as an independent variable.LIFE CYCLE DESCRIPTIONS OF CONSUMERBEHAVIORAlthough the life cycle concept is relatively new inmarketing research, it is not new in sociology. It is to befound in the Systematic Source Book in Rural Sociologypublished in 1931 16, and in several other studiespublished in the 193Os 8, 10, 17. More recently, ithas appeared in Duvalls Family Development 2 andGlicks American Families 4. These descriptions anddiscussions of the life cycle do not focus on consumerbehavior, but are helpful because they fill the life cyclecategories with people and events. They therefore pro-vide the background for more market-oriented work.* William D. Wells is professor of psychology and market-ing, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.George Gubar is assistant professor of psychology, Seton HallUniversity, Paterson, New Jersey. The preparation of thisarticle was sponsored by Benton & Bowles, Inc.The Life Cycle and Consumer Behavior was theorganizing theme of an important conference held atAnn Arbor, Michigan, in 1954. Since several of thepapers given at that conference are still among the mostuseful on this topic, they, along with several otherpapers, are reported here in some detail.In Consumer Finances Over the Life Cycle Lansingand Morgan 9 described how income, expenditures ondurable goods, assets and debts, and subjective feelingsabout financial position differ at different life cyclestages. Although the data they used are now over 10years old, evidence cited later in this article indicatesthat the major findings are true today.Lansing and Morgan pointed out that the averagehouseholds total income increases until the householdhead is in his late forties and then declines. There is animportant interruption in this trend, however, amongyoung married couples with children under six yearsold. At this stage, when the wives who have been work-ing quit, there is an overall drop in median income ofroughly ten percent. This means that households in thepreceding stagethe young households with workingwivesare better of! financially than they will be forquite some time and are therefore likely to be particu-larly good prospects for a variety of goods and services.Several other income changes should be noted. Atlater stages in the life cycle some wives go back to work,and some older children get jobs that contribute to thetotal family income. Also, in later years, income fromproperty and from pensions, annuities, unemploymentcompensation, etc. rises sharply. These changes andthe fact that savings and durable goods have accumu-lated, mean that in later stages of the life cycle thefamilys resources are likely to be significantly greaterthan would be expected based on the income of thehousehold head.The uses to which income is put show some majorchanges by life cycle stage. Young, childless couplesare especially likely to buy a car if one of them doesnot have a car already. When the children arrive, re-placement car buying is likely to be postponed. New carbuying, therefore, reaches it peak among families withchildren six and over. Home ownership comes still later.355Journal of Marketing Research,Vol. Ill (November 1966), 355-63356 JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1966The proportion of home purchasers is greatest amongyoung married couples with young children, but theproportion owning keeps rising until it reaches its peakamong older married couples with no children under 18.A refrigerator and a stove, in that order, are importantpurchases at early stages of the life cycle. Substantialproportions of young married couples without childrenbuy these appliances even though home ownership atthis stage is not high. Young married couples with chil-dren are major purchasers of televisions and washingmachines for obvious reasons.The above changes in income and purchasing make iteasy to understand the changes in liquid assets anddebts, and the changes in satisfaction with ones financialposition that occur from stage to stage in the life cycle.Liquid assets take a sharp drop when the children areyoung. The wife is not bringing a paycheck home, andmany things must be bought. But liquid assets risesteadily from then until one of the couple dies. Personaldebt is highest among young couples with children undersix, while mortgage debt reaches its peak at a later stagebecause the peak of home ownership comes later.As would be expected on the basis of these changes,satisfaction with ones standard of living and withamount of money saved drops sharply when loweredincome and the high cost of nest-building confrontcouples with young children. Satisfaction with bothstandard of living and amount of money saved increasesas the children get older. And it reaches a peak after thechildren leave home.Lansing and Morgan presented a picture of a predict-able trend through time resulting from the interplay ofseveral distinct factors. Basic to this trend is a gradualincrease in the earning power of the household head.This increase has relatively little to do with his positionin the life cycle since it is a matter of accumulatedseniority and experience. But the demands placed on hisincome by durable goods purchases are very muchrelated to life cycle position. Life cycle would, there-fore, seem to be a more sensitive indicator of thefamilys financial situation than would chronological age.A report on Furniture Buying and the Life Stagesprepared by Social Research Incorporated for theKroehler Manufacturing Company 15 supplementsthese findings by showing that interest in furniture buy-ing is highest during two separate life cycle stages, andthat the type of furniture bought is different from onestage to the other. The first high-interest stage is dur-ing the early years of marriage, when the couple mustacquire enough furniture to satisfy its basic livingneeds. At this stage the young family places relativelygreater emphasis on sensibility and practicality than onstyle and beauty.The second stage occurs, for middle class parents,when their children (especially their daughters) havestarted to party and date. At that stage attractiveness,refiection of good taste, and compatibility with existingdecor become more important than sturdiness and lowcost. With the peers coming in, the family needs to putup a good front room. For working class parents, thesecond stage of furniture buying may be delayed untilall the children have left home. For these families alsothe emphasis is now on attractiveness and compatibilitywith existing decor rather than durability. With thechildren gone, even comparatively fragile things maylast.In The Life Cycle and Buying Patterns, 1 anotherpaper given at the 1954 Michigan conference. Bartondescribed life cycle changes in purchases of nondurableitems. Since most of the items he discussed are used uprapidly, while durable goods bridge life cycle stages oncethey are bought, it would be reasonable to expect thatpurchases of nondurables would be even more sensitivethan durable goods purchases to changes in life cyclestage. It would also be reasonable to expect that a finerdivision of life cycle stages would be more useful forlocating the prime purchase period.Barton reported that purchases of prepared babyfood are heaviest by mothers whose babies were betweensix and 18 months, and that first-born babies are fed anaverage of 50 percent more processed baby foods thanare later babies of the same age. He also reported thatfamilies with children under six are heavy consumers ofchest rubs, cough syrupsespecially prescription coughsyrupsand many other drugs.He reported that bland cereals like puffed rice arepreferred by children under six, that presweetenedcereals are most popular in the 6-12 age group, andthat wheat cereals and corn fiakes hit their stride inthe 13-20 age bracket.Children are also important to the detergent market.Adding a child to a family increases the consumption ofsoap about as much as adding an adult does, but addinga child to a family makes a much bigger difference inconsumption of package detergent. Apparently childrendo not wash much more than adults do, but they arevery good at getting their clothes, and possibly theirparents clothes dirty.Barton made further observations about the unfoldinglife cycle: Girls in their late teens and early twenties area primary market for lower to medium-priced cosmetics,for home permanents, and for shampoo. He comments,the cleaner and shinier the hair, the better husband youget or keep. (It might be added that Katz and Lazars-feld 7 found that young women in this age bracket arethe fashion opinion leaders.) Young housewives tend tobuy prominently advertised products, products insmaller sizes and packages, and new products just to trythem out. Older housewives, having larger families andmore money to spend, are more likely than youngerhousewives to buy larger size packages and multiple-unitprice reductions. They are the big chain store buyers,and, being more experienced, they are the toughestgroup to influence by sheer weight of advertising.LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT IN MARKETING RESEARCHIn the age group over 55 there are increasing ex-penditures for drugs and medical care for adults, andfor products like bran cereals, Postum and decaffeinatedcoffee that aid health, sleep and easy digestion. Withthe children leaving home, members of this group showan increased interest in travel, recreation, and self-educa-tion. With retirement and perhaps with the death of thespouse, people in the final stage of the life cycle have aspecial need for companionship, attention, affection, andsecurity. They are therefore a primary target fordancing classes, clubs, welfare propositions and specula-tions.Like the purchasing pattern for durables, the pur-chasing pattern for nondurables appears to be the resultof two distinct sets of forces. The accumulated pur-chasing experience of the older housewife, which makesher less responsive to advertising and less interested intrying out new products, is a direct function of her age.But the specific types of products she buys and hergreater financial resources are the direct result of herfamilys position in the life cycle. Again, life cyclewould seem to present a more sensitive classificationsystem than chronological age.Bartons assertion that older housewives are less in-fluenced by advertising and less interested in newproducts is supported by evidence from several othersources. Katz and Lazarsfeld found that younger house-wives with large families are most interested in gettingand giving marketing advice 7.The papers reviewed above presented analyses ofpurchasing data, mainly. The last paper to be reviewed,given by Riesman and Roseborough at the Michiganconference 14, presented a congeries of questions,impressions, and more or less educated guesses concern-ing the life cycle of consumption in America. The fol-lowing statements should therefore be placed somewherebetween medium-soft hypotheses and medium-hardfacts.Riesman and Roseborough began by contrastingparents and television commercials on one hand withpeers and movies on the other as media by which chil-dren learn about consumption. They asserted thatparents and TV commercials teach children about thegoal directed elements of consumption, that is, the exist-ence and function of products. Peers and movies teachchildren about the symbolic values of products, theexpressive elements in consumption, the affective em-broidery of product use. Thus, parents and TV com-mercials teach children the practical, utilitarian values ofcars, foods, beverages, appliances, while peers andmovies (in which products serve as props) teach chil-dren product-use manners and mannerisms. Amongthem, these media teach children to expect to possessand to know how to use the standard package ofconsumer goodsfurniture, radios, television, refrig-erator, and the standard brands of food and clothing.Riesman and Roseborough said there is a qualitative357difference between the social classes in the acquisitionand meaning of the standard package. Before marriagethe young working class man has plenty of disposableincome. He may well indulge in tailor-made suits, ex-pensive whiskies, and high-priced restaurants if they alsoare not high falutin. He is always more object thanexperience-oriented, with fun correlated with expendi-ture of money. This period ends with marriage. Theyoung working class man must then pay for furnitureand appliances, a home or an apartment. Over aperiod of time he becomes more and more engrossedand expert in the consumption of these hard com-modities and the recreation-orientation slowly subsidesunder the pressure of family obligations and the naggingof his wife. Although the working class man returns tothe pursuit of recreation (especially travel and sports)once the most insistent demands of nest-building havebeen met, as a homeowner he will continually involvehimself in do-it-yourself repair of the durable goods inthe home.For the working class girl, high school graduation isan ominous event. It signals the end of a pleasant roundof parties and dates and opens the unromantic prospectof an early marriage. Work experience, school, and themass media will have taught her to be experience-oriented, rather than object-oriented in her marriage,while, because of his job, his avocations and his do-it-yourself activities, her husband will always be lessinterested in experiences and more interested in objects.By contrast, the middle-managerial groups take agood deal longer than the working classes to acquire thefull domestic package. They are ambivalent about ac-quiring too many things because they know they arelikely to be moved as the husband progresses in hiscareer. They are reluctant to settle down in a neighbor-hood which may contain the wrong kind of Joneses asthe husband progresses in the company. And theyhesitate to buy furnishings which might place them ata status level below that which the husband will even-tually reach. While progressing through his career, themiddle-management man must keep an eye on the con-sumption patterns of his peers and his superiors. Hemust not hurt his chances by failing to keep up withhis level in the company, but he must not excel theboss.Since a mans move up is almost always a geographicone, his wife and children must also stay ready to makea physical change and a change in life style. They can-not get too attached to their neighborboods or theirschools, and the wife in particular must learn in advancethe consumption patterns of the next step up. The physi-cal change is easy because the standard package is sostandard. In every part of the country and in everyneighborhood into which the family would be likely tomove, most people have most of tjie same things. Therequired change in life style is greatly aided, in fact ismade possible by what Riesman and Roseborough called358 JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 1966anticipatory socialization. At every age level andevery status level the mass media provide a patternfrom which the upwardly mobile individual can learn theappropriate manners and mannerisms before the movetakes place.One does not have to agree with all of Riesman andRoseboroughs impressions and more or less educatedguesses to see that this kind of analysis is valuable as asupplement to stronger data on consumer behavior. Ithelps fill the void made by nothing but statistics, and itprovides some meaningful hypotheses about why thechanges occur.Hypotheses like these also suggest that more imagina-tive analyses of standard marketing data might easilyand profitably be made. For instance, if it is true thatmanagerial-class families take a good deal longer thanthe working classes to acquire the full domestic pack-age, it is important to separate the classes when analyz-ing purchases by either age or life cycle. If the classesare in fact permanently out of phase in their purchasingactivities, throwing them together can only blur thepicture. Unhappily, the normal market analysis isusually done just one variable at a time.DIRECT COMPARISONS BETWEEN LIFECYCLE AND AGEThe papers reviewed so far suggest that life cycleought to be a more sensitive indicator than age in manykinds of consumer analysis, but proof requires directcomparison. The one direct comparison that has so farbeen published is reviewed below and supplemented bydata from two other sources.In Family Life Cycle as an Independent VariableLansing and Kish 8 made a direct comparison betweenlife cycle and age with respect to six important aspectsof the familys consumption pattern: family income,indebtedness, whether the wife works, home ownership,purchase of new cars and purchase of television sets. Inthese comparisons they found that life cycle discrimi-nated better than age in all six cases, and that life cycleanalysis provided some useful information that analysisby age group tended to conceal. For instance, life cycleanalysis showed a sharp drop in the proportion of home-owners among older, single people as compared witholder units where both husband and wife are stillpresent. The relevant fact is widowhood rather thanage. In another comparison, proportion of spendingunits with an income-earning wife, the smooth trendin the age data gave the impression that young womentend to work indefinitely without interruption, while thelife cycle data accurately refiected the fact that youngwives with no children are much more likely to workthan those who have young children.A drop in family income produced by loss of theworking wifes contribution showed up in the life cycledata but not in the age data； and the life cycle data, notthe age data, showed that new car buying takes a dipin the youngest child under six group, while TV buy-ing hits its peak there. In the Lansing and Kish com-parisons life cycle wins hands down.These observations are largely confirmed by morerecent data from the Survey of Consumer Finances 6.In the report of the 1963 survey, several tables showboth age and life cycle. When both are shown, life cycleis nearly always more informative.Some of these comparisons are summarized in Table1. Since income data from the 1962 survey are givenby age only, and income data from the 1963 survey aregiven by life cycle only, a comparison of data from thesame year is impossible. However, the data from adjoin-ing years show the pattern Lansing and Kish had noted.The age data give the impression of an uninterruptedrise through the late forties, followed by relativelygradual decline. The life cycle data show the drop thatcomes when the wife quits work and the very sharpdecline that comes with retirement. The life cycle dataalso show that married people have much higher familyincomes than single people in the 45 and over group,both when the househould head is in the labor force andwhen he or she is retired. This noteworthy fact is ofcourse not apparent from age data alone.The data on housing status confirm the observationmade by Lansing and Morgan in 1955 that home owner-ship reaches its maximum comparatively late in lifein the 45-54 age group when the children have lefthome. They also show an interesting difference betweenmarried and single households. When the head is over45, in the labor force and married, home ownership isvery high even after the children have left home. Whenthe head is over 45, in the labor force but single, homeownership is low even though income is still fairly high.In the later years, the presence of a partner is morerelevant to home ownership than either the absence ofchildren or the loss of income that comes with retire-ment.The data showing major expenditure on durables pro-vide another opportunity to compare life cycle with age.The age data suggest that younger people make the mostpurchases, and older people make the largest purchases.However, the life cycle data identify the young marriedchildless couples as the group with the highest purchaserate and the highest average expenditure. These peopleare acquiring the package, and they have the money tospend. When the children arrive, the purchase rate stayshigh but the cost of the average purchase takes a sharpdrop. Expensive purchases will not again be commonuntil after the household finances have recovered fromchild shock.Vacation travel provides the final comparison in thesedata between life cycle and age. The age data show twopeaks: between 25-34, and between 45-54. The lifecycle data show that it is the young childless couples,not the couples with young children, who are taking ex-pensive (over $100) vacations. They also show that itis the older people still working, not the older, retiredLIFE CYCLE CONCEPT IN MARKETING RESEARCHTable 1COMPARISON OF AGE AND LIFE CYCLE DATA FROM MICHIGAN SURVEY OF CONSUMER FINANCES359AgeUnder 2525-3435-4445-5455-6465 and overLife cycleUnder 45 years of agesingle, no childrenmarried, no childrenmarried, youngest child under 6married, youngest child 6 or over45 or more years of ageMarried, childrenMarried, no childrenHead in labor forceHead retiredSingle, no childrenHead in labor forceHead retiredMedian income1962)$330061006820712047202510(1963)385070706720750074307300271044101850Housing statusown15%4771726372173957757177754661early 1963rent60%4526243025385539232520243832other25%8347345642431167Percentmakingmajorexpenditureson durables196258%696459422644777667564626Mean majorexpenditureOHI y),S90098098010709308708801346874946*1042968930Percenttakingvacation tripscosting$100 ormore196235%4341463725244930363141212815 Married less than 10 years. Married 10 years or over.people who spend at least $100 per trip each year. Thenotion that great numbers of retired people take tripscosting more than $100 is a $100 misunderstanding!The other source of data for comparing age with lifecycle is the Expenditure Patterns of the AmericanFamily prepared by the National Industrial ConferenceBoard and sponsored by Life 13. This study providesuseful additional information because it covers ex-penditures on services and nondurable goods as well asexpenditures on durables, and because it covers manymore product categories than either the Lansing andKish study or the Michigan Survey of ConsumerFinances. It therefore serves to complete the picture.The first step using the data from The ExpenditurePatterns of the American Family was to determinewhich products and services were most sensitive todifferences in age and which were most sensitive todifferences in life cycle. For each service or product, theaverage expenditure in the lowest spending age categorywas subtracted from the average expenditure in thehighest spending age category to get an index of sen-sitivity to age. If families in the various age categoriesall spent about the same amount, this index was low； ifthey differed greatly, the index was high. Similarly, foreach service or product the average expenditure in thelowest spending life cycle category was subtracted fromthe average expenditure in the highest spending life cyclecategory to get an index of sensitivity to life cycle. Again,if families in the various life cycle categories all spentabout the same amount, this index was low； if theydiffered greatly, the index was high. The range was usedas a measure of variability instead of the variance or theaverage deviation because the latter two measures mini-mize differences created by the presence of one out-standing group. Since the purpose of segmentation isto identify outstanding household types, it is importantto preserve this feature of the data.The next question was, for how many products orservices was life cycle more sensitive than age, and forhow many was age more sensitive than life cycle? Forabout half the products and services it did not makemuch difference. If expenditures varied by age, theyvaried by life cycle to about the same degree. But for231 products or services there were substantial (at least1.2 to 1) differences. Fifty-four of these differencesfavored age, and 177 favored life cycle. It is interesting to look at the products and servicesfor which age was a more discriminating variable thanlife cycle. Two of these are clearly a function of age-related physical difficultiesexpenditures for medicalappliances and expenditures for other medical carewhich includes nursing home and outpatient hospitalservices. Both these items showed a clear upward trendwith age. Perhaps also in this category belong prunes.360 JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH, NOVEMBER 19j66for which expenditures quadruple from the youngest tothe oldest age group.A second group of products and services which agediscriminated better than life cycle were mainly luxuries:fur coats and stoles； mens jewelry and watches； blendedwhiskey； bourbon, scotch and rye； manicures, massages,and slenderizing treatments； gifts and contributions,laundry and cleaning sent out, and repairs by con-tractors. Expenditures on these items increased steadilywith age through the next to the last age group, thendropped sharply at retirement.A third group of products and services for which agediscriminates better than life cycle is a group of itemswhich reach peak expenditure in the second and thirdage categoriesbetween 25-34, or between 35-44. Itis an odd assortment including dehumidifiers, hi-ti com-ponents, pocket editions, curtains, and homeowner in-surance. This group has no obvious psychological unity,and is perhaps just a collection selected by chance varia-tions in the data. However, one item that shows thisearly peak pattern does seem to have an underlyingphysiological explanation. Expenditures on slacks,shorts and dungarees for women increase to their maxi-mum in the 25-34 year age group, then decrease stead-ily.Finally, age does better than life cycle on a smallgroup of products which get peak expenditure amongthe under 25 group, and which get steadily less ex-penditure from then on. Two of these, drive-in moviesand portable TV sets, appear to be teenage carryovers.Two appear to be related to not yet owning a homerent, and money spent on coin-operated washingmachines. And four appear to be related to setting uphousekeepingsterling silver, bedroom suites, non.-electric cooking utensils, and kitchen wares. Youngpeople first acquire the things on which they sleep andwith which they eat.It is also interesting to look at the products and serv-ices for which life cycle discriminates better than age.Here, the presence and activities of children are themajor influence.One group of products for which life cycle discrimi-nates better than age includes automatic washingmachines, clothes dryers, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners,hospital services, vitamins, and babysitters. Viewed outof the life cycle context these items do not seem tohave much in common. However the underlying unity isthat all these items reach peak consumption amongfamilies with children all under six.A second group of items for which life cyele dis-criminates better than age includes home freezers and along list of foods: lard, flour, cornflakes, sugar, driedvegetables, evaporated and condensed milk, raisins,margarine, cold wheat cereals； macaroni, spaghetti andnoodles； syrup, molasses and honey； eggs, cannedchicken soup, fresh whole milk, potatoes, peanut butter,white bread, frankfurters, ice cream； jellies, jams andpreserves； candy, pancake and waffle mix； and potatochips. Also in this group of items are bleaches and dis-infectants, packaged detergents, soap, electric irons,dolls and accessories, toys and play equipment, wagons,sleds and skates. The underlying unity here is that allthese items get their highest average expenditure in thesome children under six, some over six category.A third group of items whieh life cycle discriminatesbetter than age includes bicycles； games, puzzles andmechanical toys； comic books, hardback books, pianosand organs, and music lessons. The pattern here be-comes obvious when it is known that these items receivepeak expenditure in the all children six to elevencategory. Not obviously part of the same pattern is thefact that this life cycle stage also spends more than anyother on air conditioners, electric floor waxers, handpower and garden tools, and insect sprays and powders.With the essential appliances already bought and familyfinances getting better, it is now possible to buy somethings that are not necessities.The final group of items for which life cycle discrimi-nates better than age includes auto operating expenses,auto liability insurance, antifreeze, auto repairs andparts, hand luggage, lodging out of the home city； boats,outboard motors and trailers； dental services, electricshavers and repairs, haircuts, home permanent kits,school and technical books, and magazines. Theseproducts and services all get peak expenditure from thelife cycle stage in which the children at home are all 12or over.Thus the evidence from Expenditure Patterns of theAmerican Family and from the other direct com-parisons between life cycle and age weighs heavily infavor of life cycle. Whether the item in question is aproduct or a service, a durable or a nondurable, lifecycle is likely to be a more meaningful way of classifyingconsumers. An overview of thelife cycle, taken from allthe research reviewed above, is shown in Appendix I.RESEARCH PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITHUSING LIFE CYCLEThe above has suggested that it would be profitable touse life cycle stage instead of age in studies of consumerbehavior. Life cycle, however, has several drawbacks.as a research tool.First, no two investigators have yet agreed on just how to categorize the life cycle (Table 2). Therefore verify-/ ing the results of one study by comparing it with an-other is often difficult, and the growth of a detailedpicture of life cycle changes is often hindered.Even when using a single study, the question of whichcategories to use is not trivial. If a category is toonarrow, it will include such a small proportion of thesample that it will be all but unpopulated except in largesurveys. If it is too broad, it will cover such a widevariety of consumers that it will not identify anybody.LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT IN MARKETING RESEARCH 361Table 2LIFE CYCLE STAGES USED IN REPRESENTATIVE STUDIESLansing andMorgan, ConsumerFinances over theLife Cycle 1954Young, singleYoung married, nochildrenYoung married,with childrenYoungest childunder 6Youngest child 6or overOlder married, withchildrenOlder married, nochildren under18Older, singleOther*Not ascertainedPercentdistribu-tion offamilyunits10.87.421.710.110.120.614.24.40.7Life Studyof ConsumerExpenditures1957No children andhead under 40Younger childrenOlder childrenonlyNo children andhead over 40Married headSingle headPercentdistribu-tion offamilyunits8.040.016.023.013.0Michigan SurveyResearch Center,1964 Survey ofConsumer FinancesUnder 45 years of ageSingle, no childrenMarried, no chil-drenMarried, youngestchild under 6Married, youngestchild 6 or over45 or more years of ageMarried, childrenMarried, no childrenHead in labor forceHead retiredSingle, no childrenHead in labor forceHead retiredAny ageSingle, childrenPercentdistribu-tion offamilyunits5.05.022.010.014.015.08.07.09.05.0Life Study:ExpenditurePatterns of theAmerican Family1965Families with childunder 6 yearsSome under 6 yearsAll under 6 yearsFamilies with child 6years or over onlyAll 6-11 yearsAny 12 years or overFamilies with no chil-drenHusband-wifeOtherPercentdistribu-tion offamilyunits14.512.74.625.724.118.4A family contains more than one spending unit only if someone in the family other than the head or the heads wife has an in-come of his own of over $15.00 per week and keeps more than half of that income for his own use. By young is meant head of spending unit under 45 years； by older, head 45 or over. By children is meant children under 18 years. Includes spending units where there is only one adult in the unit, but that adult is married (for example, the husband may beabsent in the armed forces). Includes also spending units that contain children but the head is not married (for example, a widowmay have children under 18). Household head is married or unmarried. Young children under 10 years； these households may have older children between 10 and 19. Between ages of 10 and 19 years. * No children under 20 at home. A family unit is defined as all persons living in the same dwelling who are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.A single person who is unrelated to the other occupants of the dwelling or who lives alone is a family unit by himself. No children under 18 at home. No children under 18 at home. Family refers to: (a) a group of people, usually living together, who pool their income and draw from a common fund for majoritems of expense or (b) a financially independent person living alone or in a household with others (income and expenditures arenot pooled). Never married offspring living with parents were considered members of the family. Includes families with children under six as well as children six or older. Mainly single people, unmarried and widows or widowers.And, if it is inappropriately selected, so that it mergesgroups with very different consumption patterns, it willnot discriminate no matter how broad or narrow it is.Inappropriate selection appears to have been fatal to theother, no children category in The Expenditure Pat-terns of the American Family. In that study the other,no children category contains 6.9 percent of the peopleand accounts for 9.5 percent of the expenditures. How-ever, it contains so many different kinds of consumersthat it does not produce a peak average expenditure inany of the products and services for which age and lifecycle differed.Another problem is that some households do not fitneatly into any of the usual life cycle stages. Examplesare households headed by widows or widowers withyoung children, young married couples with dependentparents at home, and older single people. Householdtypes like these must either be forced into categorieswhere they do not really belong, and where they tend toobscure the spending pattern, or they must be forgotten.They usually account for five to ten percent of the data.7； Finally, compared with age, life cycle has the handi-ly / cap of being a relatively unfamiliar concept. Analysis byage is standard and accepted, but analysis by life cycleis liable to be received with the coolness that greetsanything new.From the material presented here, it would seem that/life cycle analysis deserves a change in status. Eventhough it is still relatively uncommon, it is so usefulthat it deserves a place among standard research prac-tices.E CYCLEVIEW OF THE LIFANOVERSolitarysurvivor,retiredSolitarysurvivor,in laborforceEmptynestII；oldermarriedcouples,nochildrenl