Beyond cognitive age: developing a multitheoretical measure of age and its assessment

Abstract

Although aging is a multidimensional process, studies of older consumer behavior traditionally have used age as a surrogate measure of this process. As a result, the emerged relationships between age and consumer behaviors are not well understood. This paper proposes a theoretically based alternative measure of age that derives from multiple dimensions of the aging process. It uses a large sample of older Malays to test and compare the power of this measure in predicting select consumer behaviors and compares the results to those of age and cognitive age that are commonly used to explain consumer behavior in later life. The results of the empirical study suggest that the new measure of age and aging may be a better predictor of certain types of consumer behavior of the elderly and possibly could supplement or even replace the existing measures such as cognitive age. Directions for further research are suggested with regard to improving and validating this measure.