Part of the consumer crisis centers on existing notions of what knowledge is as well as what it is that consumer behaviorists want to know. Alternative paradigms for knowing are reviewed and examples, where they exist, are discussed. This selection contrasts three distinct paradigms for understanding consumer behavior: the traditional approach of the economics and marketing professions; the critical approach exemplified by the work of Galbraith and Leiss; and an ethical approach that develops norms for the evaluation and reform of current patterns of both consumer and business behavior.
