Final answer:
The process by which Alex learned knowledge and skills to function as a consumer through observing her family and society is known as socialization, specifically consumer socialization. This unconscious learning shapes behaviors and attitudes towards consumerism, influencing how she and others interact with the marketplace and credit systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The influences that Alex had while growing up, as she watched her parents and others make purchasing decisions, are collectively known as the process of socialization. This is the process by which individuals learn and adopt the behaviors, skills, norms, and values of their culture. Socialization is how people learn to function as consumers, which encompasses both material culture, the tangible objects a culture uses, and nonmaterial culture, such as its beliefs, values, and norms. The concept of consumer socialization specifically refers to the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace.
Alex's ability to make purchase decisions is influenced by this consumer socialization, which she has experienced throughout her life through family, peers, media, and other societal institutions. Even without deliberate teaching, cultural content is conveyed and absorbed unconsciously, and it includes learning about consumption practices, such as the credit system and the desirability of certain products portrayed within a consumer culture. These unconscious lessons shape how individuals participate in consumerism as adults, affecting their decisions on buying versus renting and how to engage with new consumption patterns like department stores and credit purchases.