ABSTRACTThe central problem area in marketing may be conceived as the analysis and satisfaction of the consumer‐buyer in order to stimulate demand. In its most fundamental form, therefore, marketing is necessarily concerned with describing, explaining, and predicting the behavior of men as it pertains to the performance of marketing activities, including consumption. That is, marketing is necessarily concerned with the development of a general theory and within it, a theory of consumer behavior.In this article, the authors propose one possible foundation for a theory of consumer behavior. Towards this end, the nature of theory, the primary requirements of developing consumer theory and some of the problems presently encountered in meeting these requirements, are all considered. A theoretical approach which holds promise for overcoming these problems, relevant to theory‐development requirements, is then presen