Cumulativity in communication science presupposes a systematic interplay between substantive theory, formal models and empirical data. Research on lifestyle and communication, for instance, has been going on for about a century, but only when substantive theory was systematically related to both formal models and empirical data did it really take off. Recent developments show that the notion of lifestyle is usefully defined as patterns of individual action determined by personal characteristics (primarily values and attitudes) as differentiated from patterns of action determined by structural characteristics of the surrounding society and by positional characteristics of the individual (forms of life and ways of life, respectively). Thus defined, lifestyle phenomena stand out as important components of individual communication patterns, especially mass media use. Confronting in terms of statistical and graphical models Bourdieu's theory of lifestyle with these theoretical developments it becomes clear that Bourdieu's conceptualization of lifestyle and its determinants is insensitive, clumsy and unnecessarily cumbersome. It is suggested, therefore, that Ockham's razor be applied.
