ABSTRACT
From the 1960s, a lifestyles study path has been undertaken, placing the action level at the analytical centre. If, in the other perspectives, individuals' actions were in some way conceived of as being a secondary, accessory or derivative element in styles study, here actions, or behaviour, is centre stage, being considered as the essential component. Through lifestyles study, it is a matter of reconstructing characteristics and meanings of that distinction, particularly evaluating the impact of social classes on attitudes and behaviour defining the lifestyle, without taking for granted direct, hierarchized influence. For a long time, private life and its leisure and consumption patterns were expressions of social status, in turn linked to social class. The contemporary lifestyle enclave is based on a degree of individual choice that largely frees it from traditional ethnic and religious boundaries. Behaviour patterns are connected with values and socio-demographical characteristics, and may imply varying degrees of social interaction, consistence and recognizability.
