This category encompasses documents that do not focus on a specific product but, rather, are concerned with general patterns of consumption. The motivations of consumerism and What is contemporary? - a creative memorandum, for example, are two reports that could have been applied to a variety of different industries and consumers. Also included within this category are reports focusing on the attitudes of particular market segments, for example Women and post war (a preliminary analysis). Here Dichter and The Institute explored concepts of nationalism and internationalism, and what women felt were the many changes that had taken place in the post-war world.

Other reports that fall under this category refer to the Institute of Motivational Research itself, exploring the work that was carried out and how useful this would be for companies (for example The research advantages offered by the institute). One of the most unusual documents was a fake report written by Ernest Dichter entitled: How to motivate veterans to volunteer for another war and to prepare and manipulate the American public to accept involvement in another real war. This was an example of a study Dichter might have written if he were really the evil manipulator of public opinion that some of his critics charged.