The invention relates to urea- and/or urethane-substituted amides of the general formula (I) The radicals R1, Z1, R2, and Z2 comprise a building block containing urea groups and/or containing urethane groups; the radicals R4, Z4, R5, and Z5 comprise a building block containing amide groups, and E is a carboxylic acid group or salt thereof. The invention also relates to rheology control agents which consist of or comprise the amides of the formula (I). A further subject of the invention is a method for producing the rheology control agents, and the use of the urea- and/or urethane-substituted amides, and also of the rheology control agents, as thickeners, especially in liquid compositions, and also the liquid compositions themselves.