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Self - concept

How one views or feels about the self. This

concept is learned as you experience the Mirror Mirror on the wall
world through your senses and perception.
Who is the most beautiful
Of all

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Formation of the Self-Concept Intrapersonal Communication

• Self-talk or internal • Perception is how you

• Built from information from others dialogue view the world around or
• Built from information from outside.
• Thinking or worry
ourselves
• Others can not know or • Perception involves your
• Once a self-concept is formed, it is
difficult to change see this process senses and can differ
from how others view
• How you view yourself and the way
you.
others view you can differ
• Hearing, touch, sight,
smell and taste

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Opening Vignette: Lisa Perspectives on the Self

• What depresses Lisa about the magazine models? Does the Self Exist?
• Lisa feels that women don’t look like models in “real – 1980’s called the “Me Decade”
– March 7th designated “Self Day” by Self
life.” Do you agree? magazine
• If Lisa doesn’t consider herself unattractive, why does – Western societies emphasize uniqueness
of self.
she consider cosmetic surgery? – Collective self: Eastern culture’s belief
• Does Lisa want to improve herself for Eric or herself? that a person’s identity is derived from
his or her social group.
– Mien-Tzu: Confucian belief that
reputation is achieved through success
and ostentation

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Self Concept Self-Esteem

• Self Concept:
– The beliefs a person holds about his • Self-esteem:
or her own attributes and how he or – Refers to the positivity of a person’s self-
she evaluates these qualities concept.
• Dimensions of the Attributes of Self • Social Comparison:
Concept: – A process by which consumers evaluate
– Content themselves by comparing themselves with
– Positivity others (particularly comparisons with
– Intensity idealized images of people in advertising)
– Accuracy • Self-esteem Advertising:
• Consumer perceptions of self can – Attempts to change product attitudes by
be quite distorted, particularly with stimulating positive feelings about the
regard to their physical appearance. self.

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• Ideal Self:
– A person’s conception of how he or Fantasy Appeals
she would like to be
– Partially molded by elements of a
consumer’s culture
• Actual Self:
– A person’s realistic appraisal of the
qualities he or she does and does not
possess
• Fantasy: Bridging the Gap
between the selves
– Fantasy: A self-induced shift in
consciousness
– Fantasy appeals: Marketing
communications aimed at individuals with
a large discrepancy between their real and
ideal selves

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Multiple Selves
Self-Consciousness
• Role Identities:
– Different components of the self • Self-Consciousness:
– A painful awareness of oneself magnified
• Symbolic Interactionism: by the belief that others are intently
– Stresses that relationships with other people play a large part in forming the watching.
self • Public Self-Consciousness:
– Self-fulfilling prophecy: By acting the way we assume others expect us to – A heightened concern about the nature of
act, we wind up confirming these perceptions one’s public “image”
• The Looking-Glass Self: – Results in more concern about the
appropriateness of products and
– The process of imagining the reactions of others toward us consumption activities
• Self Monitoring:
– Awareness of how one presents oneself in a
social environment

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Products that Shape the Self: You are What you Consume:
– People use an individual’s consumption behaviors to help them
make judgments about that person’s social identity.
Self/Product Congruence:
– Consumers demonstrate consistency between their values and
the things they buy.
– Self-image congruence models: Products will be chosen when
their attributes match some aspect of the self.
The Extended Self
• Extended Self:
– External objects that consumers consider a part of themselves
• Four Levels of the Extended Self:
– (1) Individual Level: Personal possessions
– (2) Family Level: Residence and furnishings
– (3) Community Level: Neighborhood or town one is from
– (4) Group Level: Social groups
– A consumer may also feel that landmarks, monuments, or sports teams are part of
the extended self.

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Advertisements Extending the Self Sex Roles

• This Italian ad demonstrates
that our favorite products are
part of the extended self.
• Sex Identity:
– An important component of a
consumer’s self concept
• Gender Differences in Socialization:
– Agentic goals (Males): Stress self
assertion and mastery
– Communal goals (Females): Stress
affiliation and fostering of harmonious
relations

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Sex Roles (cont.) Sex Roles (conc.)

• Gender Versus Sexual Identity: • Female Sex Roles:

– Sex-Typed Traits: Characteristics stereotypically associated with gender – Female sex roles are still evolving
• Sex-Typed Products: • Male Sex Roles:
– Many products are sex-typed (i.e., they take on masculine or feminine – Masculinism: The study of the male image and the cultural meanings of
attributes and are associated with gender) masculinity
• Androgyny: • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT)
– Refers to the possession of both masculine and feminine traits Consumers:
– Sex-typed people: Stereotypically masculine or feminine – GLBT population is an attractive segment to marketers
– Androgynous people: Mixed gender characteristics – The 1990’s saw big corporations actively court this market segment

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Ideals of Beauty
Body Image • Is Beauty Universal?
– Men are attracted to an hourglass shape
• Body Image: – Women prefer men with a heavy lower face, above-
average height, and a prominent brow
– Refers to a consumer’s subjective
evaluation of his or her physical • The Western Ideal:
self – Big round eyes, tiny waists, large Bs, blond hair, and
blue eyes
• Ideals of Beauty over Time:
• Body Cathexis: – Sexual dimorphic markers: Aspects of the body that
distinguish between the sexes
– A person’s feelings about his or her
body

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Working on the Body Working on the Body (cont.)

Fattism:
– Our society is obsessed with weight • Cosmetic Surgery:
Body Image Distortions: – Consumers are increasing
electing to have cosmetic
– Women’s ideal figure is much thinner than their surgery to change a poor body
actual figure image or enhance appearance.
– Anorexia: Starving oneself in a quest for thinness – Men are increasingly having
– Bulimia: Binge eating followed by purging (vomiting, cosmetic surgery too.
laxatives, fasting, or over-exercising)
– Body dysmorphic disorder: An obsession with
perceived flaws in appearance

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Body Decoration and Mutilation

• Purpose of Decorating the Self:

– To separate group members from nonmembers
– To place the individual in the social organization
– To place the person in a gender category
– To enhance sex-role identification
– To indicate desired social conduct
– To indicate high status or rank
– To provide a sense of security
• Tattoos
• Body Piercing

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Tattooing
• Tattooing is becoming
mainstream. This Spanish
ad for Nike tennis products
says, “Rest in heaven, not on
the court.”
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7/28/2020
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Can't you show me tall and slim?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Must I look so bloody grim?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
You're distorting my poor waist!
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
And why the heck am I defaced?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Why have I a double chin?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
And what's the stupid, goofy grin?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Pointless asking ‘Who’s the fairest-?
More bloody likely, 'Who’s the queerest? ’
Now look, I paid a big bucks for thee,
So why can’t you be nice to me?
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