Consumption Situations

and the Effects of Brand

Image on Consumers’
Brand Evaluations
Timothy R. Graeff
Middle Tennessee State University

ABSTRACT

This research examines the role consumption situations play in

determining the effects of brand image on consumers’ brand
evaluations. Results from the first experiment suggest that when
consumption situations are experimentally manipulated for the same
brand, conspicuousness does not significantly moderate the relative
effects of actual and ideal congruence on brand evaluations. Further,
marketers can manage the effects of image congruence (between
brand image and self-image) by promoting varying consumption
situations. Results from the second experiment demonstrate how
a dynamic concept of situational ideal self-image (the image
consumers perceive as being ideal to project in a particular
situation) is a better predictor of brand attitudes than are static
concepts of self-image such as actual and ideal self-image.
Developing effective brand images must be coupled with a
consideration of the potential situations in which the product is to
be consumed. ©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Marketers have become increasingly aware of the strategic importance

of a brand’s image (Kamins & Gupta, 1994; Pettijohn, Mellott, &
Pettijohn, 1992). Just as people can be described in terms of their per-
sonality as perceived by other people, brands can be described in terms

Psychology & Marketing Vol. 14(1):49 – 70 (January 1997)

©1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0742-6046/97/010049-22
49
of their image as perceived by consumers. Research has found that
consumers often prefer brands and stores with images consistent with
their own self-image (Sirgy, 1982, 1985, 1986).
According to self-concept theory, self-image is a person’s perceptions
of their own abilities, characteristics, limitations, appearance, and per-
sonality (Rosenberg, 1979). Consumers often purchase products that
maintain and enhance their self-image. Consumers make purchase de-
cisions based on a product’s symbolic meanings and images, which can
be used to create and enhance self-image (Levy, 1959; Solomon &
Douglas, 1987).
The idea that consumers prefer brands with images similar to their
own self-image is referred to as the image congruence hypothesis. Nu-
merous studies have found a positive relationship between image con-
gruence (between brand image and self-image) and attitudes for such
products as automobiles, cleaning products, cigarettes, magazines,
home furnishings, and clothing (Belk, Bahn, & Mayer, 1982; Hong &
Zinkhan, 1995; Onkvisit & Shaw, 1987). Brands (and their associated
images) let consumers express who they are, what they are, where
they are, and how they want to be viewed. For instance, a recent ad-
vertising campaign for Cadillac DeVille states, “My DeVille says it all,
without me having to say anything.” This campaign promotes the eq-
uity in the brand’s image, rather than the car’s physical characteris-
tics and functional benefits.
Self-image has been considered a multidimensional construct with
various types of self, such as actual self, ideal self, social self, and sex-
role self (Onkvisit & Shaw, 1987). The dimensions of self that have re-
ceived the most theoretical consideration and empirical support are
actual self (how a consumer actually sees himself ) and ideal self (how
a consumer would like to see himself ). Of the many possible dimen-
sions of self-image, these two have been shown to have the most signif-
icant effects on consumers’ brand evaluations (Sirgy, 1982, 1985).
Examining the interaction between brand image and self-image is
important to marketers because consumers often take on various so-
cial roles that have associated with them sets of appropriate behaviors
leading to the projection of a desired self-image. Consumers attempt to
behave in ways that match the social expectations of others within a
particular situation. For instance, an individual consumer can assume
the role of a father, businessman, baseball coach, fishing buddy, and a
husband depending upon the nature of the situation in which they
find themselves. In each situation, the consumer attempts to behave
and express an image that will best lead to a favorable impression of
others in that social situation. The purchase and use of particular
products is one way consumers are able to express to others that they
are behaving in an appropriate manner and project the appropriate
image for a given situation.

50 GRAEFF
CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS
AND PRODUCT CONSPICUOUSNESS

Consumer research literature is replete with examples showing that

consumers often prefer different brands in different consumption situ-
ations (Belk, 1975; Dickson, 1982; Stayman & Deshpande, 1989). Un-
fortunately, however, consumer researchers have not directly
examined the role situations play in determining the effects of brand
image on brand evaluations. As it relates to the image congruence hy-
pothesis, researchers have considered only the conspicuousness with
which products are consumed. Previous researchers have suggested
that evaluations of privately consumed products are more affected by
actual congruence (between brand image and how consumers actually
see themselves), whereas evaluations of publicly consumed products
are more affected by ideal congruence (between brand image and how
consumers would ideally like to see themselves; see Dolich, 1969; Ross,
1971). When a brand is consumed publicly, consumers should be inter-
ested in impressing others by their act of consumption. However, there
is no need (or ability) to impress others when the brand is consumed
in relative privacy. Unfortunately, this general hypothesis has failed to
receive much empirical support.
Researchers have typically examined the effects of conspicuousness
by identifying products that vary (presumably) in their conspicuous-
ness. For example, Hong and Zinkhan (1995) used automobiles and
shampoos to represent conspicuous and inconspicuous products, re-
spectively. Correlations between image congruence and overall product
evaluations are compared across the brands to examine the relative ef-
fects of actual and ideal congruence on subjects’ brand evaluations.
Unfortunately, this methodology has two major limitations, result-
ing in an inability to conclusively accept or reject the general hypothe-
sis about the effects of conspicuousness on the image congruence
relationship. First, product conspicuousness may be confounded with
many other differences in products selected as being either publicly or
privately consumed. For instance, automobiles are more expensive and
typically have associated with them higher levels of purchase involve-
ment than do shampoos. The importance of brand image on con-
sumers’ product evaluations varies across products, and brand image
may not be the primary evaluative criteria for all products (e.g., beer is
often marketed primarily based on image, whereas automobile manu-
facturers often promote differences with respect to nonimage dimen-
sions such as safety, warranty, size, price, number of doors, and
headroom).
Second, the assumed differences in product conspicuousness are
typically not checked a priori to determine if the subjects consider
them to be strictly either privately or publicly consumed products.

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 51
This can be particularly problematic for products that can be con-
sumed in multiple consumption situations (e.g., beer can be consumed
in both private and public situations).

EXPERIMENT 1

To adequately examine the effects of consumption conspicuousness on

the image congruence relationship, it must be recognized that prod-
ucts do not vary in conspicuousness. Rather, consumption situations
vary in conspicuousness. The purpose of this first experiment is to re-
examine whether the image congruence relationship is moderated by
the conspicuousness of the consumption situation for which a brand is
being evaluated. By experimentally manipulating consumption con-
spicuousness for a single brand, this research will be the first true test
of the effect of conspicuousness on the image congruence relationship.
In this experiment it was not assumed that a particular product is al-
ways consumed either publicly or privately. Half of the subjects evalu-
ated a brand while considering a private consumption situation, and
the other half of the subjects evaluated that same brand while consid-
ering a public consumption situation. This eliminates any confounding
effects associated with differences in products across the conspicuous-
ness manipulation. It also affords an opportunity to examine the ef-
fects of a marketer-controlled variable on the image congruence
relationship. Through advertising and other types of promotion, mar-
keters can suggest and encourage specific consumption situations for
their brands.
Measures of brand image and self-image were taken to examine the
relative effect of image congruence (between brand image and both ac-
tual and ideal self-image) on subjects’ brand evaluations. Budweiser
beer was chosen as the target brand because

1. Adult college students are familiar with the brand.

2. It relies heavily on image appeals in its advertising.
3. It should have a strong brand image in the mind of adult college
students.
4. It is a product that is often consumed in private and public con-
sumption situations.

Subjects and Procedure. Subjects were 220 adult undergraduate

college students (of legal drinking age) taking senior-level classes who
participated in the experiment during a normal class period. Subjects
were instructed to take a moment to think about Budweiser beer. Then
they were asked to indicate how familiar they were with Budweiser
beer (1 5 not at all familiar, 7 5 very familiar), and how much experi-
ence they have had with Budweiser beer (1 5 hardly any, 7 5 a great

52 GRAEFF
deal). Subjects were then told to imagine that they were in a particu-
lar consumption situation (either private or public). With this situa-
tion in mind, they indicated their attitudes and purchase intentions
toward Budweiser beer. Subjects then indicated their perceived brand
image of Budweiser beer along with their own actual and ideal self-
images. These were used to calculate a measure of congruence be-
tween brand image and each subject’s self-image (actual and ideal).
The measures of brand and self-image were taken after evaluating
the brand. Measuring brand and self-image before evaluating the brand
could artificially increase the effect (salience) of image as an evaluative
criteria. Brand image was measured before self-image to avoid subjects
intentionally rating the image of Budweiser to justify their evaluation
so that it would fit with their self-image (e.g., if subjects rated the beer
favorably and rated their own image as conservative, they might try to
justify the favorable evaluation by also rating the beer as conservative).
Further, if subjects were trying to justify their evaluation, they could
more easily alter their perceptions of the image of Budweiser than alter
their perceptions of their own self-image.

Consumption Situation. Subjects were randomly assigned to evalu-

ate the beer in one of two different consumption situations. Subjects in
the private consumption situation (n 5 112) were told to consider the
following:

Imagine that you are considering purchasing some beer so that you
can drink it at home. Imagine that you will be drinking this beer in
privacy. That is, there will be no one else present while you drink this
beer. Imagine you are purchasing this beer so that you can drink it
while watching a rented movie, your favorite TV show, or even a tele-
vised sporting event.

Subjects in the public consumption situation (n 5 108) were told to

consider the following:

Imagine that you are out with your friends at a restaurant, bar,
lounge, or other public place. And, you are considering purchasing
some beer. Imagine that you will be drinking this beer in a very public
situation. That is, there will be many people who can see you while
you drink this beer. And, there will be many people who can see the
brand of beer that you are drinking.

Dependent Measures. After reading the situation description, subjects

rated the beer on three 7-point scales (bipolar labels 5 unfavorable –
favorable; good – bad; dislike – like; coefficient alpha 5 0.96). The mean
rating on these three scales was used as a measure of subjects’ overall
attitude toward the brand. As a measure of purchase intentions, sub-
jects were asked how likely they would be to purchase Budweiser beer

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 53
in the previously described situation. They indicated this on a 7-point
scale varying from extremely unlikely to extremely likely.

Measuring Brand and Self-Image. To measure brand and self-

image, researchers have used a variety of techniques, from having con-
sumers draw a picture of the typical user of a brand (Kanner, 1989), to
a product-anchored Q methodology where consumers indicate the ex-
tent to which a brand is associated with their self-image (Belch &
Landon, 1977), to multidimensional scaling (Fry, 1971). However, the
most popular technique (and the one used in this research) is to have
consumers rate brands and their self-image on a series of semantic
differential scales anchored by such personality dimensions as mascu-
line – feminine, and rugged – delicate.
To develop these measures, 50 pretest subjects were asked how rele-
vant each of 50 different image dimensions was to describing the person-
ality of the typical consumer of Budweiser beer. Each image dimension
was rated on a 7-point scale varying from Not at all . . . to Very much
associated with (relevant to) describing the personality of the typical
consumer of Budweiser Beer. The purpose of this was to identify a small
set of image dimensions that would be appropriate for describing the im-
age of Budweiser beer. Only 10 of these dimensions, which were rated at
least moderately relevant to describing the image of a Budweiser
drinker, were used to measure brand image. The image dimensions
used in this study were: rugged – delicate; excitable – calm; masculine –
feminine; youthful – mature; formal – informal; economical – extravagant;
unsuccessful – successful; modern – old-fashioned; tense – relaxed; urban –
rural.
Self-image was measured with the same 10 image dimensions used
to measure brand image. Subjects described themselves from two dif-
ferent points of view: (a) as they actually are, and (b) as they would
ideally like to be. Actual self-image was measured with the following
question:

Describe yourself as you actually are. Think about how you see your-
self. What kind of person are you? How would you describe your per-
sonality? On the following scales, circle the number that best
represents how you see yourself.

Ideal self-image was measured with the following question:

Describe yourself as you would ideally like to be. Think about how you
would like to see yourself. What kind of person would you like to be?
How would you like to be able to describe your personality? On the
following scales, circle the number that best represents how you
would ideally like to see yourself.

54 GRAEFF
Results
Potential Confounds. The results were first analyzed to determine if
there were any potential confounds between the two experimental
groups. There were no significant differences between the two experi-
mental groups in terms of familiarity with Budweiser (means 5 5.4 for
private and 5.6 for public; F1,216 5 1.7, n.s.), amount of experience with
Budweiser (means 5 4.1 for private and 4.2 for public; F1,216 5 0.07,
n.s.), or age (means 5 23.6 for private and 24.6 for public; F1,216 5 2.7,
n.s.). There were also no significant differences in the sex of subjects
assigned to the experimental groups. Fifty-three females (out of 112)
were randomly assigned to the private situation, and 63 females (out
of 108) were randomly assigned to the public situation.

Consumption Situations and Actual/Ideal Congruence. A gener-

alized Euclidean distance model (as shown below) was used to calcu-
late difference scores for each subject reflecting actual congruence
(between brand image and actual self-image) and ideal congruence
(between brand image and ideal self-image; Sirgy, 1982). A small
(large) difference score indicates a high (low) degree of similarity be-
tween brand and self-image:
n
D5 S(Pi 2 Si)2
i51

where

D 5 overall difference score reflecting degree of congruence between

brand and self-image.
i 5 a particular personality image dimension.
Pi 5 perception of the product on image dimension i.
Si 5 perception of self on image dimension i.

The extent to which the effect of image congruence on brand evalua-

tions was moderated by the type of consumption situation for which
the brand was being considered was examined using correlation analy-
sis. Table 1 presents the correlations between image congruence (ac-
tual and ideal) and subjects’ brand evaluations. The significant
correlations indicate that image congruence had a significant positive
relationship to subjects’ brand evaluations. The more similar the
brand’s image was to a subject’s self-image, the more favorable were
their attitudes and purchase intentions toward the brand. Further,
within each situation, there were no significant differences between
the correlations for actual and ideal congruence. Even though for sub-
jects in the private consumption situation actual congruence had

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 55
Table 1. Correlations between Image Congruence and Brand Evaluations.
Private Consumption Public Consumption
Situation (n 5 112) Situation (n 5 108)
Actual Ideal Actual Ideal
Congruence Congruence Congruence Congruence
Brand Attitude 0.56** 0.52** 0.34** 0.39**
Purchase Intention 0.47** 0.41** 0.41** 0.44**
Note: Actual congruence 5 congruence between brand image and actual self-image. Ideal congruence 5 con-
gruence between brand image and ideal self-image.
*p ,.05.
**p ,.01.

slightly larger effects on brand evaluations than did ideal congruence,

and for subjects in the public consumption situation ideal congruence
seemed to have slightly larger effects on brand evaluations than did
actual congruence, none of these differences between the correlations
for actual and ideal congruence were statistically significant (all p’s .
.05). Thus, when the conspicuousness of the situation was experimen-
tally manipulated and controlled for within the same brand, there
were no differences found between the effects of actual and ideal con-
gruence on brand evaluations.

Level of Congruence and Consumption Situation. To further ex-

amine the joint effects of image congruence and consumption situa-
tions on consumers’ brand evaluations, subjects were classified as
either high or low overall congruence. Based on a median split of ac-
tual and ideal congruence scores, subjects were first classified as ei-
ther high or low actual congruence, and either high or low ideal
congruence. Those subjects that were high (low) actual and high (low)
ideal congruence were further classified as high (low) overall congru-
ence subjects. In general, actual and ideal congruence were highly pos-
itively correlated (r 5 0.82; p , .01; that is, if a subject was classified as
high actual congruence, they were very likely to also be classified as
high ideal congruence). One possible explanation for the high correla-
tion between actual and ideal congruence is that actual and ideal self-
images were elicited subsequently in the experiment. Only 17% of
subjects were mismatches on actual and ideal congruence. That is,
they were classified as high actual and low ideal congruence, or low ac-
tual and high ideal congruence. To simplify the presentation of the re-
sults, these subjects were eliminated from the following analysis.
Subjects’ mean brand attitudes and purchase intentions as a function
of overall level of congruence and type of consumption situation are
graphed in Figure 1.

56 GRAEFF
Figure 1. Effects of Consumption Situation and Overall Level of Congruence be-
tween Brand Image and Self-Image on Subjects’ Brand Attitudes and Purchase Inten-
tions.

With respect to brand attitudes, both main effects were significant.

As expected, high congruence subjects had more favorable brand atti-
tudes than did low congruence subjects (means 5 5.2 versus 3.1;
F1,178 5 69.6; p , .01). Also, subjects had significantly more favorable
brand attitudes in the public situation than in the private situation
(means 5 4.4 versus 3.9; F1,178 5 4.7; p , .05). The significant interac-
tion indicates that manipulating the type of consumption situation
had a significant effect on brand attitudes of only the low congruence
subjects (F1,178 5 6.1; p 5 .01). The brand attitudes of low congruence
subjects were significantly more favorable in the public situation,
whereas the brand attitudes of high congruence subjects did not differ
across the two situations. This suggests that marketers can promote
varying types of consumption situations in their promotions as a tool
for managing (hopefully increasing) the favorableness of the brand at-
titudes of consumers whose self-image is inconsistent with the brand
image.
The general pattern of means for subjects’ purchase intentions
resembled that of the means for their brand attitudes. As expected,

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 57
high congruence subjects had significantly more favorable purchase
intentions than did low congruence subjects (means 5 4.6 versus 2.5;
F1,178 5 53.8; p , .01). However, the main effect for type of situation
only approached significance. Overall, subjects in the public situation
had marginally more favorable purchase intentions than did subjects
in the private situation (means 5 3.8 versus 3.3; F1,178 5 2.8; p 5 .09).
As with their brand attitudes, the purchase intentions of low congru-
ence subjects were more favorable in the public situation. However,
the public situation also led to slightly more favorable purchase inten-
tions for high congruence subjects, as indicated by the insignificant in-
teraction (F1,178 5 0.5; n.s.).

Discussion
The general purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of
image congruence on consumers’ brand evaluations and how these ef-
fects are moderated by the conspicuousness of the consumption situa-
tion for which the brand is being considered. In general, the results
suggest that the relationship between a brand’s image and self-image
is of strategic importance to marketers. Image congruence was shown
to have a significant positive relationship with consumers’ brand atti-
tudes and purchase intentions.
Previous research has suggested the conceptual and empirical differ-
ences between consumers’ actual and ideal self-images. The question
for marketers has been, “Which self-image (when compared to the
brand’s image) has a greater effect on brand evaluations?” The basic
hypothesis has been that it is a function of the conspicuousness with
which the brand is consumed. Unfortunately, previous research on this
issue has fallen prey to several methodological limitations. Researchers
have tried to identify private and public brands. However, brands do
not vary in conspicuousness. It is the situation in which brands
are consumed that is either private or public. The current results sug-
gest that when consumption situations are experimentally manipu-
lated for the same brand, conspicuousness does not significantly
moderate the relative effects of actual and ideal congruence on brand
evaluations.
The results from this experiment additionally suggest that marketers
can manage the effects of image congruence on consumers’ brand evalua-
tions be promoting varying consumption situations. For existing brands
that already have well-established brand images in the minds of con-
sumers, marketers can manage brand evaluations by varying the types
of consumption situations for which their product is being considered. In
the current study, those consumers with self-images consistent with the
brand image had favorable brand evaluations irrespective of the type of
consumption situation, but those consumers with self-images inconsis-

58 GRAEFF
tent with the brand image had significantly more favorable brand evalu-
ations in the public consumption situation.
Why did lower congruence consumers have more favorable brand
evaluations in the public situation? Perhaps, even though the image of
Budweiser beer is inconsistent with a consumer’s self-image, it might
still be recognized and accepted as a generally liked beer among col-
lege students. Even though there is inconsistency between brand and
self image, the desire to publicly fit in in a particular situation leads to
more favorable brand evaluations.
According to self-attention theory (e.g., Scheier & Carver, 1983), self-
focused attention can cause consumers to compare themselves to
salient standards and situational norms. Discrepancies between self
and standard can be reduced by purchasing products that help to pre-
sent appropriate self-images (Wooten, 1996). Different products can be
purchased in different situations to present different self-images
(Schmitt & Schultz, 1995). As such, marketers gain little by measuring
consumers’ actual and ideal self-images without considering the na-
ture of particular purchase and consumption situations. The self-
image a consumer wants to ideally project in one situation, might be
very different from the self-image ideally projected in a different situa-
tion. This highlights the potential for examining not only consumers’
actual and ideal self-images, but also their perceived situational ideal
self-images.

Situational Ideal Self-Image. As previously stated, image congru-

ence researchers have not directly considered the effects of situations
and social roles on the image congruence hypothesis. As a result, con-
sumers’ self-images have been conceptualized and measured as static
cognitive states. Consumers’ actual and ideal self-images are thought
to remain stable and constant across all situations. For instance,
Onkvisit and Shaw (1987) argued that “. . . the self-concept tends to
be relatively stable, especially during the entire decision-making
process for a particular purchase” (p. 15). Although this may be true
for a particular purchase within the context of a particular situation,
it is also true that the self-image consumers seek to create, maintain,
and project (i.e., their ideal self-image) may vary dramatically across
two different situations. Because there are multiple situations for
which a brand can be purchased, each consumption situation can have
associated with it its own ideal self-image.
For instance, in the role of a businessman dealing with competitors,
a man might seek to project an image of being tough, intelligent,
savvy, and perhaps even ruthless. This same man might also seek to
project the image of a caring, loving, loyal, and understanding father
when interacting with his children at home during dinner. A college
student might purchase a new man’s suit to be worn at his graduation
and dinner with parents, and he might purchase a different suit to be

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 59
worn on a date with a new girlfriend. Each situation might call for the
projection of a different image. As another example, a man might be
dining out with his new boss and other senior level managers of the
company for which he was recently hired. He might order a Heineken
beer because the ideal self-image to project in this situation is one of
upper-class sophistication. The next day, this same man might order a
Budweiser beer when out with his fishing buddies because the ideal
self-image to project in this situation is one of middle-class masculin-
ity.

EXPERIMENT 2

A second experiment was designed to compare the effects of static

measures of actual and ideal self-image to a dynamic measure of con-
sumers’ situational ideal self-image (which can vary depending on the
situation) on their brand evaluations. Subjects were told to imagine
themselves being in a particular situation (either out with a new boss
or out with friends) where they have decided to purchase a beer. Sub-
jects indicated their relative preference for Budweiser and Heineken
beer in this situation. Budweiser and Heineken were chosen as the
target brands because

1. Subjects were familiar with both brands.

2. They should both have strong images in the minds of subjects.
3. They both often rely on image appeals in advertising which pro-
ject different images.

Brand evaluations were correlated with measures of subjects’ per-

ceived brand image (of Budweiser and Heineken), their actual and
ideal self-image, and their situational ideal self-image.

Subjects and Procedure. Subjects were 82 adult undergraduate col-

lege students (of legal drinking age) taking senior-level classes who par-
ticipated in the experiment during a normal class period. Questionnaires
containing the experimental materials were completed at each individ-
ual’s own pace. Subjects first indicated their pre-experiment attitudes to-
ward Budweiser and Heineken beer. Following this, subjects were asked
to imagine being in a particular situation (either out with a new boss or
out with friends) where they had decided to order a beer. Interviews with
pretest subjects indicated that beer was an appropriate product to use in
this study because it is often consumed in both private and public situa-
tions, and that the two situations described were realistic. With the par-
ticular situation in mind, subjects indicated which of the two brands of
beer they would be most likely to order, and indicated their attitudes and
purchase intentions toward each brand. Subjects then indicated their

60 GRAEFF
perceived image of both beers as well as their own actual and ideal self-
image on the same set of 10 image dimensions that was used in the first
experiment. Subjects then described the image that they thought would
be appropriate for someone to project if they wanted to fit in in this situ-
ation. This image was described on the same 10 image dimensions used
to describe the brand images and their actual and ideal self-image. These
image dimensions were used to calculate a measure of congruence be-
tween brand image and subjects’ actual and ideal self-image, and their
situational ideal self-image.

Consumption Situation. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of

two different situations. Subjects in the boss situation (n 5 41) were
told to consider the following:

Imagine that you have recently graduated and that you have been
employed by a local company. One day after work, your new boss in-
vites you to a local restaurant to meet with some of the senior level
executives who also work for your company. You decide to go because
you think this would be a good chance to meet the senior executives
in your company and it would also be a good chance for you to im-
press them enough that they might consider you for future promo-
tions. Your boss and the other senior executives all drive BMW ’s,
enjoy tennis and listening to classical music. Imagine that while at
the restaurant (in the presence of these senior level executives) you
decide to order a beer.

Subjects in the friends situation (n541) were told to consider the fol-
lowing:

Imagine that you are taking a late afternoon class. One day after
class two of your friends invite you to a local bar (located adjacent to
campus) to meet with some of their other friends. You decide to go be-
cause you think this would be a good chance to meet other students.
You would also like to make a good impression on them so that they
might include you in other activities. Your two friends (and their
friends you will be meeting at the bar) all drive pick-up trucks, enjoy
hunting and listening to country music. Imagine that while at the bar
(in the presence of these new friends) you decide to order a beer.

Dependent Measures. After reading the situation description, sub-

jects indicated which beer they would be most likely to order. Subjects
then indicated what their evaluations of Budweiser and Heineken
would be in the situation just described. Brand attitudes were mea-
sured on two 7-point scales (bipolar labels 5 unfavorable – favorable;
bad – good). These same two scales were also used to measure subjects’
pre-experiment attitudes toward Budweiser and Heineken (average
correlation 5 0.92). As a measure of purchase intentions, subjects were
asked how likely they would be to order each of the two different

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 61
brands of beer in the situation described. They did this on a 7-point
scale varying from extremely unlikely to extremely likely.

Measuring Brand and Self-Images. Brand images and subjects’ ac-

tual and ideal self-images were measured as in Experiment 1. Subjects’
situational ideal self-image was measured with the following question:

What kind of an image do you think would be appropriate for some-

one to project in the situation previously described? If someone
wanted to “fit in” in this situation, they would probably want to pro-
ject an image of being . . .”

Results
Potential Confounds. The results were first analyzed to determine
if there were any potential confounds between the two experimental
groups. There were no significant differences between the two experi-
mental groups in terms of their pre-experiment attitudes toward Bud-
weiser (means 5 4.0 for boss and 4.0 for friends; F1,80 5 0.01, n.s.),
pre-experiment attitudes toward Heineken (means 5 3.6 for boss and
3.9 for friends; F1,80 5 0.6, n.s.), or age (means 5 23.4 for boss and 24.8
for friends; F1,80 5 2.2, n.s.). There were also no significant differences
in the sex of subjects assigned to the experimental groups. Twenty-
one females (out of 41) were randomly assigned to the boss situation,
and 23 females (out of 41) were randomly assigned to the friends situ-
ation.

Consumption Situation and Brand Evaluations. Subjects’ choice

of beer was significantly different across the two situations. The major-
ity of subjects in the boss situation chose Heineken (63.4%), whereas
the majority of subjects in the friends situation chose Budweiser
(82.1%; x21 5 17.0; p , .01).
After choosing a brand of beer, subjects indicated what their evalua-
tions of each brand would be in the situation just described. Subjects’
mean situational-specific brand attitudes and purchase intentions are
graphed in Figure 2.
Whereas subjects’ pre-experiment attitudes toward Budweiser and
Heineken did not differ across the two situation conditions, their situ-
ational specific brand evaluations did differ significantly across the
two situation conditions. The interaction between the brand’s image
and the nature of the situation for which the beer was being consid-
ered was significant for subjects’ brand attitudes (F1,80 5 27.3; p , .01)
as well as purchase intentions (F1,80 5 24.5; p , .01). Compared to sub-
jects in the boss situation, subjects in the friends situation had signifi-
cantly more favorable attitudes toward Budweiser (means 5 5.0 for
friends versus 3.3 for boss; F1,80 5 20.5; p , .01) and purchase inten-

62 GRAEFF
 Figure 2. Mean Brand Evaluations in the Two Consumption Situations.

tions toward Budweiser (means 5 4.6 for friends versus 3.0 for boss;
F1,80 5 12.2; p , .01). Conversely, subjects in the friends situation had
significantly less favorable attitudes toward Heineken (means 5 3.5
for friends versus 4.8 for boss; F1,80 5 10.7; p , .01) and purchase in-
tentions toward Heineken (means 5 2.7 for friends versus 4.3 for boss;
F1,80 5 15.0; p , .01). In fact, compared to their pre-experiment atti-
tudes, subjects’ situational specific attitudes toward Budweiser be-
came less favorable in the boss situation (F1,40 5 5.7, p 5 .02) and more
favorable in the friends situation (F1,40 5 13.1, p , .01). Conversely,
subjects’ situational specific attitudes toward Heineken became more
favorable in the boss situation (F1,40 5 14.3; p , .01) and less favorable
in the friends situation (F1,40 5 2.9, p 5 .09).

Image Congruence and Consumption Situations. Why did sub-

jects prefer Budweiser in the friends situation, and Heineken in the
boss situation? A general hypothesis of this research is that their pref-
erences were a function of the congruence between the brand’s image
and the self-image subjects’ would ideally want to project in a particu-
lar situation. Examination of subjects’ difference scores (reflecting the
degree of congruence between the brand’s image and their situational
ideal self-image) supports his explanation. These difference scores are
graphed in Figure 3.
If the level of congruence between brand image and a type of

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 63
Figure 3. Mean Difference Scores Reflecting the Degree of Congruence between
Brand Image and Subjects’ Actual Self-Image (Actual Congruence), Ideal Self-Image
(Ideal Congruence), and Situational Ideal Self-Image (Situational Ideal Congruence)
in the Two Consumption Situations.

self-image (either actual, ideal, or situational ideal) explains the

differences in subjects’ brand evaluations, the pattern of difference
scores for that type of self-image should parallel the pattern found for
subjects’ brand evaluations. Only the pattern of difference scores for
subjects’ situational ideal self-image explains the results from sub-

64 GRAEFF
jects’ brand evaluations. The significant interaction between brand
and type of situation (F1,80 5 80.9; p , .01) indicates that subjects’ situ-
ational ideal self-image was more congruent with the image of Bud-
weiser in the friends situation, and more congruent with the image of
Heineken in the boss situation. This is consistent with the pattern of
subjects’ brand evaluations. Within a given situation, subjects had
more favorable evaluations of a brand that was more congruent with
their situational ideal self-image. This cannot be said of subjects’ ac-
tual or ideal self-image. In both situations, Heineken beer was consis-
tently more congruent with subjects’ actual and ideal self-images.
However, Heineken was not consistently evaluated more favorably in
both situations.

Image Congruence and Brand Evaluations. Correlation analysis

was used to further examine the relative effects of actual, ideal, and
situational ideal congruence on subjects’ brand evaluations. These cor-
relations are presented in Table 2.
The results suggest that when considering a purchase for a specific
situation (whether trying to impress a new boss or simply wanting to
fit in with some new friends), situational ideal congruence had a much
greater effect on brand evaluations than did either actual or ideal con-
gruence. The significant correlations between situational ideal congru-
ence and the situational brand evaluations for Budweiser and
Heineken indicate that the more (less) congruent the image of a brand
is with the image that consumers would ideally want to project in a
specific situation, the more (less) favorable are consumers’ attitudes
and purchase intentions toward that brand. Further, when considering
a purchase for a specific situation, subjects’ actual and ideal congru-
ence had much smaller (in most cases significant) relations to their
brand evaluations.

Table 2. Correlations between Subjects’ Evaluations of the Brands in the

Specific Situation and type of Image Congruence.
Situational
Actual Ideal Ideal
Congruence Congruence Congruence
Att.Budweiser 0.10 0.13 0.38**
PIBudweiser 0.24* 0.24* 0.40**
Att.Heineken 20.05 0.21* 0.43**
PIHeineken 0.03 0.18 0.47**
Note: Actual congruence 5 congruence between actual self-image and brand image. Ideal
congruence 5 congruence between ideal self-image and brand image. Situational ideal
congruence 5 congruence between situational ideal self-image and brand image.
*p,.05.
**p,.01.

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 65
DISCUSSION

The overall purpose of this research was to examine how consumption

situations affect the relationship between image congruence and con-
sumers’ brand evaluations (Experiment 1) and to extend past research
by introducing a dynamic measure of situational ideal self-concept and
showing how this conceptualization of self-concept is a better predictor of
brand attitudes than are static concepts of self-image such as actual and
ideal self-image (Experiment 2). Past research on image congruence has
only indirectly examined the effects of consumption situations by identi-
fying products that presumably vary in the conspicuousness of their con-
sumption (e.g., Hong & Zinkhan, 1995). Unfortunately, this approach has
a number of key limitations. Experiment 1 was designed to overcome
these limitations by manipulating the conspicuousness of the consump-
tion situation for which a brand is being considered. Results from this
experiment support the general image congruence hypothesis. The more
similar the brand’s perceived image was to subjects’ self-image, the more
favorable were their brand attitudes and future purchase intentions.
Past research has hypothesized that consumers should be more in-
fluenced by ideal self-image in public consumption situations and ac-
tual self-image in private consumption situations (e.g., Dolich, 1969;
Ross, 1971). However, when the conspicuousness of the consumption
situation was experimentally manipulated for the same brand, this hy-
pothesis was not supported. In each situation, actual and ideal congru-
ence were equally predictive of brand evaluations. This is not
surprising, given that actual and ideal self-image were measured as
static cognitive states that are assumed to remain stable over varying
contexts and situations, and subjects were evaluating the brand with a
specific situation in mind. Most past research on image congruence
has attempted to relate static measures of self-image to general brand
evaluations where consumers are given only the brand name on which
to base their evaluation without considering a specific consumption
situation (Hong & Zinkhan, 1995; Sirgy, 1985). However, this is unreal-
istic because consumers often have specific consumption situations in
mind when considering purchasing products.
The results from Experiment 1 also suggest that marketers can
manage the effects of image congruence on brand evaluations by pro-
moting varying consumption situations for their brands. Those sub-
jects who had self-images congruent with the brand’s image had
favorable brand evaluations irrespective of the conspicuousness of the
consumption situation for which the brand was being evaluated. How-
ever, a concern of marketers is how to increase market share by in-
creasing the favorability of the brand evaluations of consumers who
have self-images that are incongruent with the brand’s image. In Ex-
periment 1, these subjects had more favorable brand evaluations when
considering the brand for a public consumption situation.

66 GRAEFF
 Does this mean that all marketers of beer should encourage con-
sumers to consider purchasing their brand for public consumption?
No. The lower congruence subjects in Experiment 1 might have consid-
ered Budweiser beer to be an appropriate beer for the particular type
of public situation that was described. It is possible that subjects
might have considered Budweiser beer to be an inappropriate beer if
they were considering purchasing it for a different public situation.
This explanation suggests that even though static measures of con-
sumers’ actual and ideal self-images may be incongruent with a
brand’s image, brand evaluations can be increased by matching the
image of the brand to the self-image consumers would ideally like to
project in a specific situation (their situational ideal self-image).
The results from Experiment 2 demonstrate how a dynamic mea-
sure of consumers’ situational ideal self-concept can be useful to mar-
keters. In Experiment 2, subjects’ preferences for the two brands of
beer differed across the two situations. This was explained by the find-
ing that subjects had more favorable evaluations of the brand that’s
image was more congruent with their situational ideal self-image. The
degree of congruence between the brand’s image and static measures
of actual and ideal self-image did not explain the pattern of subjects’
brand evaluations. When considering a specific consumption situation,
the congruence between brand image and a dynamic measure of sub-
jects’ situational ideal self-image was more strongly correlated with
their brand evaluations than was the congruence between brand im-
age and static measures of either their actual or ideal self-images.
Static measures of consumers’ actual and ideal self-images assume
that consumers always view themselves the same way and try to pro-
ject the same ideal self-image to all people in all situations. The impli-
cation of this for marketers has been that effective brand images are
those that are congruent with the self-images of the largest number of
consumers. Alternatively, this research introduces and demonstrates
the usefulness of studying a dynamic measure of consumers’ situa-
tional ideal self-image — the image consumers perceive as being ideal
to project in a given situation. The situational ideal self-image ac-
knowledges that consumers often consider it ideal to project different
images in different situations. This implies that the development of an
effective brand image must be coupled with a consideration of the po-
tential situations in which the product is to be consumed. As such,
brand image and consumption situations must be considered together.
It is the specific consumption situation and the desire to project a par-
ticular image in that situation that gives rise to the importance of a
brand’s image. As such, marketers should develop and promote a
brand’s image within the context of particular consumption situations.
The previous emphasis on static measures of self-image has implied
that the primary task for marketers was to measure consumer’s self-
images and develop a brand image congruent with these self-images.

CONSUMPTION SITUATIONS 67
Considering the dynamic nature of the situational ideal self-image im-
plies that the primary task for marketers is to identify the situations
in which different products are often consumed and to then develop a
brand image that is congruent not with the consumer’s self-image, but
the self-image they would ideally like to project in those situations.
The situational ideal self-image offers a more integrated approach to
developing brand images because it considers a behavioral component
that follows from consumers’ desire to act in ways (purchase and con-
sume brands) that allow them to project different self-images to differ-
ent people in different situations (Schenk & Holman, 1980).

Limitations and Future Research. Experiment 1 examined the role

of actual and ideal self-image on consumers’ brand evaluations. Future
research could also consider the role of other dimensions of self-image,
such as social self-image (the way a consumer thinks others view him;
Onkvisit & Shaw, 1987). However, as Experiment 2 demonstrated, if
any dimension of self-image is measured as a static state, it should not
be expected to have a significant effect on brand evaluations, if con-
sumers are evaluating a brand with a particular consumption situa-
tion in mind.
This research examined only one product class (beer), and should be
replicated using other products and brands that vary in terms of
(a) consumer familiarity; (b) consumer liking; (c) frequency of pur-
chase; (d) psychological – symbolic character; (e) degree to which the
product is typically consumed either publicly, privately, or both; and
(f ) nature of the image consumers attribute to the brand.
Future research might also consider adding control groups to the ex-
perimental designs of brand image studies. Control-group subjects
could be asked the same questions as those in experimental groups,
except without being told to consider a specific consumption situation.
In such cases, when consumers are not considering a particular con-
sumption situation, the effects of static measures of self-image on
brand evaluations should be greater.
The consumption situations in Experiment 2 were developed based
on interviews with pretest subjects who described typical situations in
which they drink beer. Although subjects perceived both of these situa-
tions as believable and realistic, future research should consider po-
tential differences between consumption situations presented to
subjects. For example, in the boss situation the subject is employed,
and in the friends situation the subject is still a student. Future re-
search should employ manipulation checks to measure whether the
situations presented to subjects are comparable with respect to poten-
tial confounds such as how important subjects feel it is to impress
their companions in each of the scenarios. Multiple measures of pur-
chase intentions would also enable researchers to assess the reliability
of our measures.

68 GRAEFF
 Similarly, there were slight differences in the way actual, ideal, and
situational ideal self-image were measured in the current studies. The
frame of reference for measuring actual and ideal self-image was one-
self (describe yourself as you actually are, describe yourself as you
would ideally like to be). Alternatively, the frame of reference for mea-
suring situational ideal self-image was a third party (what kind of im-
age do you think would be appropriate for someone to project in the
situation previously described?). Future research could examine
whether similar results are obtained by measuring situational ideal
self-image with a first-person frame of reference (e.g., what kind of im-
age do you think would be appropriate for you to project in the situa-
tion previously described?).

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The author thanks the three anonymous reviewers for their helpful com-
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Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to: Timothy R. Graeff,

Middle Tennessee State University, MTSU Box X013, Mufreesboro, TN 37132
(TGRAEFF@MTSU.edu).

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