Consumer Behaviour

Eighth Canadian Edition

Chapter 5
The Self

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Chapter Objectives
When you finish reading this chapter, you will understand
why:
5.1 The self-concept strongly influences consumer behaviour.
5.2 Products often play a key role in defining the self-
concept.
5.3 Society’s expectations of gender roles help to determine
the products we buy to meet these expectations.
5.4 The way we think about our bodies (and the way our
culture tells us we should think about them) is a key
component of self-esteem.

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Perspectives of Self
• We buy products to highlight/hide aspects of the self
• In the era of Facebook and Twitter everyone is able to
share their thoughts with millions of friends and strangers
• Eastern and Western cultures see the self as a an inner
private self and the outer public self.
• Each of us is a separate, unique individual
– Think about it: Do you behave differently in a group than
with just a single friend?

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Self-Concept
Self-concept
Beliefs a person holds about his/her own attributes, and how
he/she evaluates these qualities
• Attribute dimensions: Content, positivity, intensity, stability
over time, and accuracy
• Self-concept can be somewhat stable over time and
situations, situational factors can influence how we feel
about ourselves

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Self-Esteem (1 of 2)
Self-esteem
Refers to the positivity of your attitude toward yourself
– Low self-esteem: Think they will not perform well
– High self-esteem: Think they will be successful and will take
risks
– Ads can trigger social comparison
– Attractive models using products

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Self-Esteem (2 of 2)

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Real and Ideal Selves (1 of 2)
Ideal self
Conception of how we would like to be
Actual self
More realistic appraisal of the qualities we have
– Products can:
– Help us reach ideal self
– Be consistent with actual self

Think about it: Can a product really make us satisfied with our
real selves?

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Real and Ideal Selves (2 of 2)
• We are constantly faced with images of the “ideal” person
in media
• Each of us has more than one self concept - one for
attractiveness, work ethic, friend etc.
Impression management
Where we work hard to “manage” what others think of us
• strategically engaging in products and behaviours to
impress

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Multiple Selves
• Each of us have many selves and roles
• Marketers pitch products to facilitate active role identity
• These roles can be identified as a:
– Sister
– Friend
– Spokesperson
– Athlete
– Mother
– Wife
– Canadian citizen

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Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic Interactionism
Relationships with others play a large part in forming the self
• We exist in a symbolic world creating shared meanings
• “Who am I in this situation?”
• “Who do other people think I am?”
• We pattern our behaviour on the perceived expectation of
others—a self-fulfilling prophecy

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Looking Glass Self
Looking-glass self
The process of imagining the reactions of others toward us
• a process of reflexive evaluation occurs when an individual
attempts to define the self
• take readings of our own identity by “bouncing” signals off
others

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Self-fulfilling
Self-fulfilling prophecy
When we tend to pattern our behaviour on the perceived
expectations of others.
– fashion apps allow consumers to get feedback on the image
of the self they convey

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Self-Consciousness
• Can be painfully aware of one-self
• Public self-consciousness
• Self-monitoring
– High vs. low self-monitors

Think about it: What makes you more self-conscious… walking

into a crowded room or meeting with someone you don’t know
well?

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Consumption and Self-Concept (1 of 2)
• Identity marketing: Consumers alter aspects of their selves
to advertise a branded product
• Product and activities = constellations
• Product (“props”) as extended self

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Consumption and Self-Concept (2 of 2)

This Italian ad reminds us of the power of self-consciousness:

“The world is looking at you.”
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You Are What You Consume (1 of 2)
• Social identity as individual consumption behaviours
– Question: Who am I now?
– Answer: To some extent, your possessions!
• Inference of personality based on consumption patterns
• Consumers may attach themselves to product to maintain
self-concept

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You Are What You Consume (2 of 2)
Symbolic self-completion theory
People who have an incomplete self-definition complete
identity by acquiring and displaying associated symbols.

Compensatory consumption
When the consumer is threatened or lacking on a particular
dimension, they may consume in ways that allow them to
cope with this threat.

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Self-Product Congruence (1 of 2)
Self-image congruence models
We choose products when attributes matches the self
• assume a process of cognitive matching between product
attributes and the consumer’s self-image

Product Usage Self-Image

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Self-Product Congruence (2 of 2)
In a compelling example of
leveraging “self-congruence,”
Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke”
campaign personalized bottles of
Coke products so that they were a
perfect fit for the consumer to
drink or share with friends.

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The Extended Self
Extended self
External objects considered a part of us
Gender roles vary by culture but are changing
• Levels of extended self:
– Individual: personal possessions (cars, clothing)
– Family: residence and furnishings
– Community: neighbourhood or town where you live
– Group: social or other groups

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The Digital Self
The Digital Self
Strategically “modify” their online personalities.
• many of create additional identities in the form of avatars in
virtual worlds
• moving from “you are what you wear” to “you are what you
post.”

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Wearable Computing
Wearable Computing
Digital interactions will become attached to our bodies and
perhaps even inserted into our bodies as companies offer
ways to implant computer chips into our wrists.
• Numerous wearables with big health implications are
already available or under development

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Gender Roles (1 of 2)

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Gender Roles (2 of 2)
A very important component of a consumer’s self-concept.
• Many societies still expect traditional roles:
– Agenic roles: Men are expected to be assertive and have
certain skills
– Communal roles: Women are taught to foster harmonious
relationships

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Gender versus Sexual Identity
• Sex-typed traits: characteristics we stereotypically
associate with one gender or the other.
• Sex-types products: masculine or feminine attributes
– Pink Princess telephones
– Jack Daniels Whisky

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Androgyny
Androgyny
Possession of both masculine and feminine traits
– Androgynous people function well in social situations
– Sex-typed people: stereotypically masculine or feminine
– Females more detail oriented
– Men consider overall themes

– Think about it: The “metrosexual” is a big buzzword in

marketing, but is it real or just media hype?

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Gender Benders (1 of 2)
Gender-bending products
A traditionally sex-typed item adapted to the opposite gender
• Rubbermaid introduced grooming tools such as tweezers
and clippers for men
• Old Spice - young women like the scent and the relatively
low price are tuning into the deodorant
• Men spray Febreze on their clothes to delay doing laundry

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Gender Benders (2 of 2)

Consumers often pay more for a

product that has been altered to
appeal to a particular gender.
(Think pink razors!)

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Female Roles
• Younger women’s views of themselves are quite different
from those of their mothers and grandmothers
• To some extent females may take for granted certain rights
that older generations of women had to fight for.
• A wave in one direction may set off a ripple in another

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Male Roles
• Society’s definition of the male role is evolving
• Men receive mixed messages about how they are
supposed to behave and feel
• Men are concerned as never before with their appearance
• Our cultural definition of masculinity is evolving as men try
to redefine sex roles while they stay in a “safety zone”

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Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
(GLBT) Consumers
• The trend of appealing to same sex couples has been
increasing, with brands such as Gap, JCrew, and even
Tiffany portraying same-sex couples in their marketing
communications
Tiffany’s use of a same-sex
couple in its advertising
received a positive reception
on social media.

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Body Image
Body Image
Consumer’s subjective evaluation of his/her physical self
Body cathexis
Person’s feelings about his or her own body
• Strong body cathexis = frequent purchases of “preening”
products

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Ideals of Beauty
Ideal Beauty
Is a particular model, or exemplar, of appearance.
• Exemplar of appearance
• “What is beautiful is good” stereotype
• Favourable physical features
– Attractive faces
– Good health and youth
– Balance/symmetry
– Feminine curves/hourglass body shape

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Is Beauty Universal
• Research indicates that preferences for some physical
features over others are “wired in”.
• to signal sexual desirability is whether the person’s
features are balanced.
• Advertising and other forms of mass media play a
significant role in determining which forms of beauty are
considered desirable at any point in time.
• An ideal of beauty functions as a sort of cultural yardstick.

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Ideals of Beauty Over Time (1 of 2)
• Specific “looks”/ideals of beauty
– Early 1800s: delicate/looking ill appearance, 18-inch
waistline (use of corsets)
– 1890s: voluptuous, lusty woman
– Bad economy: mature features vs. good economy: babyish
features
– 1990s: “waif” look
– Modern women: high heels, body waxing, eyelifts,
liposuction

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Ideals of Beauty Over Time (2 of 2)
• Media and marketing
communicate standards of
beauty
• Plus-sized apparel
market
• Strongly masculine,
muscled body for
men

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Today’s Ideals of Female Beauty (1 of 2)
• Strongly masculine, muscled body
• Fashion houses are using models who look like “regular
guys”
• Men and women “work on the body” from exercise to
cosmetic surgery

– Think about it: Would you have plastic surgery to increase

your self concept? Why?

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Today’s Ideals of Female Beauty (2 of 2)

Dove’s classic “Real Beauty” campaign did an excellent job of attempting to redefine
Western ideals of beauty.
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Male Ideals of Beauty
• Strongly masculine, muscled body
• Fashion houses are using models who look like “regular
guys”
• Men and women “work on the body” from exercise to
cosmetic surgery
– Think about it: Would you have plastic surgery to increase
your self concept? Why?

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Working on the Body (Hair and the Self)
Grant McCracken:
• found men to be much vainer about their hair and more
reluctant to discuss the topic.
• men are also secretive about dyeing their hair
• The preference for long or short hair is reflective of the
social situation.
– Long flowing hair
– Short hair
– Shave heads

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Fattism and Body Positivity
• Fattism is deeply ingrained in our culture
• ‘You can never be too thin or too rich’
• Not so: Healthy body image is the ideal
• Unilever (Dove) has banned the size “0” in their ads
• Think about it: Do you consider yourself fat even if your
weight is in the “normal” range?

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Body Image Distortions
• To some, body quality reflects self-worth (particularly
among women)
• Distorted body image is linked to eating disorders among
females
• Body dysmorphic disorder (obsession with perceived flaws
in appearance) becoming more common among young
men

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Cosmetic Surgery
• Changing a poor body image or to enhance appearance
– Men account for 20% of surgeries
• Breast Augmentation
– Perception that breast size = sex appeal

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Body Decoration and Mutilation
• Separate group members from non-members
• Place the individual in the social organization
• Place the individual in a gender category
• Enhance gender role identification
• To provide a sense of security
• To indicate desired social conduct
• To indicate status or rank

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