LECTURE 4

SELF
By Dr. Dongmei Li
THE WHEEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

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PART 1:
SELF-CONCEPT

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SELF-CONCEPT
The self-concept strongly influences consume
r behavior.
 Self-concept is the beliefs a person
SELF-CONCEPT holds about his or her own
attributes and how he or she
evaluates these qualities

Nine attributes of self-concept

(Rosenberg 1979).
Your textbook mentioned four of
them.
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ATTRIBUTES OF SELF-CONCEPT

Content

Accuracy
Self Positivity

Intensity
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PERSPECTIVES ON SELF
West East
The independent self The collective self

Emphasize the separateness Emphasize group identity

of each individual
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 High self-esteem:
Take more risks, more
willing to be the center of
attention
SELF ESTEEM

Self-esteem is the
positivity of a persons
self concept

Low self-esteem:
Heavily influenced by Avoid embarrassment,
- Social comparison failure, or rejection
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SELF ESTEEM
Social Comparison:
A process by which
consumers evaluate
themselves by comparing
themselves with others
(e.g., comparisons with
idealized images of
people in advertising)
Self-esteem Advertising:
Attempts to change
product attitudes by
stimulating positive
feelings about the self.

Self esteem is often related

to acceptance by others
REAL AND IDEAL SELVES
Ideal self: our conception of how we would like
to be
Actual self: our more realistic appraisal of the q
ualities we have
Products can:
Help us reach ideal self
Be consistent with actual self
Impression management means that we work to
manage what others think of us
ACTUAL & IDEAL SELF
Fantasy
Bridging the gap
between the selves

Actual Self Ideal Self

A persons realistic A persons conception
appraisal of the how he or she would
qualities he or she like to be
does and does not 11
FANTASY APPEAL & VIRTUAL IDENTITY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W9LqO5tl9E Illy coffee spot

Fantasy appeals: Marketing communications aimed

at individuals with a large discrepancy between their
real and ideal selves
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MULTIPLE SELVES
Role Identities:
Differentcomponents of the self, e.g. wife, mother, sister
, Chinese/HK citizen
Symbolic Interactionism:
Stresses that relationships with other people play a large
part in forming the self
The Looking-Glass Self:
The process of imagining the reactions of others toward
us
By acting the way we assume others expect us to act, we
wind up confirming these perceptions (self-fulfilling prop
hecy)
MULTIPLE SELVES
Marketers pitch products needed to faci
litate active role identities

Sister
Woman Friend

Wife
Spokesperson

Pro athlete
Mother
American citizen
SYMBOLIC SELF-COMPLETION THEORY
Social identity as individual consumption
behaviors
Question:Who am I now?
Answer: To some extent, your possessions!
Inference of personality based on
consumption patterns
People who have an incomplete self-
definition complete the identity by
acquisition
Consumers

SELF-IMAGE CONGRUENCE THEORY
demonstrate their values through their p
urchase behavior

Self-image congruence models: we choose products

when attributes matches the self

Product Usage = Self-Image

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SELF-CONGRUENCY THEORY

Proposes
Proposesthat
that much
much ofofconsumer
consumer behavior
behavior can
can
be
beexplained
explainedby bythe
thecongruence
congruence(match)
(match)
between
betweenaaconsumers
consumersself-concept
self-concept and
andthe
the
image
imageof
of typical
typicalusers
users of
of aafocal
focalproduct.
product.

Marketers use self-congruency theory to segment

markets into groups of consumers who link high
self-concept congruence with their product image.
THE EXTENDED SELF
Extended self is the external
objects that consumers
consider a part of themselves.

Individual: personal possessions

(cars, clothing)
Family: residence and furnishings
Community: neighborhood or town
where you live
Group: social or other groups

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WHO MAKE THESE CAKES?

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 THE EXTENDED SELF
Starbucks logo change draws consumer an
ger (Jan 6, 2011)

Implication to Marketer?
Marketers need to be sensitive not
only to consumers per se, but also
their extensions.

http://www.financialpost.com/Starbucks+logo+change+draws+consumer+anger/4070197/story.html
SEX ROLES
Societys expectations of masculinity and fe
mininity help to determine the products we b
uy to meet these expectations.
SELF-CONCEPT & GENDER DIFFERENCES
Sexual identity is an important component of
consumers self-concept.
Gender differences in socialization
School
Toys
Ads
Sex-types products: take on masculine or fe
minine attributes
Princesstelephones
Thors Hammer vodka
SEX-TYPED TRAITS AND PRODUC
TS
Sex-typed traits: characteristics we stereotypically
associate with one gender or the other.
Both men and women have typical sex roles.
Masculinism is the study of male image and its com
plex cultural meanings.
There are three traditional models of masculinity:
1) breadwinner, 2) rebel, and 3) man of action her
o.
Men and women receive mixed messages about ho
w they are supposed to behave and feel.

5-23
 SELF CONCEPT AND SEX ROLES
Gender roles are distinct in any society. In each s
ociety, there are definitions of what women and
men of that society are expected to do in their a
dult life.
Traditional Male Sex Roles emphasize on agentic
goals: e.g., self assertion and mastery
Traditional Female Sex Roles tend to emphasize
on communal goals: e.g., affiliation, fostering ha
rmonious relations

Read Meyers-Levy (1988), The Influence of Sex Roles on Judgme

nt, Journal of Consumer Research 14 (1), 522-30.

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SELF-CONCEPT & GENDER DIFFERENCES

Would your self-concept of gender influen

ce your consumer behavior? How? Why? Ex
ample?

Thank God youre a man.

GENDER ROLES AND CONSUMPTION

However, in some cases excitement is generated by

creatively violating typical gender roles
SELF CONCEPT AND SEX ROLES
 SELF CONCEPT AND SEX ROLES
Sex roles is heavily influenced by culture (e.g., U
S vs. Saudi Arabia)
Sex roles are judgmental; the society may hold n
egative evaluations towards men/women doing t
he other sexs tasks.
Sex roles are situational (e.g., a businesswoman
can be a caring leader (a feminine role) in some
situations and be a tough pitiless boss (a masculi
ne role) in others.
Sex roles constantly evolve

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IDEALS OF BEAUTY
The way we think about our bodies (and the
way our culture tells us we should think) is a
key component of self-esteem.
IS BEAUTY SUBJECTIVE?

What's the New-Beetle?

IDEALS OF BEAUTY
Exemplar of appearance
What is beautiful is good stereotype
Favorable physical features:
Attractivefaces
Good health and youth
Balance/symmetry
Feminine curves/hourglass body shape
Strong male features (e.g. dominant jaw bone,
sharp-edged face)
BEAUTY AND EVOLUTION: MASCULINITY MARKERS
REAL BEAUTY CAMPAIGN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U
BEAUTY BETWEEN CULTURE AND EVOLUTION
BEAUTY BETWEEN CULTURE AND EVOLUTION

Ideals of beauty change

Early 1800s: delicate/looking ill appearance
1890s: voluptuous, lusty
1990s: waif look
WORKING ON THE BODY
Fattism
Cosmetic surgery
Body decoration and mutilation
Body piercing
Decorating the self can serve several
purposes. Some of these are to:
1. Distinguish group members from nonmembers
2. Place the individual in the social organization
3. Place the person in a gender category
4. Enhance sex-role identification
5. Indicate desired social conduct
6. Indicate high status or rank
7. Provide a sense of security
SELF CONCEPT AND SEX ROLES
Androgyny refers to the possession of both masc
uline and feminine traits. People who dont neatl
y fit into one gender category or another may cr
eate uncertainty among others who arent sure h
ow to relate to them.
This highlights the benefit of sex role to provide
meaning and expectation to socialization.
BRAND PERSONALITY
Brands have personalities.

Brand personality: set of

traits people attribute to a
product as if it were a
person

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BRAND PERSONALITY

From customer personality to brand personalit

y..
Consumers tend to assign various descriptive p
ersonality-like characteristics to different bran
ds
Advertisers are keenly interested in how peopl
e think about brands, because consumers may
develop relationship with a brand that is simila
r in many aspects to the relationships they hav
e with other people

M & M is a ___________ person

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BRAND PERSONALITY DIMENS
IONS
1. Sincerity

. Down to Earth
. Honest
. Wholesome
. Cheerful
2. Excitement
Daring
Spirited
Imaginative
Up-to-date

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtz4qL4
-hNE
3. Competence

Reliable
Intelligent
Successful
4. Sophistication

Upper Class
Charming
Glamorous
Pretentious
Romantic
5. Ruggedness

Outdoorsy
Tough
Strong
IN-CLASS EXERCISE
Categorize these brands based on their perso
nality

Cartier
 Wrangler Maytag

Genui
ne,
Wrang
ler
Mountain Dew

Ford
EXERCISE:
What is the personality of these brands?

Cartier Sincerity
Mountain Dew Competence
Wrangler Ruggedness
Ford Excitement Sophisticatio
Maytag n
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Self-concept as an influence on behavior
The role of products in defining self-concept
The influence of sex-role identity on purchas
es
Self-esteem and our body image
Cultural expectations of appearance
Brands have personalities