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Consumer identity is the consumption pattern through which a consumer describes themselves.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
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Consumer identity is the consumption pattern through which a consumer describes themselves.
One of the most prominent features of the modern era is the rise of consumerism which was made possible by the emergence of a major middle class and the availability of different varieties of merchandise in an open market. According to Nitha Mathur, a professor of Sociology at the Indira Gandhi National Open University, "Commercial brands and luxury commodities have come to serve as signifiers of identity in society and legitimized consumer culture that is made visible in terms of its referents: images, commodities and 'high-class' consumption as also their articulation in daily lives of people." [1] Mathur further explained that, "by choice or by compulsion, people interpret and respond to it in different ways as they construct, deconstruct and reconstruct their social identities." [1]
The identity bestowed on consumers is understood to draw from themes that cut across the different symbolic boundaries that have consolidated in the course of modernity. [2] Consumer research has extensively examined how interactions with products help consumers to shape their identities and selves. [3] Product design, for instance, can elicit infatuation in object–consumer relations. [4] Consumers may become attached and develop relationships to specific material objects, independently of these objects' brands. [5]
A variety of commodities serves as an increasingly sophisticated identity toolkit for the celebration of one's identity. These do not only include unconscious somatic involvement. The idea that everyone in consumer societies is more open to acquiring the lifestyle and identity they desire runs the risk of painting an imaginary world made of equal opportunity and free self-realization. Instead, it is clear, even through observing advertisements which celebrate consumption as a sphere of human realization, that only a particular type of identity, a certain kind of look, a particular way of being in the world, and, apparently, only certain commodities are acknowledged as plainly positive, and that they all demand growing shares of economic and cultural capital. [6]
People's activities and possessions are organized around their social identities—the multifaceted labels by which their "me" is recognized by themselves and members of society. Identities differ from traits, such as aggressiveness or honesty, in that the latter characterizes how someone behaves within an Identity. Social identities (accountant, golfer, parent) are derived from social roles, but they are not the same. Roles are consensual prescriptions, behaviors expected of those occupying a particular position in society, and in that sense, they partition a society. [7]
Social Identity Theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner in 1979. Their theory was originally developed to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel et al. (1971) attempted to identify minimum conditions that would lead members of one group to discriminate for the in-group to which they belonged and against another out-group.
Henri Tajfel's greatest contribution to psychology was the social identity theory. Social identity is a person's sense of who they are, based on their group membership(s).
Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team, etc.), which people belonged to were a source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world. [8]
The social roles we ascribe to ourselves are the basis of our social identities and collectively, these identities form our global self—our overall sense of who we are. This identity-to-global self-path operationalizes social identity theory's guiding premise that one's overall sense of self, derives from the particular identities that one enacts and ascribes to one's self. [9]
Earlier gender identity and consumer behavior research suggests that gender identity plays a role in consumer behavior and the construction of consumer identity. Varying from assisting in information processing, to connecting individuals to the rest of the world, to orchestrating an individual's perceptions, to developing one's attitudes about appropriate social behaviors. [10]
Regarding consumers' brand perceptions, it was explained that consumer brand consumption is congruent with consumer gender-image, and stated that the gender-self could generate strong gender-congruency effects with regards to brand loyalty. [11] For example, consumers prefer goods or spokespersons that match their sense of masculinity and femininity. [12]
Edward Bernays was a public relations pioneer in the 20th century who sometimes used the theory of consumer identity in order to sell products to desired target groups. One incident of this was the targeting of feminist activists in an attempt to sell more cigarettes to women, branding cigarettes as Torches of Freedom. This action took advantage of the consumer identity of women who aspired to equal purchasing habits to men to advocate a specific product to this group.
From basic property to define, it is the group of people who can buy qualified goods and services; they do not only buy for the basic need. It would roughly divide the consumers, according to their capability of purchase from the society and from history. A class is marked by a set of conditions, in one place and time, but the fluidity of the construction, rather than the concept, of class, means that markers change categories like gender and race. It is a persistent social construct which is fluid across time and place, and increasingly, is downplayed in contemporary social rhetoric. [13] But considering different target of the brands and difficulty in satisfying the critical consumers, more brands prefer to demonstrate their distinct characteristic through some special aesthetic value, in Gramscian, the hegemonic ideologies of consumerism and neoliberalism give rise to the 'common sense' understanding that shopping provides opportunities to assert free choice in a society which proclaims equality and personal responsibility. [13]
Ethnicity is both an automatic characteristic of racial group membership and a process of group identification in which people use ethnic labels to define themselves and others. [14] During the process of purchase, it also considers other elements that a product that is formerly associated with a specific ethnic group is detached from its roots and marketed to other subcultures through buying the same brand's products. Group members tend to be tightly knit, and they are likely to infer meanings that go beyond the spoken word. Also, we should turn the focus onto the physical part, which is existing and objective without any judgment of body shapes or body measurements, or the ratios of different ethnic groups are imperative to determine any differences. However, differently shaped consumers require differently shaped apparel to accommodate figure variations the classification of female body shapes within a specific country is, however, a challenge due to variations within and across ethnically homogeneous and heterogeneous populations. [15] [16]
Consumers construct their identities through their brand choices based on congruence between brand image and self-image. Thus, the meaning and value of a brand is not just its ability to express the self, but also its role in helping consumers create and build their self-identities. This is one of the main issues today that cause money hungry corporate officials to hinder other individuals hard work. Possessions can be used to satisfy psychological needs, such as actively creating one's self-concept, reinforcing and expressing self-identity, and allowing one to differentiate oneself and assert one's individuality. [17] Possessions can also serve a social purpose by reflecting social ties to one's family, community, and/or cultural groups, including brand communities [18]
Consumers form connections to brands that become meaningful through this process; self-brand connections measure the extent to which individuals have incorporated brands into their self-concept [19]
Cultivated identity or identity construction and formation is the shaping of a person's beliefs, values, practices, and knowledge; influenced both by cultural systems and by individual actions in attempts to create, enhance, or maintain the views about one's self. The creation and preservation of the self is signaled to others through the exchange of identity capital.
Identity construction is a key issue in anthropological study. In an anthropological context uses of identity are basically ambiguous: [20] "In one sense, the term refers to properties of uniqueness and individuality, the essential differences making a person distinct from all others, as in 'self-identity'. In another sense, it refers to qualities of sameness, in that persons may associate themselves, or be associated by others, with groups or categories on the basis of some common feature, …".
A fan community or 'fandom' is a social unit of any size composed of people, known as fans, who are enthusiastically devoted to someone or something, such as a band, sports team, genre, book, movie, or entertainer above other cultural objects. "Peer fans, that is individuals with whom we connect via shared liking of these cultural objects, gather in groups making up for communities of practice around the object of fandom." [21] A definition of fandom indicates two characteristics of these communities: "they are a collective of people (1) who share (2) an appreciation of a (pop) cultural artifacts." [22] In other words, a fan community is a group of people characterized by a feeling of empathy and companionship with others who share a common interest. In our case, this common interest is the brand. Fans recognize themselves through the congruency between the brand image and the self-image.
Ethnocentrism in social science and anthropology—as well as in colloquial English discourse—means to apply one's own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge other cultures, practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people, instead of using the standards of the particular culture involved. Since this judgment is often negative, some people also use the term to refer to the belief that one's culture is superior to, or more correct or normal than, all others—especially regarding the distinctions that define each ethnicity's cultural identity, such as language, behavior, customs, and religion. In common usage, it can also simply mean any culturally biased judgment. For example, ethnocentrism can be seen in the common portrayals of the Global South and the Global North.
Consumerism is a social and economic order in which the goals of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those that are necessary for survival or for traditional displays of status. Consumerism has historically existed in many societies, with modern consumerism originating in Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution and becoming widespread around 1900. In 1899, a book on consumerism published by Thorstein Veblen, called The Theory of the Leisure Class, examined the widespread values and economic institutions emerging along with the widespread "leisure time" at the beginning of the 20th century. In it, Veblen "views the activities and spending habits of this leisure class in terms of conspicuous and vicarious consumption and waste. Both relate to the display of status and not to functionality or usefulness."
In the social sciences, a social group is defined as two or more people who interact with one another, share similar characteristics, and collectively have a sense of unity. Regardless, social groups come in a myriad of sizes and varieties. For example, a society can be viewed as a large social group. The system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group or between social groups is known as group dynamics.
Ethical consumerism is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting. People practice it by buying ethically made products that support small-scale manufacturers or local artisans and protect animals and the environment, while boycotting products that exploit children as workers, are tested on animals, or damage the environment.
Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940–1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing, and economics.
In-group favoritism, sometimes known as in-group–out-group bias, in-group bias, intergroup bias, or in-group preference, is a pattern of favoring members of one's in-group over out-group members. This can be expressed in evaluation of others, in allocation of resources, and in many other ways.
National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity may refer to the subjective feeling one shares with a group of people about a nation, regardless of one's legal citizenship status. National identity is viewed in psychological terms as "an awareness of difference", a "feeling and recognition of 'we' and 'they'". National identity also includes the general population and diaspora of multi-ethnic states and societies that have a shared sense of common identity identical to that of a nation while being made up of several component ethnic groups. Hyphenated ethnicities are examples of the confluence of multiple ethnic and national identities within a single person or entity.
Salience is the state or condition of being prominent. The Oxford English Dictionary defines salience as "most noticeable or important." The concept is discussed in communication, semiotics, linguistics, sociology, psychology, and political science. It has been studied with respect to interpersonal communication, persuasion, politics, and its influence on mass media.
In sociology and social psychology, an in-group is a social group to which a person psychologically identifies as being a member. By contrast, an out-group is a social group with which an individual does not identify. People may for example identify with their peer group, family, community, sports team, political party, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or nation. It has been found that the psychological membership of social groups and categories is associated with a wide variety of phenomena.
Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology that is opposed to consumerism, the continual buying and consuming of material possessions. Anti-consumerism is concerned with the private actions of business corporations in pursuit of financial and economic goals at the expense of the public welfare, especially in matters of environmental protection, social stratification, and ethics in the governing of a society. In politics, anti-consumerism overlaps with environmental activism, anti-globalization, and animal-rights activism; moreover, a conceptual variation of anti-consumerism is post-consumerism, living in a material way that transcends consumerism.
The minimal group paradigm is a method employed in social psychology. Although it may be used for a variety of purposes, it is best known as a method for investigating the minimal conditions required for discrimination to occur between groups. Experiments using this approach have revealed that even arbitrary distinctions between groups, such as preferences for certain paintings, or the color of their shirts, can trigger a tendency to favor one's own group at the expense of others, even when it means sacrificing in-group gain.
Social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group.
Throughout the long history of consumer research, there has been much interest regarding how consumers choose which brand to buy and why they continue to purchase these brands. Self-branding describes the process in which consumers match their own self-concept with the images of a certain brand.
Self-categorization theory is a theory in social psychology that describes the circumstances under which a person will perceive collections of people as a group, as well as the consequences of perceiving people in group terms. Although the theory is often introduced as an explanation of psychological group formation, it is more accurately thought of as general analysis of the functioning of categorization processes in social perception and interaction that speaks to issues of individual identity as much as group phenomena. It was developed by John Turner and colleagues, and along with social identity theory it is a constituent part of the social identity approach. It was in part developed to address questions that arose in response to social identity theory about the mechanistic underpinnings of social identification.
Consumer socialization is the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace. It has been argued, however, that consumer socialization occurs in the adult years as well. This field of study is a subdivision of consumer behavior as its main focus is on how childhood and adolescent experiences affect future consumer behavior. It attempts to understand how factors such as peers, mass media, family, gender, race, and culture play an influence in developing customer behavior.
Theories of consumption have been a part of the field of sociology since its earliest days, dating back, at least implicitly, to the work of Karl Marx in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Sociologists view consumption as central to everyday life, identity and social order. Many sociologists associate it with social class, identity, group membership, age and stratification as it plays a huge part in modernity. Thorstein Veblen's (1899) The Theory of the Leisure Class is generally seen as the first major theoretical work to take consumption as its primary focus. Despite these early roots, research on consumption began in earnest in the second half of the twentieth century in Europe, especially Great Britain. Interest in the topic among mainstream US sociologists was much slower to develop and it is still not a focal concern of many American sociologists. Efforts are currently underway to form a section in the American Sociological Association devoted to the study of consumption.
Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Fan Loyalty is often used in the context of sports and the support of a specific team or institution. Fan loyalties can range from a passive support to radical allegiance and expressions of loyalty can take shape in many forms and be displayed across varying platforms. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions. The loyalties of sports fans in particular have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that help to create such loyalties.
The theory of symbolic self-completion is a psychological theory which holds that individuals seek to acquire and display symbols that are strongly related to what they perceive as the ideal self. For example, relatively effeminate boys who want to appear macho may use products associated with manliness—such as a strong cologne or a silver watch—in hopes of symbolically fulfilling their self-definitions, i.e. becoming manly. Such cases of symbolic self-completion are seen in internet communication, marketing and advertising, and consumer behavior.
Consumer stereotyping is a process of creation of generalizations about consumption objects of members from a particular social category.
Intergroup relations refers to interactions between individuals in different social groups, and to interactions taking place between the groups themselves collectively. It has long been a subject of research in social psychology, political psychology, and organizational behavior.