Chapter 5 The Self

1. Chapter 5The Self By Michael R. Solomon Consumer Behavior Buying, Having, and Being Sixth Edition

2. Opening Vignette: Lisa • What depresses Lisa about the magazine models? • Lisa feels that women don’t look like models in “real life.” Do you agree? • If Lisa doesn’t consider herself unattractive, why does she consider cosmetic surgery? • Does Lisa want to improve herself for Eric or herself?

3. Perspectives on the Self • Does the Self Exist? • 1980’s called the “Me Decade” • March 7th designated “Self Day” by Self magazine • Western societies emphasize uniqueness of self. • Collective self: Eastern culture’s belief that a person’s identity is derived from his or her social group. • Mien-Tzu (face): Confucian belief that reputation is achieved through success and ostentation

4. Self Concept • Self Concept: • The beliefs a person holds about his or her own attributes and how he or she evaluates these qualities • Dimensions of the Attributes of Self Concept: • Content • Positivity • Intensity • Accuracy • Consumer perceptions of self can be quite distorted, particularly with regard to their physical appearance.

5. Self-Esteem • Self-esteem: • Refers to the positivity of a person’s self-concept. • Social Comparison: • A process by which consumers evaluate themselves by comparing themselves with others (particularly comparisons with idealized images of people in advertising) • Self-esteem Advertising: • Attempts to change product attitudes by stimulating positive feelings about the self.

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

7. Fantasy Appeals

8. Multiple Selves • Role Identities: • Different components of the self • Symbolic Interactionism: • Stresses that relationships with other people play a large part in forming the self • Self-fulfilling prophecy: By acting the way we assume others expect us to act, we wind up confirming these perceptions • The Looking-Glass Self: • The process of imagining the reactions of others toward us

9. Self-Consciousness • Self-Consciousness: • A painful awareness of oneself magnified by the belief that others are intently watching. • Public Self-Consciousness: • A heightened concern about the nature of one’s public “image” • Results in more concern about the appropriateness of products and consumption activities • Self Monitoring: • Awareness of how one presents oneself in a social environment

10. Consumption and Self-Concept • Products that Shape the Self: You are What you Consume: • People use an individual’s consumption behaviors to help them make judgments about that person’s social identity. • Symbolic self-completion theory: People who have an incomplete self-definition tend to complete this identity by acquiring and displaying symbols associated with it. • Self/Product Congruence: • Consumers demonstrate consistency between their values and the things they buy. • Self-image congruence models: Products will be chosen when their attributes match some aspect of the self.

11. The Extended Self • Extended Self: • External objects that consumers consider a part of themselves • Four Levels of the Extended Self: • (1) Individual Level: Personal possessions • (2) Family Level: Residence and furnishings • (3) Community Level: Neighborhood or town one is from • (4) Group Level: Social groups • A consumer may also feel that landmarks, monuments, or sports teams are part of the extended self.

12. Advertisements Extending the Self • This Italian ad demonstrates that our favorite products are part of the extended self.

13. Discussion Question • Some consumers feel that a sports team is part of the extended self. At www.flameheads.com they celebrate fanaticism toward the Tennessee Titans football team. • How does affiliation with a sports team affect self perceptions? What other affiliations are part of the extended self?

14. Sex Roles • Sex Identity: • An important component of a consumer’s self concept • Gender Differences in Socialization: • Agentic goals (Males): Stress self assertion and mastery • Communal goals (Females): Stress affiliation and fostering of harmonious relations

15. Satirical Ad of Exploitation • This French shoe ad pokes fun at ads that demean women by proclaiming: “No woman’s body was exploited in the making of this advertisement.”

16. Sex Roles (cont.) • Gender Versus Sexual Identity: • Sex-Typed Traits: Characteristics stereotypically associated with gender • Sex-Typed Products: • Many products are sex-typed (i.e., they take on masculine or feminine attributes and are associated with gender) • Androgyny: • Refers to the possession of both masculine and feminine traits • Sex-typed people: Stereotypically masculine or feminine • Androgynous people: Mixed gender characteristics

17. Culturally Bound Sex Roles • This ad for Bijan illustrates how sex-role identities are culturally bound by contrasting the expectations of how women should appear in two different countries.

18. Sex Roles (conc.) • Female Sex Roles: • Female sex roles are still evolving • Male Sex Roles: • Masculinism: The study of the male image and the cultural meanings of masculinity • Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Consumers: • GLBT population is an attractive segment to marketers • The 1990’s saw big corporations actively court this market segment

19. Reinforcing Gender Stereotypes • This ad rebels somewhat against “political correctness” by reinforcing gender stereotypes.

20. Targeting GLBT Consumers • This ad for Alize, a cognac drink, is geared toward lesbians.

21. Body Image • Body Image: • Refers to a consumer’s subjective evaluation of his or her physical self • Body Cathexis: • A person’s feelings about his or her body • Ideal of Beauty: • A particular model, or exemplar, of appearance

22. Ideals of Beauty • Is Beauty Universal? • Men are attracted to an hourglass shape • Women prefer men with a heavy lower face, above-average height, and a prominent brow • The Western Ideal: • Big round eyes, tiny waists, large breasts, blond hair, and blue eyes • Ideals of Beauty over Time: • Periods of history tend to be characterized by a specific “look” • Sexual dimorphic markers: Aspects of the body that distinguish between the sexes

23. Waist-Hip Ratios Figure 5.1

24. Beauty Ideals in the 1950’s • This 1951 bathing beauty exemplified an ideal of American femininity at that time.

25. Working on the Body • Fattism: • Our society is obsessed with weight • Body Image Distortions: • Women’s ideal figure is much thinner than their actual figure • Anorexia: Starving oneself in a quest for thinness • Bulimia: Binge eating followed by purging (vomiting, laxatives, fasting, or over-exercising) • Body dysmorphic disorder: An obsession with perceived flaws in appearance

26. Unrealistic Body Shape Expectations • This ad for an online weight-loss site drives home the idea that the media often communicate unrealistic expectations about body shape.

27. Discussion Question • In this advertisement, it is insinuated that this model’s physique was achieved partially through drinking milk. (Notice that the model is so thin you can see her ribs.) • Is her physique really ideal? What kind of distorted message is this sending to young girls about body image?

28. Distorted Body Image

29. Cultural Emphasis on Thinness • Society’s emphasis on thinness makes many consumers insecure about their body image. This South American ad promises, “You’ll never have to go to the beach in a T-Shirt again.”

30. Working on the Body (cont.) • Cosmetic Surgery: • Consumers are increasing electing to have cosmetic surgery to change a poor body image or enhance appearance. • Men are increasingly having cosmetic surgery too. • Breast Augmentation: • Our culture tends to equate breast size with sex appeal. • Some women have breast augmentation procedures because they feel larger breasts will increase their allure.

31. Body Decoration and Mutilation • Purpose of Decorating the Self: • To separate group members from nonmembers • To place the individual in the social organization • To place the person in a gender category • To enhance sex-role identification • To indicate desired social conduct • To indicate high status or rank • To provide a sense of security • Tattoos • Body Piercing

32. Body Piercing • Body piercing has practically become a mainstream fashion statement.

33. Tattooing • Tattooing is becoming mainstream. This Spanish ad for Nike tennis products says, “Rest in heaven, not on the court.”