Buyer Behaviour The Self Concept With Duane Weaver

Outline  Self Concept Perspectives  Consumption & Self-Concept  Gender Roles  Body Image

Self-Concept The beliefs that a person holds about his or her attributes…

Self Concept Perspectives  Self Esteem  Positivity of attitude towards self  Real and Ideal Selves  Actual self = realistic appraisal of qualities we do and don’t have (internal view)  Ideal self = how we would like to be (desired view)  Perceived self = how others see us (external view)  Fantasy Self  = that gap between what we are and what we want to be, daydreaming or living out the fantasy  Multiple Selves  Self has “role identities”, vary from role to role

Consumption & Self-Concept  Products Self  “You are what you consume”  Symbolic self-completion theory – Buy what is missing to complete self.  Self/Product Congruence  Self-image congruence models – Products selected because attributes match some aspect of self- image.  Extended Self  Cherishing possessions as if a part of the self. Help to define one’s self based on one’s possessions.

Gender Roles  Gender Diff’s in Socialization  Agentic goals…males? Versus Communal goals…females?  Gender versus Sexual Identity  How our gender may or may not relate to our sexual self-identity or perceived identities. Behaviours are perceived differently in different cultures (e.g. male colognes)  Sex-typed products  Specifically gearing products towards one sex-type (e.g. “Real men don’t eat Quiche”)  Androgyny  Neither specifically masculine nor feminine focused behaviour.  Female Roles  Views vary depending on generation and norms. Varies from culture to culture, North America, Asia, Middle East.  Male Roles  Evolving from the “tough, aggressive, muscular” (“Queer eye for the straight guy”)  Gay and Lesbian Consumers  % tough to measure, about 6% identified themselves.  Gay: 12 times more likely to be in prof. jobs, twice as likely to vacation at home, eight times more likely to own notebook pc, 94% more likely use products adv’d in gay pubs.  Lesbian: 54% managers, 57% with partners, 22% have children. Harder to reach than gay men as don’t tend to concentrate in urban neighborhoods or bars nor read gay pubs.

BODY IMAGE  Body Cathexis  Ideals of Beauty  Working on the Body  Hair and Self  Fattism  Body Image Distortions  Cosmetic Surgery  Body Decoration & Mutilation

Thanks! Is Reality Self-Perception or is Self-Concept our Reality?