Personality, Self, Identity, and Fashion Consumer Behavior

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering self-concept, social identity theories, personality traits, fashion diffusion, and luxury consumer behavior based on lecture notes and diagrams.

Self-Concept

The beliefs a person holds about their own attributes and how they evaluate themselves on these qualities; it strongly influences consumer behavior because purchasing tends to support one's self-concept.

Private Self

A perception of oneself purely based on one's own feelings and self-worth, encompassing the actual self and the ideal self.

Actual Self

A dimension of the private self representing how an individual in fact sees himself or herself.

Ideal Self

A dimension of the private self representing how an individual would like to see himself or herself.

Public Self

A perception of oneself based on who or what others perceive one to be, encompassing the social self and ideal social self.

Social Self

A dimension of the public self referring to how an individual feels others see him or herself.

Ideal Social Self

A dimension of the public self referring to how an individual would like others to see him or herself.

Social Comparison Theory

A theory developed by Festinger stating that individuals evaluate their own abilities, attitudes, and worth by comparing themselves to others along two dimensions: superiority/inferiority and similarity/difference.

The Looking-Glass Self

A sociological concept formulated by Charles Horton Cooley stating that individuals form identities and curate their appearance based on a three-stage process: imagining appearance to others, imagining others' judgment, and developing self-feelings based on that perceived judgment.

Extended Self (William James)

The view that a person's identity comprises their mind, body, physical possessions, family, friends, and affiliation groups with no differentiation between 'me' and 'mine,' causing loss or damage to possessions to feel like an injury to the self.

Extended Self (Belk)

The perspective that possessions serve a symbolic role in forming individuals' identities, enabling consumers to express and communicate their personal values, beliefs, experiences, and self.

Levels of Extended Self

The four distinct levels of consumer identity attachment: Individual (personal possessions), Family (residence and furnishings), Community (neighborhood or town), and Group (social or other group memberships).

Digital Self

The digital identity constructed and expressed via digital tools and online environments, characterized by dematerialization (less attachment to digital possessions), re-embodiment in avatars, and co-construction of self via likes, tags, and comments.

Self-Congruity Theory

A theory proposing that individuals prefer and build strong bonds with brands that match their personal value priorities because consumers perceive brands as embodying human values.

Ideal-Self Congruence

The alignment a consumer seeks between their ideal self and the brand image; within fashion, it serves as a stronger predictor of status consumption than actual-self congruence.

Actual-Self Congruence

The alignment a consumer pursues between their actual self and the brand image.

Self-Alteration

Consumers' pursuit of changing or improving themselves by utilizing self-altering products (e.g., cosmetics, sunglasses, jewelry, tattoos, hair dye, or colored contacts) to express new identities or assume professional roles.

Personality Traits

Inner psychological characteristics that distinguish one individual from another; they are consistent and enduring (though capable of changing) and guide broad product category purchases rather than specific brand choices.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Preference Dimensions

The four psychological preference axes used to sort individuals into $16$ distinct types: Energy (Extraversion vs. Introversion), Information (Sensing vs. iNtuition), Decision (Thinking vs. Feeling), and Life Style (Judging vs. Perceiving).

Materialism

A personality trait measuring the extent to which an individual is preoccupied with purchasing and showing off physical possessions that are mostly nonessential and often conspicuous luxury goods.

Need for Uniqueness

An individual's pursuit of differentness relative to others, achieved through the acquisition of consumer goods in order to enhance personal and social identity.

Innovativeness

A consumer personality trait defined as one's willingness to adopt new products and services shortly after they are introduced.

Variety Seeking

A personality trait reflecting one's preference for changing, new, or diverse experiences, products, or stimuli to avoid boredom.

Sensation Seeking

A personality trait describing one's need for varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations, accompanied by the willingness to take risks for the sake of such experiences.

Trickle Down Theory

A fashion diffusion theory where styles move downward from the upper/elite class to lower classes through the dual dynamics of differentiation and imitation (individuality and conformity).

Trickle Across Theory

A fashion diffusion theory where trends spread horizontally across classes simultaneously, driven by mass media, fast fashion, and innovators or opinion leaders within sub-groups.

Trickle Up Theory

A fashion diffusion theory where styles originate in subcultures and lower socioeconomic classes, spreading upward to the elite class through differentiation from the mainstream.

Brand Personality

The collection of emotional, intellectual, and behavioral patterns unique to a brand and consistent over time; categorized into five core dimensions: Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness.

Self-Esteem

A person's positive or negative opinions of themselves and their estimate of self-worth; consumers with high self-esteem spend more money on themselves, whereas those with low self-esteem spend more on others.

Social Influence Theory

A social psychology framework examining how individuals alter their attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors due to real or imagined pressure from others.

Normative Influence

The process of learning and adopting a group's norms, values, and behaviors to be liked, gain approval, and avoid rejection; most potent from groups to which people naturally belong (e.g., family, peers).

Informational Influence

Adapting one's opinions and behaviors based on credible information received from people perceived to be experts or knowledgeable about the subject.

Conformity

A long-lasting change in beliefs, opinions, and behaviors to make them consistent with those of the people around us, following a progression from social comparison to social influence.

Social Identity

A person's sense of self derived from perceived membership in social groups, fostering ingroup favoritism and differentiating 'us' (ingroups) from 'them' (outgroups).

Consumer Socialization

The process by which reference groups, most importantly families, instill children with the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and experiences necessary to function as consumers in the marketplace.

Aspirational (Symbolic) Reference Group

A reference group that an individual does not belong to or know personally, but admires and wishes to emulate (often targeted by advertisers using celebrity spokespeople).

Avoidance Reference Group

A group from which an individual actively distances themselves by deliberately rejecting its values, attitudes, or consumption behaviors.

Membership Reference Group

A group to which a consumer directly belongs and knows personally, such as family, neighbors, colleagues, and friends (often targeted by advertisers using 'ordinary people').

Social Proof

A psychological phenomenon where individuals look to the behaviors of others (such as fellow shoppers, crowded stores, or long lines) to guide and validate their own decisions.

Opinion Leaders

Influential consumers who are knowledgeable in a specific product category, self-confident, sociable, and read special-interest media, making their recommendations highly credible.

Social Capital

The value of social connections and relationships that help individuals and brands gain influence, credibility, and opportunities in the fashion industry.

Symbolic Consumption

The purchase and use of goods and services for their social meaning, status signaling, and self-identity expression rather than their functional utility.

Global Luxury Market Projections (2025)

Market data projecting the global luxury goods market to reach \text{US}\\$495.16\text{ billion} in $2025$ with a $3.94\%$ annual growth rate, $13.4\%$ online sales, led by Luxury Watches & Jewellery (\text{US}\\$166.44\text{ billion}) and dominated by China (\text{US}\\$110\text{ billion}) and the US (\text{US}\\$101\text{ billion}).

Accessible Luxury (Masstige)

Products perceived as prestigious and luxurious but offered at a lower price point targeted toward the upper middle class, also known as the 'mass affluent.'

Quiet Luxury

Luxury products designed without overt displays of brand logos or names, placing greater focus on customer needs, high quality, craftsmanship, and sustainability rather than outward image.

Veblen Effect

An economic anomaly in luxury consumption where demand for a good increases as its price increases, serving as a display of wealth and status.

Bandwagon Effect

A consumer tendency to adopt a style or trend simply because the majority is following it, prevalent in collectivistic cultures and driven by a need for conformity and social value.

Snob Effect

A consumer tendency where individuals are discouraged from purchasing or following a trend once the general majority adopts it, prevalent in individualistic cultures and driven by a need for uniqueness.

Lipstick Effect

An economic trend where the sales of small, less costly luxury items increase during economic downturns because consumers forgo expensive big-ticket luxury items for affordable indulgences.

Luxury Prestige-Price and Self-Consciousness Matrix

A framework mapping luxury consumer profiles across public vs. private self-consciousness and lower vs. higher importance of price as a prestige indicator: Bandwagon (public/lower price-prestige), Veblenian (public/higher price-prestige), Hedonist & Perfectionist (private/lower price-prestige), and Snob (private/higher price-prestige).

Luxury Motivations and Behaviors Model

A four-stage framework classifying luxury consumption: Social influences produce Conspicuous (Ostentation/Veblen), Unique (Uniqueness/Snob), and Social values (Conformity/Bandwagon); Personal influences produce Emotional (Self-actualization/Hedonism) and Quality values (Reassurance/Perfectionism).

The Product Adoption Curve

A bell-shaped diffusion model dividing adopters into consecutive phases: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards.

Fashion Innovators

The first individuals to create and wear entirely new styles; visionary individuals driven by novelty and artistic innovation.

Fashion Leaders

Influential figures or celebrities who adopt emerging styles introduced by innovators and expose them to a wider audience, functioning as key trendsetters.

Early Adopters (Fashion)

The initial group of mainstream consumers and influencers who adopt new styles as soon as they become commercially available, elevating trend popularity for the broader public.

Dupe vs. Knockoff

A dupe (short for duplicate) is an imitation of an expensive brand product sold at a lower price through mainstream retailers, whereas a knockoff is typically a mass-produced imitation.