01 Lea & Webley (2006)

Money as a Tool Money as a Drug

Conspicuous consumption

Visible wealth display to gain status and recognition

Historical development

Same status motive but changing participants and displays

Traditional societies

Elite status based on birth and social position

Achieving societies

Newly wealthy and middle class compete for status

Affluent societies

Mass consumption bandwagon effects and growing importance of taste and exclusivity

Post-affluent societies

Strong middle-class materialism followed by social responsibility and postmaterialism

Veblen effect

Expensive wasteful consumption to gain status

Invidious distinction

Using superior wealth to distinguish oneself

Wastefulness and status

Shows ability to waste resources

Bandwagon effect

Consuming what others consume for acceptance and self-esteem

Snob effect

Avoiding common products to maintain exclusivity

Galbraith on status

Status increasingly shown through taste and sophistication

Commodity fetishism (Marx)

Seeing status as a quality of products rather than socially created meaning

Belk on possessions

Possessions form part of the extended self and express identity

Solomon on products

Products symbolize and communicate social roles

Compensatory consumption (Belk)

Consumption compensates for dissatisfaction in other life areas

Postmaterialism (Inglehart)

Shift from material wealth toward quality of life and social and environmental concerns

Social class identification

Consumption signals social class membership

Social class mobility

Consumption signals desired or achieved social position

Aspirant/reference groups

Consumption reflects groups people belong to or want to join

Inner-directed lifestyle

Shaped mainly by family and friends

Other-directed lifestyle

Shaped by media public figures and society