The Self

The self-concept refers to the beliefs a person holds about his or her attributes and how he
or she evaluates these qualities. In other words, consumers self-concepts are reflections
of their attitudes toward themselves. Whether these attitudes are positive or negative, they
will help to guide many purchase decisionsproducts can be used to bolster self-esteem
or to reward! the self.
Self-esteem refers to the positivity of a persons self-concept. "ar#eting communications
can influence a consumers level of self-esteem. $elf-esteem is influenced by a process
where the consumer compares his or her actual standing on some attribute to some ideal.
In a way, each of us really has a number of different selves! encased in our personality.
"ar#eters must identify these selves! and direct their efforts toward them.
It has been said that you are what you consume.! The lecture e%plores the meaning of
that phrase and points out lin#s between consumption and the self-concept. In a modern
sense, the self has been e%tended through a variety of props and settings to define a
consumers social role in society and within their own sphere.
& persons se%-role identity is a ma'or component of self-definition or self-concept.
(onceptions about masculinity and femininity, largely shaped by society, guide the
acquisition of se%-typed! products and services. &dvertising and other media play an
important role in sociali)ing consumers to be male and female. &lthough traditional
womens roles have often been perpetuated in advertising depictions, this situation is
changing somewhat. *ender goals and e%pectations are different now than they were
even fifteen years ago. $egmenting by gender and se% role is e%amined in a new light.
&lternative lifestyles have been factored into the gender equation.
& persons conception of his or her body also provides feedbac# to self-image. & culture
communicates certain ideals of beauty, and consumers go to great lengths to attain these.
"any consumer activities involve manipulating the body, whether through dieting,
cosmetic surgery, or tattooing. $ometimes these activities are carried to an e%treme, as
people try too hard to live up to cultural ideals. +ne e%ample is found in eating disorders,
where people become obsessed with thinness.
,ecture +verview
1. Perspectives On The Self
a. "any products, from cars to cologne, are bought because the person is trying to
highlight or hide some aspect of the self.
-. $tudies show that /0 percent of men and 12 percent of women are unhappy
with at least one aspect of their appearance.

3oes the $elf 4%ist5
-
b. The concept of the self is relatively new. It only developed in medieval times. 6rior
to that time 7and in many cultures today., the collective self was emphasi)ed.
-. 4%pression of self is more popular in the Western cultures. 4astern cultures
tend to emphasi)e the importance of collective self 7as measured by his or her group..
0. The self is seen by Western and 4astern cultures as being divided into three8
a. Inner self
b. 6rivate self
c. +uter, public self
9. & (onfucian perspective stresses the importance of face! 7others perceptions
of the self and maintaining ones desired status in their eyes..
a. +ne dimension of face is mien-t)u 7reputation achieved through success and
ostentation..
:. &s opposed to the formality of 4astern cultures, Western cultures often
emphasi)e casualness.

$elf-(oncept
c. The self-concept refers to the beliefs a person holds about his or her attributes and
how he or she evaluates these qualities.
-. (omponents of the self-concept include8
a. (ontentsuch as facial attractiveness versus mental aptitude.
b. 6ositivity or negativitysuch as self-esteem.
c. Intensity, stability over time, and accuracythe degree to which ones self-
assessment corresponds to reality.
0
0. $elf-esteem refers to the positivity of a persons self-concept.
a. Those with low self-esteem do not thin# they will perform well and will try
to avoid embarrassment, failure, or re'ection.
b. Those with high self-esteem e%pect to be successful, will ta#e more ris#s
and are more willing to be the center of attention.
c. $elf-esteem is often related to acceptance by others.
9. "ar#eting communications can influence a consumers level of self-esteem.
a. $ocial comparison is the process where a person tries to evaluate his or her
self by comparing it to the people depicted in artificial images 7such as ads in a
maga)ine. This form of comparison appears to be a basic human motive.
:. $elf-esteem advertising attempts to change product attributes by stimulating
positive feelings about the self.
2. $elf-esteem is influenced by a process where the consumer compares his or her
actual standing on some attribute to some ideal.
a. The ideal self is a persons conception of how he or she would li#e to be.
This self is partly molded by heroes 7or advertising depictions. in ones culture.
b. The actual self refers to our more realistic appraisal of the qualities we have
and dont have.
;. &lthough most people e%perience a discrepancy between their real and ideal
selves, for some consumers this gap is larger than for others.
a. These people are good targets for fantasy appeals.
b. & fantasy or daydream is a self-induced shift in consciousness, which is
sometimes a way of compensating for a lac# of e%ternal stimulation or of escaping from
problems in the real world.
c. "ar#eting strategies focused on fantasies allow us to e%tend our vision of
ourselves by placing us in unfamiliar, e%citing situations or by permitting us to try on!
interesting or provocative roles.
"ultiple $elves
d. In a way, each of us is really a number of different people. We have as many selves
as we do social roles. This causes us to prefer different products and services.
-. The self can be thought of as having different components or role identities.
0. $ome of the identities are more central than others 7e.g., husband, boss, mother,
student..
9. +thers might be dominant in certain situations 7e.g., dancer, coach, teacher..
e. The sociological tradition of symbolic interactionism stresses that relationships
with other people play a large part in forming the self.
-. ,i#e other social ob'ects, the meanings of consumers themselves are defined by
social consensus.
0. We tend to pattern our behaviour on the perceived e%pectations of others in a
form of self-fulfilling prophecy 7by acting the way others e%pect us to act, we often wind
up confirming these perceptions..
9
9. The loo#ing-glass self is the process of imagining the reactions of others toward
us 7also #nown as ta#ing the role of the other!..
$elf-(onsciousness
f. There are times when people seem to be painfully aware of themselves.
-. $ome people are more self-conscious than others.
0. $elf-monitoring is one way to measure self-consciousness. <anity might be one
aspect measured by such a scale.
2. Consumption and Self-Concept
a. (onsumers learn that different roles are accompanied by constellations of products
and activities that help to define their roles.
6roducts That $hape the $elf8 =ou &re What =ou (onsume
b. 6eople use an individuals consumption behaviours to help them ma#e 'udgment
about that persons social identity.
c. & person e%hibits attachment to an ob'ect to the e%tent that it is used by that person
to maintain his or her self-concept. +b'ects act as security blan#ets by reinforcing our
identities, especially in unfamiliar situations.
d. $ymbolic self-completion theory predicts that people who have an incomplete self-
definition tend to complete this identity by acquiring and displaying symbols associated
with it 7e.g., men and their macho! products..
e. The contribution of possessions to self-identity is perhaps most apparent when
these treasured ob'ects are lost or stolen. The victim feels violated.!
$elf>6roduct (ongruence
f. (onsumers demonstrate consistency between their values.
-. $elf-image congruence models predict that products will be chosen when their
attributes match some aspect of the self. These models assume a process of cognitive
matching between product attributes and the consumer self-image.
0. The ideal self seems to be more relevant for highly e%pressive social products
such as e%pensive perfume. The actual self is more relevant for everyday, functional
products.
9. ?esearch tends to support the idea of congruence between product usage and
self-image. This theory does not wor#, however, with all products 7such as toasters..
The 4%tended $elf
g. Those e%ternal ob'ects that we consider a part of us comprise the e%tended
self.
h. @our levels of e%tended self have been described8
-. Individual levelyou are what you wear.
0. @amily levelincludes your house and furniture.
:
9. (ommunity levelincludes your neighbourhood and home town.
:. *roup levelincludes your religion, flag, sports team, etc.
3. Sex Roles
a. $e%ual identity is a very important component of a consumers self-concept. We
tend to conform with cultures e%pectationsA these e%pectations, however change.
*ender 3ifferences in $ociali)ation
b. & societys assumptions about the proper roles of men and women is
communicated in terms of the ideal behaviors that are stressed for each gender.
c. In many societies, males are controlled by agentic goals, which stress self-
assertion and mastery.
d. @emales are taught to value communal goals, such as affiliation and the fostering of
harmonious relations.
e. The field of mar#eting has historically been largely defined by men, so it still tends
to be dominated by male values.
-. (ompetition is stressed rather than cooperation.
0. 6ower and control over others are pervasive themes.

*ender <ersus $e%ual Identity
f. *ender role identity is a state of mind as well as body.
-. & persons biological gender does not totally determine whether he or she will
e%hibit se%-typed traits 7characteristics that are stereotypically associated with one se% or
the other.. $ub'ective feelings about se%uality are also important.
0. "asculinity and femininity are not only biological characteristics.
9. (haracteristics of gender role change from one culture to another.
g. "any products are se% typedA they ta#e on masculine or feminine attributes. This
typing is often perpetuated by mar#eters.
-. "asculinity and femininity are not opposite ends of the same dimension.
7&ndrogyny refers to the possession of both masculine and feminine traits..
0. 3ifferences in se%-role orientation can influence responses to mar#eting stimuli,
at least under some circumstances.
9. $e%-typed! people in general are more concerned with ensuring that their
behaviour is consistent with their cultures definition of gender appropriateness.
Womens $e% ?oles
h. *ender roles for women are changing rapidly. There is a move away from showing
women as homema#ers.
-. The ma'ority of women hold 'obs because they have to rather than as an
e%pression of self-fulfillment.
0. &ds many times reinforce negative stereotypes.
a. Women are sometimes portrayed as stupid, submissive, temperamental, or
as se% ob'ects for men.
2
"ale $e% ?oles
i. The traditional view was that the male was a tough, aggressive, muscular man who
en'oyed manly! sports and activities. $ocietys definition of the male role, however, is
evolving.
-. There is a field of study, masculinism, devoted to the study of the male image
and the cultural meanings of masculinity.
0. "any males are now shown as having a sensitive! side.
9. "ale bonding! is a popular theme 7especially in beer commercials..
:. "ale lifestyles are e%pressing freedom in clothing choices, raising children, and
in overcoming their big, dumb image 7in advertising..

4. od! "ma#e
a. & persons physical appearance is a large part of his or her self-concept.
-. Body image refers to a consumers sub'ective evaluation of his or her physical
self.
0. (onsumers often see themselves differently than they naturally are.
b. & persons feelings about his or her body can be described in terms of body
cathe%is. (athe%is refers to the emotional significance of some ob'ect or idea to a person,
and some parts of the body are more central to self-concept than are others.
-. (onsumers who are more satisfied with their bodies use more preening!
products 7such as conditioners or hair dryers..
Ideals of Beauty
c. & persons satisfaction with the physical image he or she presents to others is
affected by how closely that image corresponds to the image valued by his or her culture.
-. &n ideal of beauty is a particular model, or e%emplar, of appearance.
0. 4%amples of ideals are physical features, clothing styles, cosmetics, hairstyles,
s#in tone, and body type.
9. ?ecent research indicates that preferences for some physical features over
others are wired in! genetically, and that these reactions tend to be the same among
people around the world.
:. "en are more li#ely to use a womans body shape as a se%ual cue.
2. "ar#eters seem to have a lot to do with pac#aging! faces 7such as a fashion
loo#..
;. Cistory shows that women have wor#ed hard to attain beauty. What is beautiful
in one era, however, may not be considered to be so in another era.
d. Beauty is about more than aesthetics. The sociali)ation process of any given
culture establishes certain cues that people use to ma#e inferences about people. &s
Western media proliferates around the globe, the Western ideal of beauty is being
adopted by cultures everywhere.
e. The ideal body type of Western women has changed over time, and these changes
have resulted in a realignment of se%ual dimorphic mar#ersthose aspects of the body
that distinguish between the se%es.

;
Wor#ing on the Body
e. Because many consumers are motivated to match up to some ideal of appearance,
they often go to great lengths to change aspects of their physical selves.
-. &s reflected in the e%pression you can never be too thin or too rich,! @innish
society has an obsession with weight.
0. 4%aggeration of appearance importance can result in disorders of great magnitude.
Women are especially taught that quality of body reflects their self-worth.
a. 4ating disorders are common in women 7such as anore%ia or bulimia..
b. 4ating disorders in men tend to emphasi)e putting on more muscle and
often loosing weight.
9. "any have elected to have cosmetic surgery to change a poor body image.
a. "any women have the surgery done to reduce weight or increase se%ual
desirability.
b. Breast si)e seems to be one of the main focuses. This is also emphasi)ed
either directly or indirectly by mar#eters.

f. Body decoration and mutilation is in the news on a rather regular basis. 3ecorating
ones self is not a new concept. It may, in fact, serve several purposes8
-. To separate group members from non-members.
0. To place the individual in the social organi)ation.
9. To place the person in a gender category.
:. To enhance se%-role identification.
2. To indicate desired social conduct.
;. To indicate high status or ran#.
/. To provide a sense of security.
g. Tattoosboth temporary and permanentare a popular form of body adornment.
-. & tattoo may be viewed as a fairly ris#-free way of e%pressing an adventurous
side of the self.

h. Body piercing 7decorating the body with various #inds of metallic inserts. has
evolved from a practice associated with some fringe groups to become a popular fashion
statement.
4nd.
/