MATERIAL SELF AND ECONOMIC SELF be inclined to acquire more material

possessions. To widen one's sense

Material Self of self, individuals tend to accrue
 One of the components of self material possessions (Satre1943)
 Our body is the innermost part of the  A series of investigations on the mere
material self in each of us (William James, ownership effect provides further
1890) evidence that possessions become
 A man’s self is the total that he can call his; part of the extended self (Beggan,
which is not only his body and his psychic 1992).
powers but also his: clothes, house, wife,
children, friends, ancestors, reputation and TWO TYPES OF INVESTMENT
work, lands and bank accounts which people might shop to gain happiness and
 refers to tangible objects, people, or places satisfaction (Gilovich,2003)
that carry the designation my or mine
1. Material Purchases
TWO SUBCLASSES OF MATERIAL SELF  are those made with the primary
1. Bodily Self intention of acquiring tangible
 These are entities that are clearly possessions that can be physically
described as an intimate part of who retained in one's possession.
we are. It is concerned with 2. Experiential Purchases
awareness of one’s bodily states.  are those made with the primary
Example: arms and legs intention of acquiring life experiences
A person may express, “my arms feel such as an event or series of events
heavy” or “my skin feels warm.” that one encounters and lives
 However, our sense of self is not only through.
limited to our bodies.
2. Extracorporeal Self (Beyond The Body) –  Material possessions might fulfill personally
Extended Self relevant goals and increase happiness for
 Extended self includes: other people, the highly materialistic consumer. On the
pets, possessions, places, products other hand, experiential purchases might
of our labors make materialistic people happier for they
 it is not the PHYSICAL ENTITIES can also benefit having successful social
rather it is our PSYCHOLOGICAL relationship (Gilovich, 2004).
OWNERSHIP  O'Guinn and Faber (1989) found that some
Example: aspects of materialism were related to
A girl has a favorite dress that she compulsive buying disorder.
wears. The dress itself is not part of
the self, instead it is the sense of Role of Consumer Culture on Self
appropriation present in the phrase
“my favorite dress”. This is what  Culture is a crucial factor in determining
extended self means. It includes all consumer behavior; it is a shared belief
people, places, and things that we among a group of people in a place and time.
regard as ours. Consumers are conditioned to develop self-
 Individuals who were asked to concepts that are appropriate to their age,
describe themselves tend to mention gender, and social groupings.
their possessions and assets.
(Gordon, 1968) Categories of Consumer Behavior's Self-
 Possessions' Symbolic Function Concept (Sirgy, 1982)
is that they help define themselves.
The way we dress and carry 1. Self-image
ourselves, the cars we drive, and how  how they see themselves
we embellish our abodes signal to 2. Ideal Self-image
others and ourselves who we think  how they would like to see
we are and how we want to be themselves
regarded. When one's identity is 3. Social Self-image
densely threatened, an individual will  how they feel others see them
 4. Ideal Social Self-image 1. You go to work because you want to get
 how they would like others to see paid, so that you can buy the things you
them want.
2. You go to school to get a respectable job
 This implies that individuals are highly someday and earn more money to buy
dependent on consumption to communicate the things you want.
themselves. As consumers, they buy  In fact, most of the economic activities we
products and brands that they believe see around us are results of self-interested
possesses symbolic images that are similar behavior.
and complimentary to their self-image to  What do you need?
achieve image congruence (Scott, 1988).  What do you want?
 Levy (1959) concluded that people don't just
buy things for their benefits, they also buy it Needs
for what it means to them.  refers to an individual’s basic requirement
 For the material self, objects helped make that must be fulfilled in order to survive
the person but they also showed what that  Nature: Limited
person was made of. It means the use and  What is it? Something you must have
display of wealth remains powerful and  Represents: Necessity
controversial, and nowhere more so than for  Survival: Essential
the super rich.  Change: May remain constant over time
 Non-Fulfillment: May result in onset of
 Luxury has evolved throughout disease or even death
history because of change in the
value systems and cultural contexts. Wants
 Luxury can be a sign of distinction.  described as goods and services that an
 It can be a commodity. individual would want to have as a part of his
caprices
“I shop therefore I am”  Nature: Unlimited
 What is it? Something you wish to have
 Initiated by Barbara Kruger, an American  Represents: Desire
artist whose pop art often deals with  Survival: Inessential
consumerism and feminism.  Change: May change over time
 Barbara’s statement stemmed from  Non-Fulfillment: May result in
Descartes’ philosophy of “I think therefore I disappointment
am”.
 The primary way of that people relate to each “By shopping, people validate their own sense of
other is as consumers. who they wish they were”
 For instance, people show their love by
spending money on each other Advantages of Shopping
 Commerce, while not being everything, is
strongly present in most, if not all, important 1. Long life for sale
aspects of life, and thus shape those aspects 2. Relaxation and escape
in its image 3. Social connection
4. The pleasure boost of creativity and
aesthetics

Economic Self Disadvantages of Shopping

 consists of one’s economic activity that
1. May lead to compulsive buying
results from individual self interest
2. People lifestyles may change from simplicity
1. Why do you go to work?
to lavishness full of material comforts
2. Why do you go to school?
3. May serve as a distraction to avoid other
important issues.
 Being self-interested simply means that you
seek your own personal gain.
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The Role of Consumer Culture in One’s Identity

 Previous studies have emphasized the

significance of self-concept and consumer
preference, as purchases made by
consumers were directly influenced by the
image individuals had of themselves.

Self-image Congruity
 the process of consumers purchasing
products/brands that they perceived as
possessing symbolic images similar to the
image they hold of themselves

 The greater the congruity between human

characteristics that exhibit consumers’
senses of self and the characteristics that
depicted a brand, the greater the consumers’
preferences were for the brand (Sung, Choi
& Tinkman, 2012).
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