(9 minute read)

This topic discusses one of, if not THE core theme of this entire course / module and introduces the idea that consumption and consumer behaviour does not always happen for its own sake or for the purpose of merely shopping for or acquiring goods and services. There is a deeper purpose and meaning to consumption and it is meant to be about helping us shape the way we see ourselves and present our ‘selves’ to the outside world.

Consumption is an integral part of how we see our inner and outer selves, how we negotiate and shape our identity, and how we express our personality and present our image through our consumption choices.

DISCIPLINARY INSPIRATIONS

Ideas of self, self-concept, and self-image draw from a wide range of disciplinary theoretical perspectives from sociology, social psychology, psychoanalytical theory, dramaturgy, cultural studies, performance arts, philosophy, semiotics, and symbolic interactionism, in order to understand the interplay between our inner and outer selves, and how we present ourselves to the outside world, and struggle to negotiate our own perceptions of our true identity.

MULTIPLE SELVES AND NEGOTIATING THEM

Researchers and writers have argued that the concept of self or identity is not unitary, singular, or stable. It is a complex, multi-dimensional concept with nuances of inner selves that we acknowledge, deny, oblivious of, and social selves that we present, and aspirational selves that we idealise.

Research also suggests that self is a type of performance art, where all of us are consciously moving between curtains and platforms on a stage, between narratives, scripts, dialogue, imagery, visuals, props, costumes, and cues. We are all actors in the dramas of our own lives with defined front stage and back stage activities and target audiences.

MATERIAL OBJECTS AND BRANDS IN SELVES

Consumption is critical in this performance art as it allows people to present a performance of their selves to the outside world, tailoring their performance to various audiences. In this process, they fall back on consumption, possession, and the showcasing of various objects, products, brands, and commodities which act as a sort of language and vocabulary, a set of symbolic cues, that communicate something about the owner to the outside world.  People interact with one another using these symbolic cues as language props. Brands and possessions are considered one of the biggest symbolic cues.

Symbolic interactionism theories and social psychology are very important in understanding the role of brands, material objects, possessions, and other external trappings and how they contribute to our idea of self and the way we shape and present it.

This is also very important in understanding how we assess our own personalities as individuals, and how we understanding and humanise brands and their personalities, and how we monitor whether our inner personalities and social personalities are consistent and congruent with the personalities and images of the brands that we consume.

BRAND PERSONALITIES AND SELF-BRAND IMAGE CONGRUENCE

Disciplinary perspectives from social psychology, sociology, and psychoanalysis provide us with insights into the nature of brand personality, the attribution of a set of human characteristics to brands, objects, and other material possessions, and how it correlates to people’s assessments of their own personalities and images they like to project to the outside world.

By extension people also form deep, meaningful attachments to possessions that define their selves and identities, making them a part of their extended self, and by default use objects as a means of completing themselves.

SELF, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, SELF-ESTEEM, AND SELF-IMAGE

The ideas of selves, multiple selves, and identities, also correlate to ideas of a person’s level of self-awareness and reflective capacity, their self-consciousness in different contexts, their levels of self-confidence and self-esteem in different situations, and things they do to manage these, and the image they present to the outside world.

This idea of self is constantly evolving, changing, and being influenced by a range of internal and external environmental factors including family, peer groups, friends, background, new learning aspects etc.

SELF IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The concept of self is a critical tool in consumer behaviour as it allows marketers to look at consumption as a holistic phenomenon and address why people buy and consume, what meaning they derive from it, and what significance they attach to consumption in life.

The idea of self is rooted in how consumers identify and recognise problems, acknowledge their existence, and search for solutions. Consumers are not always aware of problems and it is up to marketers to frame the problem and present the solution. 

IMPORTANT PAPERS

Russell Belk’s 1988 JCR paper on possessions and the extended self is a landmark paper that discusses the role of possessions in managing self. His developmental paper of 2013 extends this discussion to virtual and digital identities where the idea of a digital self and the face that people present in online worlds has become an important expression of who they are. Other important papers include Elliott’s paper on brands and symbolism, papers on brand-image congruence, Jennifer Aaker’s 1997 landmark paper on brand personalities and types, the Ahuvia paper on extended self, and Schau and Gilly’s paper on digital identities and online self-presentation which provide theoretical insights into the concept of self in physical, social, and virtual worlds.