Self identity Flashcards
What is self-identity?
- The idea one has about oneself
- Their characteristics, body, values one considers important etc.
What are the types of identity?
- Social identity = a person’s social roles and relationships
- Personal identity = one’s private conception of the self and feelings of continuity and
uniqueness - Source: Cheek and Briggs (1982)
- National identity
What are the types of identities in the social context?
- Ethnic identities
- Sexual identities
- Gender identities
- Class identities
- Identities of (dis)ability
- Age identities
What is the self-concept theory?
- Individuals have a concept of themselves based on the
actual self (who they think they are) and the ideal self (who they think they’d like
to be).
What are the 2 principles of self-concept theory?
P1: Desire to attain self-consistency → acting in accordance with actual self
P2: Desire to enhance self-esteem
What is the actual self?
- There is no one/single ‘actual self’.
- Multiple roles that we play = the actual self.
What is the ideal self?
Satisfaction and dissatisfaction with oneself (self-esteem) influences consumption choices.
- For men: gym membership; cars; deodorants
- For women: make up; slimming products; designer handbags
- Low self-esteem leads the consumer to satisfy Principle 2 rather than Principle 1 (i.e. self-consistency).
In the consumption context, what are examples of the self?
- “What I am defines what I buy” [actual self] e.g. vegetarian.
- “What I buy defines what I am” [linked to ideal self] e.g. sophisticated,
middle-class (Mercedes).
What is the self and symbolic consumption?
Consumption of products:
- Satisfy needs.
- Carry out our “self-creation project” in a saturated world (Wattanasuwan, 2005).
- All voluntary consumption carries, (un)consciously symbolic meanings.
- Material objects = system of meaning which we use to express ourselves and communicate with others (Dittmar, 1992).
What are examples of the extended self?
- Collections
- Money
- Pets
- Other people
- Body parts (Belk, 1988)
What is the extended self?
- Extended self ≠ actual self [marketing perspective].
- We consider some products as being part of us.
- “I felt a similar rip at my heart…I had allowed the car to become an extension of my- own self…, so that an attack on it- was an attack on myself. It was a- moment terribly fertile in reactions” (Belk, 1988).
What is the extended self in a digital world?
Belk (2013):
1) Digital virtual consumption (e.g. outfits, equipment of online games; NFTs; Cryptocurrencies).
2) Avatars – extension of the self; one’s children; one’s body.
3) Sharing and building identity – social media (e.g. Facebook) .
What is identity in different cultures?
Individualist consumer:
- Identity defined based on individual characteristics
Collectivist consumer:
- Defined by relationships, group identity.
What is self-identity theory and marketing?
Companies and marketing practitioners can :
1) Use the actual self – ideal self gap
2) Create distorted images of the ideal self which can be achieved only through purchase of certain products
Negative outcomes:
- Low self-esteem
- Compulsive buying behaviour
