The Effect of Social Comparison of Appearance on Compensatory Buying and Symbolic Consumption: The Mediating Role of Body Esteem
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Interest in the body from a psychological perspective has increaseddramatically in recent years. One of the central termsin this field, body image, was conceived to represent the“picture of our body which we form in our mind, that is, theway in which the body appears to ourselves” For many people,the body is the most obvious object with which theyidentify themselves. As the body becomes more significant asa means of recognizing and expressing the self, people focuson the body and try to improve it. This emphasis on outwardappearance has been popularized because of the developmentof mass media. Presumably, the more pervasive is media image,the more people feel that they must meet these unattainablestandards and the less positive about their bodies. Asthe interest in body image has been growing rapidly, many researchershave found that it is influenced by mass media. Togive implication to marketing researchers and practitioners, webrought a conception of body image, which was mainly examinedby medical and psychological researchers, to the marketingfield by investigating its influence on purchasing behavior. This study examines how social comparisons of appearanceinfluence compensatory buying and symbolic consumptionthrough the mediating role of body esteem. Social comparisontheory has been suggested as a useful theoretical foundationfor associating the individual’s physical self with a social idealof physical appearance influenced by mass media. Festingersuggested that humans have a drive to assess their own opinionsand abilities, and meet it by comparing themselves withothers. Major, Testa, & Bylsma (1991) found that responses tothe self include changes in self-related emotions, perceptionsand behavior, and may involve emotions, changing self-esteem,expectations for self-capacity and efforts to better oneself. Thus, we build hypothesis 1: consumer’s social comparisons ofappearance negatively affect their body esteem based on theseextant findings. Body esteem is consumers’ attitudes and feelings about theirbodies and appearance. It is composed of three correlated factors—physical condition, general attractiveness, and physique appearance. Body esteem is distinct from self esteem. Self esteemcan be concerned with performance, social relations, andappearance (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). Conceptually, bodyesteem is most strongly related to appearance esteem. Compensatory buying is a means of compensation for stress,disappointment, despair, loss of autonomy, lack of self-esteem,and so on (Scherhorn, Reisch, & Raab, 1990). One is that lowbody esteem leads to higher consumer’s compensatory buying. Grenmo (1989) suggested that compensatory buying comesfrom attempts to meet unsatisfied needs, including lack ofself-esteem or self-realization, by the way of purchasing, particularlywhere there is a lack of more appropriate ways tomeet the needs. Thus, we build hypothesis 2: consumer’s bodyesteem negatively affects compensatory buying. In contemporary society, consumption activities are not simpleactivities of buying goods, but a signaling and communicationprocess based on certain codes in buying goods, as wellas a process of classification and social differentiation betweenoneself and others (Baudrillard, 1991). According to symbolicself-perfection theory, people with low self-esteem choose tobuy products as a symbolic means to “complete” themselves(Wicklund & Gollwitzer, 1981). Individuals with low body esteemshould see symbolic products as a means of bolsteringappearance and building self-esteem. We build hypothesis 3:consumer’s body esteem negatively affects symbolic consumptionbased on existing finding. Our empirical results support all the hypotheses and offertheoretical and managerial implications for consumer purchaseintent. First, the research provides a useful framework in thedevelopment of empirical marketing strategies. The currentstudy can help companies to understand how societal idealsabout the body affect a consumer’s need and desires as theyrelate to expectations about beauty. Second, consumer’s bodyesteem has a negative influence on compensatory buying andsymbolic consumption. This suggests that a person with lowbody esteem tends to indulge in compensatory shopping tomeet their unsatisfied needs and choose luxury brands as ameans of bolstering appearance and improving self-esteem. Third, previous researches address that consumers with lowbody esteem are likely to exhibit low involvement withbody-involving products because they do not see body-involvingproducts as affirming their self-concept (Rosa, Garbarino,& Malter, 2006).
Abstract
Interest in the body from a psychological perspective has increaseddramatically in recent years. One of the central termsin this field, body image, was conceived to represent the“picture of our body which we form in our mind, that is, theway in which the body appears to ourselves” For many people,the body is the most obvious object with which theyidentify themselves. As the body becomes more significant asa means of recognizing and expressing the self, people focuson the body and try to improve it. This emphasis on outwardappearance has been popularized because of the developmentof mass media. Presumably, the more pervasive is media image,the more people feel that they must meet these unattainablestandards and the less positive about their bodies. Asthe interest in body image has been growing rapidly, many researchershave found that it is influenced by mass media. Togive implication to marketing researchers and practitioners, webrought a conception of body image, which was mainly examinedby medical and psychological researchers, to the marketingfield by investigating its influence on purchasing behavior. This study examines how social comparisons of appearanceinfluence compensatory buying and symbolic consumptionthrough the mediating role of body esteem. Social comparisontheory has been suggested as a useful theoretical foundationfor associating the individual’s physical self with a social idealof physical appearance influenced by mass media. Festingersuggested that humans have a drive to assess their own opinionsand abilities, and meet it by comparing themselves withothers. Major, Testa, & Bylsma (1991) found that responses tothe self include changes in self-related emotions, perceptionsand behavior, and may involve emotions, changing self-esteem,expectations for self-capacity and efforts to better oneself. Thus, we build hypothesis 1: consumer’s social comparisons ofappearance negatively affect their body esteem based on theseextant findings. Body esteem is consumers’ attitudes and feelings about theirbodies and appearance. It is composed of three correlated factors—physical condition, general attractiveness, and physique appearance. Body esteem is distinct from self esteem. Self esteemcan be concerned with performance, social relations, andappearance (Heatherton & Polivy, 1991). Conceptually, bodyesteem is most strongly related to appearance esteem. Compensatory buying is a means of compensation for stress,disappointment, despair, loss of autonomy, lack of self-esteem,and so on (Scherhorn, Reisch, & Raab, 1990). One is that lowbody esteem leads to higher consumer’s compensatory buying. Grenmo (1989) suggested that compensatory buying comesfrom attempts to meet unsatisfied needs, including lack ofself-esteem or self-realization, by the way of purchasing, particularlywhere there is a lack of more appropriate ways tomeet the needs. Thus, we build hypothesis 2: consumer’s bodyesteem negatively affects compensatory buying. In contemporary society, consumption activities are not simpleactivities of buying goods, but a signaling and communicationprocess based on certain codes in buying goods, as wellas a process of classification and social differentiation betweenoneself and others (Baudrillard, 1991). According to symbolicself-perfection theory, people with low self-esteem choose tobuy products as a symbolic means to “complete” themselves(Wicklund & Gollwitzer, 1981). Individuals with low body esteemshould see symbolic products as a means of bolsteringappearance and building self-esteem. We build hypothesis 3:consumer’s body esteem negatively affects symbolic consumptionbased on existing finding. Our empirical results support all the hypotheses and offertheoretical and managerial implications for consumer purchaseintent. First, the research provides a useful framework in thedevelopment of empirical marketing strategies. The currentstudy can help companies to understand how societal idealsabout the body affect a consumer’s need and desires as theyrelate to expectations about beauty. Second, consumer’s bodyesteem has a negative influence on compensatory buying andsymbolic consumption. This suggests that a person with lowbody esteem tends to indulge in compensatory shopping tomeet their unsatisfied needs and choose luxury brands as ameans of bolstering appearance and improving self-esteem. Third, previous researches address that consumers with lowbody esteem are likely to exhibit low involvement withbody-involving products because they do not see body-involvingproducts as affirming their self-concept (Rosa, Garbarino,& Malter, 2006).
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