Egocentric Improvement Evaluations: Change in the Self as an Anchor for Brand Improvement Judgments

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prior research has identified product improvement perceptions as critical to consumers' product upgrade decisions (e.g., upgrading to a new iPhone), but little work has examined factors influencing these improvement perceptions. This research shows that drawing consumers' attention to their global self-improvement can increase product improvement judgments and upgrade intentions when self-brand connection is high, a phenomenon the authors refer to as egocentric improvement evaluations. Consistent with egocentric categorization theory, which identifies the self as a dominant reference category in product judgment, the authors demonstrate cognitive drivers of the effect. Specifically, egocentric improvement evaluations are moderated by self-focus, which determines whether the self is an accessible reference category. Furthermore, the authors propose that egocentric improvement evaluations also have a motivational driver: Consumers project their self-improvement onto self-connected brands to satisfy...