How Do Face Consciousness and Public Self-Consciousness Affect Consumer Decision-Making?

Seung-Hee Lee,Jane Workman

doi:10.3390/joitmc6040144

Abstract

Many individual differences affect consumers in the decision-making process (i.e., what to purchase; when to purchase). Face consciousness and public self-consciousness affect when in the fashion life cycle consumers decide to purchase, as well as what to purchase. Both face consciousness and public self-consciousness are concerned with consciousness (i.e., awareness; mindfulness) and both depend on social comparison processes. But the motivation underlying the social comparisons is different: with face consciousness, social comparisons yield appraisals of prestige and social status; with public self-consciousness, social comparisons yield assessments of situational appropriateness. The purpose of this study was to examine links among face consciousness; public self-consciousness; brand prestige; self-expressive brand (inner; social), and fashion leadership. Participants were 221 university students who completed a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha reliability, and multivariate/univariate analysis of variance (M/ANOVA) were conducted to analyze data. Results showed that face consciousness and public self-consciousness similarly affected ratings of the social self-expressive brand. However, face consciousness (but not public self-consciousness) influenced ratings of brand prestige and inner self-expressive brand. Public self-consciousness (but not face consciousness) influenced fashion leadership. Thus, while face consciousness and public self-consciousness are both concerned with consciousness, they independently influence consumer decision-making in different ways. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Highlights

Researchers have long been interested in factors that influence consumer decision-making.There are many individual differences
Results showed that face consciousness and public self-consciousness affected ratings of the social self-expressive brand
While face consciousness and public self-consciousness are both concerned with consciousness, they independently influence consumer decision-making in different ways

Summary

Introduction

There are many individual differences (e.g., attitudes, personality, values, motivations; [1] that affect consumers in the decision-making process (i.e., what to purchase, when to purchase) Both external motivations (e.g., product variables such as price, quality, brand; [2]) and internal motivations (e.g., face consciousness, public self-consciousness) have been found to influence consumer decision-making (e.g., purchasing luxury brands). Face consciousness and public self-consciousness affect when in the fashion life cycle consumers decide to purchase (e.g., fashion leadership) as well as what to purchase (e.g., prestigious brands, brands that express the inner and/or social self). Both face consciousness and public self-consciousness are concerned with consciousness (i.e., awareness, mindfulness), do they influence consumer decision-making in the same way?. Consumers with high face consciousness have heightened concern for appearance, engage in activities to boost or maintain face [5], value status consumption [6], purchase prestigious

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