Public Self-consciousness Research Articles

The impact of public self-consciousness on purchase intentions: Roles of self-disclosure and avatar identification

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between public self-consciousness and purchase intention and the role of self-disclosure and avatar identification in the metaverse. We conducted an online survey with 173 young female Zepeto users in Vietnam to test our hypotheses and gain insights. The results show that all direct effects in this research are supported and that self-disclosure and avatar identification (including similarity identification and wishful identification) partially moderate the relationship between public self-consciousness and purchase intention. This study adds to the literature review of user behaviors in the metaverse environment and provides insights for metaverse marketers to improve marketing strategies.

Behind Videoconferencing Fatigue at Work

AbstractA remarkable peculiarity of videoconferencing (VC) applications – the self-view – a.k.a. digital mirror, is examined as a potential reason behind the voiced exhaustion among users. This work draws on technostress research and objective self-awareness theory and proposes the communication role (sender vs. receiver) as an interaction variable. We report the results of two studies among European employees (n1 = 176, n2 = 253) with a one-year time lag. A higher frequency of self-view in a VC when receiving a message, i.e., listening to others, indirectly increases negative affect (study 1 & 2) and exhaustion (study 2) via the increased state of public self-awareness. Self-viewing in the role of message sender, e.g., as an online presenter, also increases public self-awareness, but its overall effects are less harmful. As for individual differences, users predisposed to public self-consciousness were more concerned with how other VC participants perceived them. Gender effects were insignificant.

Unveiling brand loyalty in emerging markets: Analyzing smartphone user preferences: Robustness of structural equation modeling (SEM) and simultaneous equation modeling (SEMs)

This study aims to examine the determinants of brand loyalty in emerging markets, focusing on smartphone consumers in Bangladesh. The study focuses on identifying the key elements that contribute to brand loyalty and the extent of their impact on customers' commitment to their preferred smartphone manufacturers. A theoretical framework will be employed to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Data for the study was collected from 390 participants through a Google form explicitly designed for this purpose. In this study Simultaneous Regression Analysis has been used to synchronize the findings of the Structural Equation Models (SEM) and also is used to emphasize the robustness of the study. The data analysis used PSS to calculate the mean and standard deviation. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), reliability, and convergent validity were accomplished using Amos. The findings indicate that consumer attitudes, service quality, public self-consciousness, and behavioural brand experience all significantly influence brand loyalty. Furthermore, brand trust plays a crucial and favourable mediating role between consumer perceptions, brand loyalty, and service excellence. The model suggested in this study has a big effect, and Bangladesh policymakers should consider this model when planning new factors affecting brand loyalty. The results of this research can be valuable for Bangladeshi smartphone companies as they gain insights into the factors affecting brand loyalty among consumers. The study discusses the limitations of its generalizability and provides practical implications for businesses and their market offerings.

중국 합창지휘 전공 대학생의 공적 자의식이 공연불안에 미치는 영향

Objectives This study confirmed public self-consciousness, evaluation concern perfectionism, and performance anxiety among Chinese college students majoring in choral conducting, and verified the mediating effect of evaluation concern perfectionism in the relationship between public self-consciousness and performance anxiety. Methods Chinese college students majoring in choral and conducting were selected as research subjects and their public self-consciousness, performance anxiety, evaluation concerns, and perfectionism were measured, and the collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 statistical program. Results Public self-consciousness, evaluation concern, and perfectionism had a significant effect on performance anxiety among Chinese college students majoring in choral conducting, and the mediating effect of evaluation concern, perfectionism in the relationship between public self-consciousness and performance anxiety was confirmed to be statistically significant. Conclusions By confirming the influence of public self-consciousness as a factor affecting the performance anxiety of Chinese choral conducting college students, and by verifying the mediating effect of evaluation concerns and perfectionism in this path, the purpose of lowering the performance anxiety of student conductors and increasing performance satisfaction and quality is It is necessary to prepare support measures.

Who has secrets and who keeps them? Individual differences in disclosure and secrecy

Recent work has made great strides in understanding the situations that prompt people to disclose information or keep secrets. Through four studies (N = 24,684), this article provides new insights into disclosure and secrecy through the lens of individual differences. Studies 1 and 2 find that higher levels of private self-consciousness are associated with greater disclosure, while higher levels of public self-consciousness are associated with greater secrecy. Studies 3 and 4 examined the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction, finding reliably distinct patterns when it comes to keeping secrets and having the kinds of experiences people typically keep secret. Taken together, the studies provide several new insights into individual differences as well as future research directions.

Islamic banking adoption: invoking the congruity paradigm

Purpose This study aims to explore whether customers’ perceived congruity between their self-concept and the brand personality of the Islamic banking system determines their intention to adopt Islamic banking services. Design/methodology/approach The authors use primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 375 Malaysian bank customers. The scales were tested for psychometric soundness before the final data analysis. The authors examined the hypothesized linkages in the AMOS software package through structural equation modeling. Findings Customers’ actual self, ideal self and social self-congruity significantly predict their intention to adopt Islamic banking. However, the impact of actual self-congruity on Islamic banking adoption is stronger for publicly self-conscious customers. In contrast, public self-consciousness dampens the effect of ideal and social self-congruity on Islamic banking adoption. Originality/value Digressing from the conventional utilitarian position, this study offers a novel contribution to the Islamic banking literature by presenting an identity perspective of the determinants of Islamic banking adoption. The primary highlight of this study is the deployment of the congruity theory to emphasize the role of the customer’s self-concept in explaining her intention to adopt Islamic banking services.

Self-consciousness and trait anxiety influence music performance in high-pressure situations

High levels of mental pressure in musicians can lead to decrements in performance, but this effect may depend on individual dispositions. In this study, self-consciousness and trait anxiety were examined as predictors of decrements in performance in natural concert settings. The performance of 30 pianists was assessed in a condition without pressure (i.e., when playing alone) and in a condition with pressure (i.e., in a public concert). Audio recordings of the performances were evaluated on musical expression, technical precision, and overall performance by four independent jurors who were unaware of the condition in which they had been made. The differences between the pressure and no-pressure ratings were regressed on cognitive and somatic anxiety (assessed with an adaptation of the Competition Anxiety Inventory) as well as on public and private self-consciousness (assessed with the Self-Consciousness Scale). Participants performed better in the concert than when playing alone, despite increased state anxiety during the concert. The effect of the pressure condition on performance, however, was attenuated when participants scored high for private self-consciousness (i.e., the tendency to attend to one’s inner thoughts and feelings) but increased when they scored high for public self-consciousness (i.e., the tendency to see oneself from the outside as a social object). An attenuating effect of private self-consciousness emerged particularly for technical precision, whereas an enhancing effect of public self-consciousness emerged particularly for musical expression. The two subcomponents of self-consciousness were positively correlated, exerting a counteracting effect on overall performance ratings. Cognitive trait anxiety reduced performance quality, but only when somatic trait anxiety was not controlled for. The findings suggest a negative effect of inward-directed attention to the self (private self-consciousness) and a protective effect of habituation to outward-directed attention to the self as a social object (public self-consciousness) and may contribute to developing pedagogical activities or interventions to prevent fluctuations in performance.

Consumer responses to CEO activism: an impression management approach

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how and why consumers respond to chief executive officer (CEO) activism on social media. The authors developed a conceptual model that proposes impression management as a mechanism for consumer response to CEO activism.Design/methodology/approachIn Study 1a, the authors examined 83,259 tweets from 90 CEOs and compared consumer responses between controversial and noncontroversial tweets. In Study 1b, the authors replicated the analysis, using a machine-learning topic modeling approach. In Studies 2 and 3, the authors used experimental designs to test the theoretical mechanism.FindingsOn average, consumers tend to respond more to CEO posts dealing with noncontroversial issues. Consumers’ relative reluctance to like and share controversial posts is motivated by fear of rejection. However, CEO fame reverses this effect. Consumers are more likely to engage in controversial activist threads by popular CEOs. This effect holds for consumers high (vs low) in public self-consciousness. CEO fame serves as a “shield” behind which consumers protect their online image.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on Twitter (aka “X”) in the USA. Future research may replicate the study in other social media platforms and countries. The authors introduce “shielding” – liking and sharing content authored by a recognizable source – as a tactic for impression management on social media.Practical implicationsFamous CEOs should speak up about controversial issues on social media because their voice helps consumers engage more in such conversations.Originality/valueThis paper offers a theoretical framework to understand consumer reactions to CEO activism.

The influence of communicating agent on users’ willingness to interact: A moderated mediation model

Empowered by AI, chatbots are increasingly being integrated to interact with users in one-on-one communication. However, academic scrutiny on the impact of chatbots on online interaction is lacking. This study aims to fill the gap by applying self-presentation theory (presenting the desired self-impression to others) to explore how the communicating agent (chatbot vs. human agent) in interactive marketing influences users’ interaction willingness, as well as the moderating roles of users’ public self-consciousness (sense of apprehension over self-presentation concern) and sensitive information disclosure (private information linked to an individual). The results of three experimental studies indicate that chatbots can improve users’ willingness to interact by mitigating the self-presentation concern. Further, users’ public self-consciousness and sensitive information disclosure moderated the impact of chatbots in online interactions. These effects were particularly impactful for users with higher public self-consciousness and in situations with sensitive information disclosure. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for human-chatbot interaction, chatbot strategy, and the application of chatbots in online communication.

Socio-Psychological Factors as the Motivator of Symbolic Consumption and Brand Consciousness

The study aims to investigate the relationships among two socio-psychological and two marketing concepts. The survey method was used for data collection. 274 questionnaires were gained through convenience sampling. To test the model, structural equation modelling was applied. The results indicate that an individual who evaluate themselves highly are more concerned about public opinion regarding them. An individual who cares about him/her presence in society will use products that reflect his/her lifestyle and self. Consumers who make purchases that are congruent with their lifestyle and self are more brand conscious. When the literature is examined, there are either no or few articles investigating the influences of self-esteem and public self-consciousness on brand consciousness and symbolic consumption. Considering this issue, it is thought that this research is beneficial in terms of filling this gap. It is thought that researching this subject in Azerbaijan has an additional contribution.

The Role of Need for Cognition in Well-Being – Review and Meta-Analyses of Associations and Potentially Underlying Mechanisms

Need for Cognition (NFC) describes one’s inclination towards and enjoyment of effortful cognitive activities and has been associated with favourable academic outcomes. Yet, recent evidence also points to beneficial outcomes regarding well-being. This review gives an overview of the literature on the role of NFC in well-being in healthy adults by combining random-effects meta-analyses and a qualitative integration of evidence. Studies investigating NFC and facets of well-being were acquired via database searches and a call for unpublished results. Higher NFC was found to be associated with lower neuroticism, anxiety, negative affect, burnout, public self-consciousness, and depression and with higher positive affect, private self-consciousness, and satisfaction (|ρ| ~ .20 with 95% confidence intervals excluding zero for all examined outcomes). While tests for publication and selection bias in the meta-analyses were negative, heterogeneity was often observed. NFC was further associated with aspects of a more stable identity and higher social confidence, while associations with addictive behaviours and physical health were inconsistent. One mechanism driving these patterns seems to be a higher perceived control in individuals with higher NFC that increases active coping, but also reduces the effectiveness of health interventions by fostering a sense of overconfidence in own resources. Thus, this review provides a leverage point for future research on NFC and well-being to improve prevention and intervention.

Relationship Between Public Self-Consciousness, Private Self-Consciousness and Loneliness: Focusing on Sub-Dimensions of Self-Consciousnesses

Relationship Between Public Self-Consciousness, Private Self-Consciousness and Loneliness: Focusing on Sub-Dimensions of Self-Consciousnesses

Show me the destination or show me the tourist? Effect of image-based user-generated advertisement type on tourists’ destination interest

ABSTRACT This study investigated how image-based user-generated advertising (UGA) affects a tourist’s interest in travel destinations using self-referencing and mental imagery theories. Two studies with four experiments were conducted in this research. Study 1a and Study 1b aimed to explore the interaction effect of image type and public self-consciousness on tourist destination interest through the mediating role of mental imagery using different versions of UGA advertising stimuli. Study 2a and Study 2b further explored the moderating role of destination type on the interaction effect. Results found that a match between image type and public self-consciousness led to increased tourists’ interest in a destination. A three-way interaction was also observed: when the UGA is marketing a hedonic destination, participants with high public self-consciousness are more likely to respond to an image that includes a tourist, and when marketing a utilitarian destination, participants with low public self-consciousness are more inclined to respond favourably to an image only portraying a destination. Mental imagery plays a mediating role in the above mechanisms. The theoretical and managerial ramifications of these findings are presented for destination managers and tourism marketers.

Self-focused brain predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy response in a transdiagnostic sample

BackgroundEffective biomarkers of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) response provide information beyond available behavioral or self-report measures and may optimize treatment selection for patients based on likelihood of benefit. No single biomarker reliably predicts CBT response. In this study, we evaluated patterns of brain connectivity associated with self-focused attention (SFA) as biomarkers of CBT response for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders. We hypothesized that pre-treatment as well as pre-to post-treatment changes in functional connectivity would be associated with improvement during CBT in a transdiagnostic sample. MethodsTwenty-seven patients with primary social anxiety disorder (n = 14) and primary body dysmorphic disorder (n = 13) were scanned before and after 12 sessions of CBT targeting their primary disorder. Eligibility was based on elevated trait SFA scores on the Public Self-Consciousness Scale. Seed-based resting state functional connectivity associated with symptom improvement was computed using a seed in the posterior cingulate cortex of the default mode network. ResultsAt pre-treatment, stronger positive connectivity of the seed with the cerebellum, and stronger negative connectivity with the putamen, were associated with greater clinical improvement. Between pre-to post-treatment, greater anticorrelation between the seed and postcentral gyrus, extending into the inferior parietal lobule and precuneus/superior parietal lobule was associated with clinical improvement, although this did not survive thresholding. ConclusionsPre-treatment functional connectivity with the default mode network was associated with CBT response. Behavioral and self-report measures of SFA did not contribute to predictions, thus highlighting the value of neuroimaging-based measures of SFA. Clinical trials registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02808702 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02808702.

Age metastereotypes at work: The influence of individual differences on age metastereotype consciousness, accessibility, and activation

Much of the recent literature on ageism has focused on age stereotypes, the beliefs workers have about other workers because of their age. Less attention has been devoted to age metastereotypes, the stereotypes people think others are applying to them because of their age group. Following tenets of a model of workplace age metastereotype activation, we evaluated the individual difference variables that relate to age metastereotype consciousness (degree of being self-conscious of age stereotypes), age metastereotype activation (implicit cognitive cues of age metastereotypes), and age metastereotype accessibility (explicit knowledge of age metastereotype content). Study 1 (N = 272) used a cross-sectional design from a sample of working college students to show that public self-consciousness and external locus of control is related to the likelihood that a person worries about being age stereotyped (age metastereotype consciousness). Study 2 (N = 357) used a two-wave survey design from a sample of workers recruited through a crowdsourcing platform to show that older workers are particularly vulnerable to negative age metastereotype activation, the implicit process of age metastereotypes. Public self-consciousness, external locus of control, age prejudice, and age group identification inconsistently promote age metastereotype accessibility, age metastereotype activation, and age metastereotype consciousness. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The dimensional structure of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) and predictors of camouflaging in a representative general population sample

ObjectivesSome autistic people “camouflage” their differences by modeling neurotypical behaviors to survive in a neurotypical-dominant social world. It remains elusive whether camouflaging is unique to autism or if it entails similar experiences across human groups as part of ubiquitous impression management (IM). Here we examined camouflaging engagement and theoretical drivers in the general population, drawing on the transactional IM framework and contextualizing findings within both contemporary autism research and the past IM literature. MethodsA large representative U.S. general population sample (N = 972) completed this survey study. We combined exploratory item factor analysis and graph analysis to triangulate the dimensional structure of the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) and examined its correspondence with prior autism-enriched psychometric findings. We then employed hierarchical regression and elastic-net regression to identify the predictors of camouflaging, including demographic (e.g., age, gender), neurodivergence (i.e., autistic and ADHD traits), socio-motivational, and cognitive factors. ResultsWe found a three-factor/dimensional structure of the CAT-Q in the general population, nearly identical to that found in previous autism-enriched samples. Significant socio-motivational predictors of camouflaging included greater social comparison, greater public self-consciousness, greater internalized social stigma, and greater social anxiety. These camouflaging drivers overlap with findings in recent autistic camouflaging studies and prior IM research. ConclusionsThe novel psychometric and socio-motivational evidence demonstrates camouflaging as a shared social coping experience across the general population, including autistic people. This continuity guides a clearer understanding of camouflaging and has key implications for autism scholars, clinicians, and the broader clinical intersecting with social psychology research. Future research areas are mapped to elucidate how camouflaging/IM manifests and functions within person-environment transactions across social-identity and clinical groups.

Emotional labor mediates the associations between self-consciousness and flow in dancers

Emotional labor has been a focal point in occupational well-being literature, but studies have long overlooked an important group of emotional laborers: performers. This research represents a pioneering effort to examine dancers’ adoption of emotional labor strategies, their antecedent of self-consciousness, and the outcome of flow experience. We explored these elements both in the traditional setting of stage dancing and in the novel context of online dance classes without on-site spectators during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that dancers employed all three common emotional labor strategies: surface acting, deep acting, and expression of naturally felt emotions, with deep acting being the most frequent. In the traditional setting, only the expression of naturally felt emotions mediated the positive effect of private self-consciousness and the negative effect of public self-consciousness on flow experience. In contrast, in the online setting, only private self-consciousness impacted flow through the mediation of deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotions. This exploratory study bridges dramaturgy-originated theories of emotional labor with empirical performing arts research, preliminarily advancing knowledge in the relevant fields of dance education, self-presentation, and flow studies.

Consumer’s Personal and Social Factors on Purchase Intentions of Counterfeit Luxury Products

There are several studies to answer the question of why consumers make purchases of counterfeit luxury goods. However, researchers have not studied the impact of consumer’s personal and social factors on purchasing counterfeit luxury products yet. The current study examines how consumers’ personal (face and public self-consciousness) and social factors (informative and normative suspective) influence their purchase intention towards counterfeit luxury products. Quantitative research methodology was used to measure consumers’ buying behavior of counterfeit luxury products by conducting an online survey of 254 consumers. The collected data were further analyzed by SPSS-28 and SMART-PLS 4 software. The findings indicate that social factors, such as informational susceptibility, strongly influence the purchase intention of counterfeit luxury products. Furthermore, consumer personal factors such as public self and face consciousness significantly influence fake luxury product purchasing intention. This study has implications for firms that import luxury goods and policymakers responsible for creating policies and marketing plans to deter consumers from buying counterfeit luxury goods.

Me, myself and you: How self-consciousness influences time perception

Several investigations have shown that the processing of self-relevant information differs from processing objective information. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of social stimuli on subjective time processing. Here, social stimuli are images of an unknown male and female person and an image of participants’ self. Forty university students were tested with a time reproduction task in which they were asked to reproduce the duration of the stimulus previously presented. Images of others or themselves were used to mark the temporal intervals. Participants also performed questionnaires to evaluate the level of anxiety and depression as well as self-consciousness. A generalised linear mixed-effects model approach was adopted. Results showed that male participants with higher Private Self-Consciousness scores showed higher time perception accuracy than females. Also, female participants reported higher scores for the Public Self-Consciousness subscale than male participants. The findings are discussed in terms of social context models of how attention is solicited and arousal is generated by social stimuli, highlighting the effect of social context on subjective perception of time.

Consumers’ digital self-extension and pro-brand social media engagement – the role of culture

PurposeDigital self-expression, recently one of the most important research themes, is currently under-researched. In this context, this study aims to propose a parsimonious research model of self-extension tendency, its drivers and its outcomes. The model is tested in the context of social media engagement intentions (liking, sharing and commenting) with focal brands and across individualist versus collectivist cultures.Design/methodology/approachThe model is tested in two individualist cultures (N = 230 and 232) and two collectivist cultures (N = 232 and 237) by conducting surveys in four countries (Australia, USA, Qatar and India). Nike and Ray-Ban are the focal brands studied, with Facebook serving as the targeted social networking site (SNS) platform.FindingsSelf-monitoring and self-esteem are found to drive the self-extension tendency across cultures, with stronger effects in the individualist culture than in the collectivist culture. The self-extension tendency has a relatively stronger positive influence on social media engagement intentions in the individualist culture than in the collectivist culture. This tendency is also found to mediate the link between self-monitoring, self-extension and social media engagement intentions across both cultures, albeit in different ways. In collectivist culture, self-monitoring’s influence on the self-extension tendency is moderated by public self-consciousness. The study’s findings have important theoretical and practical implications. In individualist culture, self-monitoring’s influence on the self-extension tendency is moderated by public self-consciousness.Research limitations/implicationsThe present findings confirm that the tendency to incorporate the brand into one’s self-concept and to further extend the self is indeed contingent on one’s cultural background. The role of public self-consciousness may vary between individualist and collectivist cultures, something recommended by past research for empirical testing.Practical implicationsManagers can leverage this research model to entice pro-brand social media engagement by nurturing consumers’ digital selves in terms of maneuvering their self-extension tendency and its drivers, namely, self-monitoring and self-esteem. Second, promoting the self-extension tendency and its drivers varies across cultures, with this finding offering practical cultural nuances supporting marketing managers’ decisions.Originality/valueThis is one of the pioneering studies that tests a cross-cultural parsimonious model based on theories of self-extension, self-monitoring and self-esteem, especially within the context of brand engagement intentions on an SNS platform.