Status Signaling Research Articles

Does masstige offer the prestige of luxury without the social costs? Status and warmth perceptions from masstige and luxury signals

Can masstige consumers have their cake and eat it too? We explore how signaling through masstige (mass prestige) goods, compared with their luxury counterpart, impacts two important sociometric variables of peer popularity: status and warmth. Given recent research that has demonstrated how luxury status signaling confers to the signaler diminished perceptions of warmth, the current research investigates whether signaling through masstige products can allow consumers to enjoy the benefits of status without incurring the social cost of reduced perceived warmth. Five experimental studies lead to the conclusion that this is not the case: Masstige consumers neither gain increased perceptions of warmth nor status. The studies identify impression management as the causal mechanism (Studies 1a and 1b), introduce a way to attenuate this effect (Study 2), and consider how luxury and masstige consumers differentially identify status signals (Studies 3a and 3b).

Distance and Alternative Signals of Status: A Unifying Framework

Abstract In the past decades, as traditional luxury goods and conspicuous consumption have become more mainstream and lost some of their signaling value, new alternative signals of status (e.g., vintage, inconspicuous consumption, sustainable luxury) have progressively emerged. This research applies the grounded theory method to establish a novel framework that systematically unifies existing conceptualizations, findings, and observations on alternative signals of status. The proposed framework organizes alternative signals in terms of their distance from traditional status symbols and categorizes them along six focal dimensions: time (new/old), quantity (many possessions/few possessions), conspicuousness (conspicuous/inconspicuous), aesthetics (beautiful/ugly), culture (highbrow/lowbrow), and pace of life (slow/fast). This parsimonious framework captures various consumption phenomena related to status signaling, unifies existing theories, and generates a fruitful agenda for future research.

Influence of social status, physical activity, and socio-demographics on willingness to pay for a basket of organic foods

Consumers are known to signal social status through their purchasing behaviors. As the food industry continually expands its use of strategic marketing to reach customers, understanding food’s connection to this kind of status signaling may open the door to explore new markets for farmers. This study explored the influence of social status, physical activity, and socio-demographics on an individual’s willingness to pay for a basket of high-quality organic foods. Over 3 days, participants had their physical activity measured by a pedometer, and they were randomly assigned to a social status condition and subsequently placed bids for the organic food basket using a second-price auction to measure their willingness to pay. High-status individuals were publicly recognized in order to test our hypothesis that individuals will not be motivated to pay more for an organic food basket than low-status counterparts when they have already received recognition for their high status. The results showed that on average non-students were willing to pay significantly more for an organic food basket than student counterparts. Hispanic and Asian shoppers were willing to pay more for an organic food basket than White counterparts. However, physical activity had no significant impact on willingness to pay. Ultimately, our hypothesis was confirmed that recognizing high-status individuals eliminated or reduced the need to showcase social status through higher bids for the organic food baskets.

"On the value of modesty: How signals of status undermine cooperation": Correction to Srna et al. (2022).

Reports an error in "On the value of modesty: How signals of status undermine cooperation" by Shalena Srna, Alixandra Barasch and Deborah A. Small (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Advanced Online Publication, Apr 21, 2022, np). In the article, the affiliation information for Alixandra Barasch and Deborah A. Small has been updated and now appears in the author note. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2022-53095-001.) The widespread demand for luxury is best understood by the social advantages of signaling status (i.e., conspicuous consumption; Veblen, 1899). In the present research, we examine the limits of this perspective by studying the implications of status signaling for cooperation. Cooperation is principally about caring for others, which is fundamentally at odds with the self-promotional nature of signaling status. Across behaviorally consequential Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) games and naturalistic scenario studies, we investigate both sides of the relationship between signaling and cooperation: (a) how people respond to others who signal status, as well as (b) the strategic choices people make about whether to signal status. In each case, we find that people recognize the relative advantage of modesty (i.e., the inverse of signaling status) and behave strategically to enable cooperation. That is, people are less likely to cooperate with partners who signal status compared to those who are modest (Studies 1 and 2), and more likely to select a modest person when cooperation is desirable (Study 3). These behaviors are consistent with inferences that status signalers are less prosocial and less prone to cooperate. Importantly, people also refrain from signaling status themselves when it is strategically beneficial to appear cooperative (Studies 4-6). Together, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the conditions under which the reputational costs of conspicuous consumption outweigh its benefits, helping integrate theoretical perspectives on strategic interpersonal dynamics, cooperation, and status signaling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

On the value of modesty: How signals of status undermine cooperation.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 123(4) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2023-02979-002). In the article, the affiliation information for Alixandra Barasch and Deborah A. Small has been updated and now appears in the author note. All versions of this article have been corrected.] The widespread demand for luxury is best understood by the social advantages of signaling status (i.e., conspicuous consumption; Veblen, 1899). In the present research, we examine the limits of this perspective by studying the implications of status signaling for cooperation. Cooperation is principally about caring for others, which is fundamentally at odds with the self-promotional nature of signaling status. Across behaviorally consequential Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) games and naturalistic scenario studies, we investigate both sides of the relationship between signaling and cooperation: (a) how people respond to others who signal status, as well as (b) the strategic choices people make about whether to signal status. In each case, we find that people recognize the relative advantage of modesty (i.e., the inverse of signaling status) and behave strategically to enable cooperation. That is, people are less likely to cooperate with partners who signal status compared to those who are modest (Studies 1 and 2), and more likely to select a modest person when cooperation is desirable (Study 3). These behaviors are consistent with inferences that status signalers are less prosocial and less prone to cooperate. Importantly, people also refrain from signaling status themselves when it is strategically beneficial to appear cooperative (Studies 4-6). Together, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the conditions under which the reputational costs of conspicuous consumption outweigh its benefits, helping integrate theoretical perspectives on strategic interpersonal dynamics, cooperation, and status signaling. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Social Perception of Virtue Signaling

References to “virtue signaling” have increased in recent years, yet academic research has failed to define and examine this behavior as a type of status signaling. Using a prototype analysis, which involves creating a participant-generated library of attributes related to virtue signaling and analyzing their similarity and frequency, we find that virtue signaling elicits social judgments of benevolence and sanctimony from observers. Using an experimental study, we find these social judgements, induced by manipulating a signaler characteristic (i.e., the signaler’s socioeconomic status), to directly affect the efficacy of this status signaling behavior. Specifically, perceptions of signaler benevolence increase, and perceptions of signaler sanctimony decrease, observes’ perceptions of signalers’ status. In addition, using a body of 10,000 tweets tagged with #StopAsianHate, we find posts reflecting greater benevolence to garner more retweets, a measure of social influence. In sum, although status signaling generally requires individuals to elevate themselves compared to those around them, we find virtue signals prioritizing the needs of others to result in social status gains. We discuss implications for the literatures on status signaling, moral character, and self-promotion.

Fighting ability, personality and melanin signalling in free-living Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus).

BackgroundIndividuals’ access to resources is often decided during dyadic contests the outcome of which is determined by the fighting (or competitive) ability of the participants. Individuals’ fighting ability (termed also as resource-holding power or potential, RHP) is usually associated with individual features (e.g., sex, age, body size) and is also frequently signalled through various ornaments like the black throat patch (bib) in many birds. Individual personality is a behavioural attribute often linked to fighting ability as well. Based on earlier studies, however, the relationship between personality and fighting ability is far from being straightforward. While accounting for sex and body size, we studied whether exploratory behaviour, an aspect of personality, predicts fighting ability when competing for food during winter in free-living Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus). We also investigated whether the bib can serve as a potential indicator of individual competitiveness in this species.MethodsWe captured adult tree sparrows, marked them with a unique combination of colour rings, and collected data about the individuals’ sex, body size, bib size and exploratory behaviour. Birds were then released and the agonistic behaviour of the marked individuals was recorded while foraging in groups on bird feeding platforms.ResultsThe probability of winning a fight, a proxy for fighting ability of individuals, was not related to exploratory behaviour, in either of the sexes. However, bib size was positively related to probability of winning in females, but not in males. Body size was not associated with probability of winning neither in males, nor in females.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, at least in tree sparrows, the outcome of dyadic encounters over food during the non-breeding period are not determined by the exploratory personality of individuals. However, our findings provide further support for a status signalling role of the black bib in tree sparrows, and hint for the first time that bib size might function as a status signal in females as well. Finally, our results do not confirm that body size could serve as an indicator of fighting ability (i.e., RHP) in this species.

The Effect of Polyphenols on Kidney Disease: Targeting Mitochondria

Mitochondrial function, including oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), mitochondrial biogenesis, and mitochondria dynamics, are essential for the maintenance of renal health. Through modulation of mitochondrial function, the kidneys are able to sustain or recover acute kidney injury (AKI), chronic kidney disease (CKD), nephrotoxicity, nephropathy, and ischemia perfusion. Therapeutic improvement in mitochondrial function in the kidneys is related to the regulation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, free radicals scavenging, decline in apoptosis, and inflammation. Dietary antioxidants, notably polyphenols present in fruits, vegetables, and plants, have attracted attention as effective dietary and pharmacological interventions. Considerable evidence shows that polyphenols protect against mitochondrial damage in different experimental models of kidney disease. Mechanistically, polyphenols regulate the mitochondrial redox status, apoptosis, and multiple intercellular signaling pathways. Therefore, this review attempts to focus on the role of polyphenols in the prevention or treatment of kidney disease and explore the molecular mechanisms associated with their pharmacological activity.

Nano-Hybrid Au@LCCs Systems Displaying Anti-Inflammatory Activity.

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have received great attention owing to their biocompatible nature, environmental, and widespread biomedical applications. Au NPs are known as capable to regulate inflammatory responses in several tissues and organs; interestingly, lower toxicity in conjunction with anti-inflammatory effects was reported to occur with Au NPs treatment. Several variables drive this benefit-risk balance, including Au NPs physicochemical properties such as their morphology, surface chemistry, and charge. In our research we prepared hybrid Au@LCC nanocolloids by the Pulsed Laser Ablation, which emerged as a suitable chemically clean technique to produce ligand-free or functionalized nanomaterials, with tight control on their properties (product purity, crystal structure selectivity, particle size distribution). Here, for the first time to our knowledge, we have investigated the bioproperties of Au@LCCs. When tested in vitro on intestinal epithelial cells exposed to TNF-, Au@LCCs sample at the ratio of 2.6:1 showed a significantly reduced TNF gene expression and induced antioxidant heme oxygenase-1 gene expression better than the 1:1 dispersion. Although deeper investigations are needed, these findings indicate that the functionalization with LCCs allows a better interaction of Au NPs with targets involved in the cell redox status and inflammatory signaling.

Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II and protein kinase G oxidation contributes to impaired sarcomeric proteins in hypertrophy model

AimsVolume overload (VO) induced hypertrophy is one of the hallmarks to the development of heart diseases. Understanding the compensatory mechanisms involved in this process might help preventing the disease progression.Methods and resultsTherefore, the present study used 2 months old Wistar rats, which underwent an aortocaval fistula to develop VO‐induced hypertrophy. The animals were subdivided into four different groups, two sham operated animals served as age‐matched controls and two groups with aortocaval fistula. Echocardiography was performed prior termination after 4‐ and 8‐month. Functional and molecular changes of several sarcomeric proteins and their signalling pathways involved in the regulation and modulation of cardiomyocyte function were investigated.ResultsThe model was characterized with preserved ejection fraction in all groups and with elevated heart/body weight ratio, left/right ventricular and atrial weight at 4‐ and 8‐month, which indicates VO‐induced hypertrophy. In addition, 8‐months groups showed increased left ventricular internal diameter during diastole, RV internal diameter, stroke volume and velocity‐time index compared with their age‐matched controls. These changes were accompanied by increased Ca2+ sensitivity and titin‐based cardiomyocyte stiffness in 8‐month VO rats compared with other groups. The altered cardiomyocyte mechanics was associated with phosphorylation deficit of sarcomeric proteins cardiac troponin I, myosin binding protein C and titin, also accompanied with impaired signalling pathways involved in phosphorylation of these sarcomeric proteins in 8‐month VO rats compared with age‐matched control group. Impaired protein phosphorylation status and dysregulated signalling pathways were associated with significant alterations in the oxidative status of both kinases CaMKII and PKG explaining by this the elevated Ca2+ sensitivity and titin‐based cardiomyocyte stiffness and perhaps the development of hypertrophy.ConclusionsOur findings showed VO‐induced cardiomyocyte dysfunction via deranged phosphorylation of myofilament proteins and signalling pathways due to increased oxidative state of CaMKII and PKG and this might contribute to the development of hypertrophy.

Settlement Phenotypes: Social Selection and Immigration in a Common Kestrel Population

Dispersal decisions are affected by the internal state of the individual and the external environment. Immigrants entering a new population are phenotypically different from residents due to selection that mitigate costs of dispersal and facilitate settlement. Sexual and status signaling traits may influence individual’s ability to settle in a population, either by showing a subordinate phenotype thus reducing aggressive interactions, or by signaling a more competitive phenotype, thus gaining local breeding resources, including mates. By comparing immigrants vs. residents in a common kestrel population across 17 years, we evaluated the influence of dispersal on fitness components (laying date, clutch size and number of fledglings) and investigated if sex, age and phenotypic traits (body size, body condition and plumage coloration) involved in movement and social interactions affected settlement. We found that population characteristics affected sexes and age classes differently, as the admission of females and young males into our population had fewer obstacles than the admission of males. In females, immigrant young were larger, had longer wings and tails, showed better body condition, had less gray tails, started breeding earlier, and laid larger clutches than residents. Adult female immigrants also showed better body condition and less gray tails. In males, immigrants had longer tails and higher number of black spots than residents. Summarizing, immigrants are good-quality individuals and, as deduced from their breeding performance, they benefited by signaling subordination, thus reducing the probability of aggressive encounters and facilitating settlement. Our study highlights the role of phenotypic traits related to signaling to study dispersal.

The Restorative Effect of Combined Insulin and C-Peptide Intranasal Administration on Hormonal Status and Hypothalamic Signaling in the Male Rat Model of Severe Short-Term Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

The Restorative Effect of Combined Insulin and C-Peptide Intranasal Administration on Hormonal Status and Hypothalamic Signaling in the Male Rat Model of Severe Short-Term Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes

Social status mediated variation in hypothalamic transcriptional profiles of male mice

Animals of different social status exhibit variation in aggression, territorial and reproductive behavior as well as activity patterns, feeding, drinking and status signaling. This behavioral and physiological plasticity is coordinated by underlying changes in brain gene transcription. Using Tag-based RNA sequencing (Tag-seq), we explore RNA transcriptomes from the medial preoptic area (mPOA) and ventral hypothalamus (vHYP) of male mice of different social ranks in a dominance hierarchy and detect candidate genes and cellular pathways that underlie status-related plasticity. Within the mPOA, oxytocin (Oxt) and vasopressin (Avp) are more highly expressed in subdominant mice compared to other ranks, while nitric oxide synthase (Nos1) has lower expression in subdominant mice. Within the vHYP, we find that both orexigenic and anorexigenic genes involved in feeding behavior, including agouti-related peptide (Agrp), neuropeptide-Y (Npy), galanin (Gal), proopiomelanocortin (Pomc), and Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript Protein prepropeptide (Cartpt), are less expressed in dominant animals compared to more subordinate ranks. We suggest that this may represent a reshaping of feeding circuits in dominant compared to subdominant and subordinate animals. Furthermore, we determine several genes that are positively and negatively associated with the level of despotism (aggression) in dominant males. Ultimately, we identify hypothalamic genes controlling feeding and social behaviors that are differentially transcribed across animals of varying social status. These changes in brain transcriptomics likely support phenotypic variation that enable animals to adapt to their current social status.

CLSPN is a potential biomarker associated with poor prognosis in low-grade gliomas based on a multi-database analysis

BackgroundThe oncogene CLSPN, also known as claspin, has regulatory effects in a variety of tumours; however, it is not clear whether CLSPN is a therapeutic target in low-grade gliomas (LGG). In this study, the prognostic value of CLSPN in LGG and its role as an immunotherapeutic target were evaluated. MethodsTranscriptome and methylation data for thousands of patients with glioma were collected from various databases, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas, and Gene Expression Omnibus. Subsequently, a series of bioinformatics methods were used to evaluate the relationships between CLSPN and prognosis, clinical features, methylation status, immune cells, and molecular signaling pathways in LGG. ResultsCLSPN expression levels were positively correlated with major malignant characteristics of LGG, and low expression of CLSPN was associated with a better prognosis. The methylation sites cg04263115 and cg06100291 negatively regulated the expression of CLSPN, and increased methylation levels at these sites were related to a longer survival time in patients with LGG. CLSPN was positively correlated with tumour-infiltrating immune cells and showed high copy number variation in these cells. There was a positive regulatory relationship between CLSPN expression and programmed death-1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). A gene set enrichment analysis revealed that CLSPN activates a variety of cancer signaling pathways. ConclusionCLSPN was identified as an independent risk factor for LGG with excellent prognostic value.

The impact of luxury brand status signaling, extension authenticity and fit on luxury line extension evaluation: a cross-national study

PurposeGrounded in categorization theory, this study examines the impact of luxury parent brand status signaling on brand extension authenticity and consumer attitudes in two international luxury markets.Design/methodology/approachUsing samples of luxury consumers from France and the United States, the study's hypotheses are tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-groups comparisons.FindingsFindings demonstrate that luxury parent brand (PB) status signaling, familiarity and perceived quality impact luxury extension authenticity, and authenticity has a significant effect on consumer attitudes toward the extension. The relationship between PB status signaling and extension authenticity is stronger for French consumers compared to their American counterparts. The effect of luxury PB perceived quality and familiarity on PB status signaling is similar for both American and French consumers. However, the effect of PB familiarity on luxury brand extension authenticity is stronger in France than the United States.Research limitations/implicationsResults provide researchers and managers with insights on how to design marketing programs for luxury line extensions in a cross-national context.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to existing literature examining factors related to the parent brand and the relationship between the parent brand and the extension by examining the effect of PB status signaling and extension authenticity on extension attitudes in two international luxury markets.

Consumers' love for technological gadgets is linked to personal growth

Loving technological gadgets could be considered an expression of material values, and thereby a behavior that is associated with reduced well-being. In two studies (N = 926, American and Canadian adults), we investigate whether gadget loving is associated with indicators of well-being that, to date, have gone undocumented by research. Results from a pilot study show that although people, overall, perceive technological gadgets to be materialistic purchases (compared to all tested product categories) and consumers of these products to be materialistic people (particularly when gadgets are purchased for novelty vs. utility), individual differences in gadget loving are most associated with learning motives rather than motives associated with materialism (e.g., status signaling). Results from the main study (a cross-sectional survey wherein participants completed individual difference measures of gadget loving, orientation-to-happiness, competence, and personal growth) indicate that (1) gadget loving interacts with an orientation-to-engagement (but not pleasure) to relate to greater personal growth, and (2) this interaction is explained by increases in competence. These results contravene the assumption that gadget loving is solely a manifestation of materialism.

Workplace inequality is associated with status-signaling expenditure

Regional inequality is known to magnify sensitivity to social rank. This, in turn, is shown to increase people’s propensity to acquire luxury goods as a means to elevate their perceived social status. Yet existing research has focused on broad, aggregated datasets, and little is known about how individual-level measures of income interact with inequality within peer groups to affect status signaling. Using detailed financial transaction data, we construct 32,008 workplace peer groups and explore the longitudinal spending and salary data associated with 683,677 individuals. These data reveal links between people’s status spending, their absolute salary, salary rank within their workplace peer group, and the inequality of their workplace salary distribution. Status-signaling luxury spending is found to be greatest among those who have higher salaries, whose workplaces exhibit higher inequality, and who occupy a lower rank position within the workplace. We propose that low-rank individuals in unequal workplaces suffer status anxiety and, if they can afford it, spend to signal higher status.

Luxury fashion consumption: a review, synthesis and research agenda

Purpose This paper aims to review the topic of “luxury fashion consumption”, a field of recent interest for academics and practitioners. However, a literature review that can map the existing knowledge and aggregate it into relevant topics and offers a research agenda for future research is still lacking. Methodology This paper uses a systematic review and a text mining approach to analyse 73 articles on luxury fashion consumption aiming to clarify, rationalise and critically interpret the literature on luxury fashion consumption; identify the core topic, create an integrative framework of core constructs; and offer research gaps and suggest a research agenda for future studies. Findings From this analysis, eight major research topics are found and analysed (brand desire, authenticity, luxury markets, value perceptions, luxury retail experience, luxury brands communication, responsible consumption and sustainability and status signalling). Based on these topics and following the TCM framework, this review offers directions for future research. Value This research offers a text-mining review of luxury fashion consumption to help scholars and managers further develop this field, as there is no comprehensive review on the topic exploring the themes, theories, constructs and methods used in prior studies.

Excessive Aurantiochytrium acetophilum docosahexaenoic acid supplementation decreases growth performance and breast muscle mass of broiler chickens

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid with health-promoting potential. This study was to investigate effects of supplemental DHA from Aurantiochytrium acetophilum on growth performance, health status, meat quality, and protein synthesis signaling of broiler chickens. Day-old male chicks were housed in an environmental control room (6 cages/treatment, 8 chicks/cage), and fed a corn-soybean meal basal diet supplemented with the DHA-rich A. acetophilum biomass (Heliae, Gilbert, AZ) at 0, 1, 2, and 4% (0, 1.7, 3.4 and 6.8 g DHA/kg diet) for 6 weeks. Growth performance was measured weekly. Blood samples were collected at weeks 3 and 6 (2 chicks/cage). Four tissues were sampled (2 chicks/cage) for biochemical and meat quality analyses. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and regression. Compared with the control, the 4% A. acetophilum diet decreased (p < 0.05) body weight gain (19%) and gain to feed ratio (19%) during weeks 4–6. The A. acetophilum supplementation dose-dependently decreased (p < 0.05, R2 = 0.21–0.54) plasma alanine amino transferase activity and glucose concentrations, but had little effect on plasma activity of alkaline phosphatase or concentrations of inorganic phosphorus and uric acid at weeks 3 and 6. Compared with the control, the 4% A. acetophilum diet decreased (p < 0.05) breast muscle weight by 21%, and down-regulated (p < 0.05) mRNA levels of mammalian target of rapamycin and ribosomal s6 protein (S6), and protein levels of phosphorylated S6 to S6 and phosphorylated S6 kinase beta 1 to S6 kinase beta 1. The A. acetophilum supplementation linearly increased (p < 0.01) lipid peroxidation (R2 = 0.62–0.90) and hardness and chewiness (R2 = 0.34–0.44) of breast and thigh muscles. In conclusion, supplemental 4% (6.8 g DHA/kg), but not 1 or 2%, of A. acetophilum impaired growth performance, breast muscle mass accumulation, and(or) protein synthesis signaling of broilers.

Travelling Noodles and Migrating Pieces of Raw Fish

Travelling Noodles and Migrating Pieces of Raw Fish