Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

The impact of impression construction consumption on social identity: a study on Chinese female professionals

The impact of impression construction consumption on social identity: a study on Chinese female... Expenditures on beauty, fitness and body shaping by females have increased significantly in recent years. Most previous studies examined this from the psychological perspective of self-acceptance and self-liking. However, this phenomenon may also have social implications. This study aims to provide a profound understanding of the social environment for female professionals as well as actionable insights for the government and social institutions.Design/methodology/approachA research model was developed based on impression management and social identity theories incorporating impression management motives, impression construction consumption and social identity. A survey study of 419 Chinese female professionals was conducted to test the research model.FindingsThis study surveyed 419 Chinese female professionals and found that impression management motives significantly drove female professionals to spend on their faces and bodies for impression construction, which in turn contributed to the enhancement of their social identities in three dimensions: relational identity, public identity and collective identity.Originality/valueIn a male-dominated society, it has become a norm that females should be cautious about their facial appearance and body shape. Females are often forced to consume to attain physical attractiveness and to construct a favorable social image. This study shows that consumption for impression construction has become a frequently used strategy for impression management and identifies key areas of societal concern. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Social Marketing Emerald Publishing

The impact of impression construction consumption on social identity: a study on Chinese female professionals

Download PDF
24 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/the-impact-of-impression-construction-consumption-on-social-identity-a-AMH7c7AALH

References (96)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
© Emerald Publishing Limited
ISSN
2042-6763
eISSN
2042-6763
DOI
10.1108/jsocm-03-2022-0066
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Expenditures on beauty, fitness and body shaping by females have increased significantly in recent years. Most previous studies examined this from the psychological perspective of self-acceptance and self-liking. However, this phenomenon may also have social implications. This study aims to provide a profound understanding of the social environment for female professionals as well as actionable insights for the government and social institutions.Design/methodology/approachA research model was developed based on impression management and social identity theories incorporating impression management motives, impression construction consumption and social identity. A survey study of 419 Chinese female professionals was conducted to test the research model.FindingsThis study surveyed 419 Chinese female professionals and found that impression management motives significantly drove female professionals to spend on their faces and bodies for impression construction, which in turn contributed to the enhancement of their social identities in three dimensions: relational identity, public identity and collective identity.Originality/valueIn a male-dominated society, it has become a norm that females should be cautious about their facial appearance and body shape. Females are often forced to consume to attain physical attractiveness and to construct a favorable social image. This study shows that consumption for impression construction has become a frequently used strategy for impression management and identifies key areas of societal concern.

Journal

Journal of Social Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: Mar 7, 2023

Keywords: Female professionals; Impression construction; Consumption; Social identity

There are no references for this article.