The Routledge Companion to Identity and Consumption / Edition 1

by Ayalla A. Ruvio, Russell Belk

Overview

"Tell me what you eat, I'll tell you who you are," said Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. Today, "You are what you consume" is more apt. Barbara Krueger’s ironic twist of Descartes - "I shop therefore I am" - has lost its irony. Such phrases have become commonplace descriptions of our identity in the contemporary world. In our materialistic world it seems as if there is no debate that our consumption behaviour is fused with our self-identity - shaping it, changing it and often challenging it.

The Routledge Companion to Identity and Consumption introduces the reader to state-of-the-art research, written by the world’s leading scholars regarding the interplay between identity and consumption. The book addresses the diverse issues regarding the ways identity affects our consumption behaviour and vice-versa and in doing so, presents a broad perspective on the dynamics of self-identity and consumption.

With chapters discussing the theory, research and practical implications of these dynamics, including the way they change across our life span and their expression within different social, cultural and religious contexts, this book will be a valuable reference source for students and academics from a variety of disciplines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415783064
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/18/2012
Series:	Routledge Companions in Marketing, Advertising and Communication
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ayalla A. Ruvio is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Fox School of Business at Temple University, USA. Her research focuses on issues such as consumers’self-identity, materialism and consumers’ need for uniqueness. Her published work has received extensive media attention worldwide, including the TODAY show, Good Morning America, Time magazine, The New York Times, The Atlantic, CNN, and The Daily Telegraph

Russell W. Belk is Kraft Professor of Marketing at Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada. He is past president of the International Association of Marketing and Development and is a fellow and past president in the Association for Consumer Research. He has over 500 publications involving the meanings of possessions, collecting, extended self, sharing, materialism, and global consumer culture

Table of Contents

Identity and Consumption: Preface Part I: What is the Self in the Context of Consumption? Section A: Conceptions of the Self within Consumption 1. Culture and the Self: Implications for Consumer Behaviour 2. The Symbiosis Model of Identity Augmentation: Self-Expansion and Self-Extension as Distinct Strategies 3. The Dialogical Consumer Self Section B: Emotions and the Self 4. The Emotional Self 5. Beloved Material Possessions: Ends or Means? 6. Overweight and Emotional Identity Projects 7. Self Disgust Section C: Extending the Self into Possessions 8. Extended Self in a Digital Age 9. We Are What We Buy? 10. Exploring Cultural Differences in the Extended Self Section D: Stigma, Sacrifice and Self 11. Stigma, Identity and Consumption 12. (Re) Enacting Motherhood: Self-sacrifice and Abnegation in the Kitchen 13. Masculine Self-Presentation Part II: The Dynamic Self: Transformation, Change, Support and Control Section A: Self-Transformation 14. Conflicting Selves and the Role of Possessions: A Process View of Transgenders' Self-Identity Conflict 15. Self-Transformation and AIDS Poster Children 16. Cosmetic Surgery and Self-Transformation Section B: Life Cycle and Self-Change 17. Adolescent Consumption and the Pursuit of ‘Cool’ 18. Self-Brand Connections in Children: Development from Childhood to Adolescence 19. Aging and Consumption Section C: Self-Esteem, and Self-Support 20. Existential Insecurity and the Self 21. Compensatory Consumption 22. Self-Threats and Consumption Section D: Controlling the Self 23. Self-Control and Spending 24. Culture and Self-Regulation: The Influence of Self-Construal on Impulsive Consumption 25. Reminders of Money Change the Self-Concept Part III: Social and Cultural Aspects of Self and Consumption Section A: Other vs. Self in Consumers’ Behavior 26. Social Influence and The Self 27. Shared Possessions/Shared Self 28. That is So Not Me: Dissociating from Undesired Consumer Identities Section B: Family, Community and Self 29. Self-Extension, Brand Community and User Innovation 30. Mother Possessing Daughter: Dual Roles of Extended Self 31. Family Stuff: Materiality and Identity Section C: Culture and Self 32. Death Style and the Ideal Self 33. Social Branding and the Mythic Re-Invention of Ethnic Identity 34. The Global Self 35. Constructing ‘Masculine’ Identities: Consuming ‘Feminine’ Practices Part IV: Marketing and the Self Section A: Brands and Self-Identity 36. Brand Relationships and Self 37. The Brand is "Me": Exploring the Effect Of Self-Brand Connections on Processing Brand Information as Self-Information 38. When Does Identity Salience Prime Approach and Avoidance?: A Balance-Contiguity Model Section B: Advertising, Media, and Self 39. Media Image Effects on the Self 40. Explicit and Implicit Sexual Orientation, Homoerotic Imagery in Advertising and Health

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

'In this volume, scholars from across the research spectrum plumb the protean self for its relationship to stuff. Through many and varied contexts both actual and virtual, the psychological and cultural antecedents and consequences of identity projects grounded in possessions are carefully examined. The insights are compelling, and often quite evocative. This book will facilitate interesting new inquiry and fresh teaching in a number of disciplines.'

John F. Sherry, Jr., Herrick Professor & Department Chair, University of Notre Dame, USA

'Ruvio and Belk have succeeded in pulling together an impressive, high quality collection of chapters authored by some of the very best scholars writing today. All of which makes this book an absolutely essential port-of-call for anyone who is serious about understanding the dynamics of identity projects in our consumption-driven world.'

Professor Mark Tadajewski, Durham University Business School, UK

'This collection of original and provocative articles brings fascinating insights into the myriad ways in which identity and consumption intersect in our contemporary consumer society. With contributions from leading scholars, it is an essential resource for researchers in this field.'

Professor Pauline Maclaran, Royal Holloway University of London, UK

Editorial Reviews

'In this volume, scholars from across the research spectrum plumb the protean self for its relationship to stuff. Through many and varied contexts both actual and virtual, the psychological and cultural antecedents and consequences of identity projects grounded in possessions are carefully examined. The insights are compelling, and often quite evocative. This book will facilitate interesting new inquiry and fresh teaching in a number of disciplines.'

John F. Sherry, Jr., Herrick Professor & Department Chair, University of Notre Dame, USA

'Ruvio and Belk have succeeded in pulling together an impressive, high quality collection of chapters authored by some of the very best scholars writing today. All of which makes this book an absolutely essential port-of-call for anyone who is serious about understanding the dynamics of identity projects in our consumption-driven world.'

Professor Mark Tadajewski, Durham University Business School, UK

'This collection of original and provocative articles brings fascinating insights into the myriad ways in which identity and consumption intersect in our contemporary consumer society. With contributions from leading scholars, it is an essential resource for researchers in this field.'

Professor Pauline Maclaran, Royal Holloway University of London, UK

From the Publisher