THE MATERIAL

SELF/ECONOMIC SELF
 OUR POSSESSIONS ARE A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO AND
REFLECTION OF OUR IDENTITIES. A VARIETY OF EVIDENCE
IS PRESENTED SUPPORTING THIS SIMPLE AND COMPELLING
PREMISE. THE MATERIAL SELF SUGGEST THAT THE
ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDINGS AFFECTS WHAT WE THINK
WE NEED VERSUS TO WHAT WE REALLY NEED. THIS ALSO
DEVELOPS ON THINKING ALONE OR THINKING AND
DECIDING WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN TERMS OF PURCHASING.
 I SHOP, THEREFORE, I AM. I HAVE,
THEREFORE, I AM?
-IDENTITIES CAN BE REFLECTED ON THE POSSESSIONS THAT PEOPLE
HAVE. SOME RESEARCH ARE IDENTIFIED AND DRAWN UPON IN
DEVELOPING THIS CONCEPT WHICH THE CONCEPT IS FROM CONSUMER
BEHAVIOR. TO BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THIS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR, PEOPLE
NEED TO GAIN SOME UNDERSTANDING OF THE MEANINGS THAT
CONSUMER ATTACH TO POSSESSIONS. PEOPLE SHOULD FIRST RECOGNIZE
THAT POSSESSIONS, INTENTIONALLY OR UNINTENTIONALLY, REGARD
THEIR POSSESSIONS AS PARTS OF THEMSELVES.
 - PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO PURCHASE PRODUCTS THAT CAN RELATE TO
THEIR PERSONALITY. MATERIAL POSSESSIONS SIGNIFY SOME ASPECTS
OF ONE’S SENSE OF SELF AND IDENTITY.
- POSSESSIONS, TELL A LOT ABOUT THEIR OWNERS. THUS, ONE’S
SENSE OF SELF AND IDENTITY IS INFLUENTIAL ON HOW AN INDIVIDUAL
CHOOSES TO PURCHASE HIS/HER WANTS AND HOW HE/SHE MAKES
ECONOMIC DECISIONS THAT WILL ADDRESS HIS/HER PERSONAL AND
SOCIAL NEEDS
- THE DECISIONS THAT GO INTO THE PURCHASE OF ITEMS AND
CERTAIN SERVICES IS DEPENDENT ON A NUMBER OF FACTORS,
INCLUDING FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS, AVAILABILITY OF ITEMS AND
SERVICES, AND THE INFLUENCE OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
 HOWEVER, THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IS
DETERMINING WHETHER THESE ITEMS AND SERVICES FALL
UNDER:
• WANTS - SYNONYMOUS WITH LUXURIES. PEOPLE BUY
THEM FOR REASONS THAT DO NOT WARRANT NECESSITY.
• NEEDS - THESE ARE IMPORTANT FOR SURVIVAL. FOOD,
CLOTHING, AND SHELTER ARE BASIC NEEDS SO PEOPLE
PURCHASE THEM OUT OF NECESSITY.
 IN THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING MATERIAL GOODS,
PEOPLE GENERALLY CONSIDER 2 THINGS:
• UTILITY - CONCERNED WITH HOW THINGS SERVE A
PRACTICAL PURPOSE.
• SIGNIFICANCE - CONCERNED WITH THE MEANING
ASSIGNED TO THE OBJECT. IT IS ALSO CONCERNED WITH
HOW OBJECTS BECOME POWERFUL SYMBOLS OR ICONS
OF HABIT AND RITUAL WHICH CAN BE QUITE SEPARATE
FROM THEIR PRIMARY FUNCTION.
 ACCORDING TO JOHN HESKETT, A BRITISH WRITER AND
LECTURER ON THE ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, CULTURAL AND
HUMAN VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, DESIGN COMBINES
“NEED” AND “DESIRE” IN THE FORM OF A PRACTICAL
OBJECT THAT CAN ALSO REFLECT THE USER’S IDENTITY
AND ASPIRATIONS THROUGH ITS FORM AND DECORATION.
 ROLAND BARTHES (1915 – 1980) THE FRENCH THEORIST,
WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO OBSERVE THE RELATIONSHIP
THAT PEOPLE HAVE WITH OBJECTS, AND IN PARTICULAR
LOOKED AT THE OBJECTS ASSIGNS OR THINGS WHICH
COULD BE DECODED TO CONVEY MESSAGES BEYOND
THEIR PRACTICAL VALUE.
 IN THE 1950S, HE POPULARIZED THE FIELD OF
SEMIOLOGY (THE STUDY OF OBJECTS AS SIGNS). A SIGN IS
ANYTHING THAT CONVEYS MEANING. IT WAS BARTHES
WHO REVEALED THAT EVERYDAY OBJECTS ARE NOT JUST
THINGS BUT A COMPLEX SYSTEM OF SIGNS WHICH ALLOWS
ONE TO READ MEANING INTO PEOPLE AND PLACES. WHAT
PEOPLE INCREASINGLY PRODUCE ARE NOT MATERIAL
OBJECTS, BUT SIGNS.
 IN SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS, OBJECTS FUNCTION AS
SIGNIFIERS IN THE PRODUCTION OF MEANING.
 ACCORDING TO HIM, A SIGN HAS TWO ELEMENTS:
SIGNIFIER WHICH REFERS TO ITS PHYSICAL FORM AND
SIGNIFIED, THE MENTAL CONCEPTS IT REFERS TO. HENCE,
OBJECTS ARE NOT JUST THINGS BUT ARE REFLECTIONS OF
THE WIDER LIVES OF COMMUNICATION AND INDIVIDUALS.
NOT SURPRISINGLY, THE CLOTHES ONE WEARS, THE CAR
ONE DRIVES AND THE FURNISHING OF ONE’S HOME, ARE
ALL EXPRESSIONS OF ONE SELF, EVEN WHEN THEY ACT AS
DISGUISES RATHER THAN REFLECTIONS.
 AS TUAN (1998) ARGUES, “OUR FRAGILE SENSE OF SELF NEEDS
SUPPORT, AND THIS WE GET BY HAVING AND POSSESSING THINGS
BECAUSE, TO A LARGE DEGREE, WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE AND
POSSESS”. THIS PREMISE REGARDED POSSESSIONS IS A PART OF SELF
OF A PERSON THAT IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT. THIS IS CONCLUDED BY
WILLIAM JAMES WHO LAID THE FOUNDATIONS FOR MODERN
CONCEPTIONS OF HELP, HE SAID THAT “A MAN’S SELF IS THE SUM
TOTAL OF ALL THE HE CAN CALL HIS, NOT ONLY HIS BODY AND HIS
PSYCHIC POWERS, BUT THIS CLOTHES AND HIS HOUSE, HIS WIFE AND
CHILDREN, HIS ANCESTORS AND FRIENDS, HIS REPUTATION AND
WORKS, HIS LANDS, AND YACHT AND BANK-ACCOUNT, ALL THESE
THINGS GIVE HIM THE SAME EMOTIONS. IF THEY WAX AND PROSPER,
HE FEELS TRIUMPHANT; IF THEY DWINDLE AND DIE AWAY, HE FEELS
CAST DOWN,-NOT NECESSARILY IN THE SAME DEGREE FOR EACH
THING, BUT IN MUCH THE SAME WAY FOR ALL.”
 IF PEOPLE DEFINE POSSESSIONS AS THINGS THEY CALL
THEIRS, JAMES WAS SAYING THAT PEOPLE ARE THE SUM OF
THEIR POSSESSIONS.
SOME OF THE EVIDENCE IS FOUND IN THE NATURE OF
SELF-PERCEPTIONS, PARTICULARLY FOUND IN THE
DIMINISHED SENSE OF SELF WHEN POSSESSIONS ARE
UNINTENTIONALLY LOST OR STOLEN.
ANTHROPOLOGICALLY, THE ROLE OF POSSESSIONS ARE
TREATED RITUALLY AND AFTER DEATH.
 THE THEORY OF THE MEANING OF MATERIAL POSSESSION SUGGEST THAT
MATERIAL GOODS CAN FULFILL A RANGE OF INSTRUMENTAL, SOCIAL,
SYMBOLIC AND AFFECTIVE FUNCTIONS:
1. INSTRUMENTAL FUNCTIONS RELATE TO THE FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF
A PRODUCT.
2. SOCIAL SYMBOLIC FUNCTION SIGNIFIES PERSONAL QUALITIES, SOCIAL
STANDING, GROUP AFFILIATION AND GENDER ROLE.
3. CATEGORICAL FUNCTIONS REFERS TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH MATERIAL
POSSESSIONS MAY BE USED TO COMMUNICATE GROUP MEMBERSHIP OR
STATUS.
4. SELF-EXPRESSION FUNCTIONS REFLECT A PERSON’S UNIQUE QUALITIES,
VALUES OR ATTITUDES. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO MAY REPRESENT
THEMSELVES BY COLLECTING OBJECTS WITH A HELLO KITTY BRAND AND
THE LIKE.
 ALSO OBJECTS OR MATERIALS AS PROCESS OF SELF-
EXTENSION, WHICH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING:
1. WAYS OF INCORPORATING POSSESSIONS INTO THE
EXTENDED SELF
• SARTRE SUGGESTS THAT THERE ARE THREE PRIMARY WAYS
THROUGH WHICH A PERSON LEARNS TO REGARD AN
OBJECT AS PART OF SELF. ONE WAY IS THROUGH
APPROPRIATING OR CONTROLLING AN OBJECT FOR
PERSONAL USE.
• THIS CAN BE DONE THROUGH
APPROPRIATE INTANGIBLE OR NON
OWNABLE OBJECTS BY OVERCOMING,
CONQUERING, OR MASTERING THEM.
• A SECOND WAY OF HAVING AN OBJECT AND
INCORPORATING IT INTO SELF IS BY CREATING IT;
THIS VIEW ECHOES ANTHROPOLOGICAL FINDINGS AND
LOCKE'S (1690) POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY. WHETHER THE
THING CREATED IS A MATERIAL OBJECT OR AN
ABSTRACT THOUGHT, THE CREATOR RETAINS AN
IDENTITY IN THE OBJECT FOR AS LONG AS IT RETAINS A
MARK OR SOME OTHER ASSOCIATION WITH THE
PERSON WHO BROUGHT IT INTO EXISTENCE.
• THE THIRD WAY IN WHICH OBJECTS BECOME A PART OF
SELF IS BY KNOWING THEM. WHETHER THE OBJECT
KNOWN IS A PERSON, PLACE, OR THING, SARTRE
MAINTAINS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IN KNOWING THE
OBJECT IS INSPIRED BY A CARNAL AND SEXUAL DESIRE
TO HAVE THE OBJECT.
2. CONTAMINATION
GOFFMAN (1971, PP. 44-47) SUGGESTS SIX MODES OF
INTERPERSONAL CONTAMINATION. AN IMPORTANT
OMISSION IN THIS LIST OF MODES OF INTERPERSONAL
CONTAMINATION IS THE ACQUISITION OF POSSESSIONS OF
ANOTHER PERSON THAT HAVE BEEN INTIMATELY
ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PERSON.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE CONTAMINATION A PERSON MAY
EXPERIENCE:
• VIOLATION OF ONE'S PERSONAL SPACE
• TOUCHING AND BODILY CONTACT;
• GLANCING, LOOKING, AND STARING;
• NOISE POLLUTION;
• TALKING TO/ADDRESSING ONE
• BODILY EXCRETA. CORPOREAL EXCRETA (SPITTLE, SNOT, PERSPIRATION,
FOOD PARTICLES, BLOOD, SEMEN, VOMIT, URINE, AND FECAL MATTER-
AND STAINS OF THESE); B. ODOR (E.G., FLATUS, TAINTED BREATH, BODY
SMELLS); C. BODY HEAT (E.G., ON TOILET SEATS); D. MARKINGS LEFT BY
THE BODY(E.G., PLATE LEAVINGS-LEFTOVER FOOD).
3. MAINTAINING MULTIPLE LEVELS OF SELF
• AS PREVIOUSLY NOTED, SOME POSSESSIONS ARE MORE
CENTRAL TO SELF THAN ARE OTHERS. THE
POSSESSIONS CENTRAL TO SELF MAY BE VISUALIZED
IN CONCENTRIC LAYERS AROUND THE CORE SELF, AND
WILL DIFFER OVER INDIVIDUALS, OVER TIME, AND
OVER CULTURES THAT CREATE SHARED SYMBOLIC
MEANINGS FOR DIFFERENT GOODS.
• HOWEVER, THERE IS ANOTHER SENSE IN WHICH THE
INDIVIDUAL HAS A HIERARCHICAL ARRANGEMENT OF
LEVELS OF SELF, BECAUSE PEOPLE EXIST NOT ONLY AS
INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO AS COLLECTIVITIES. THEY
OFTEN DEFINE FAMILY, GROUP, SUBCULTURE, NATION,
AND HUMAN SELVES THROUGH VARIOUS
CONSUMPTION OBJECTS.
• BOORSTIN (1973) SUGGESTS, ONE OF THE KEY WAYS OF
EXPRESSING AND DEFINING GROUP MEMBERSHIP IS
THROUGH SHARED CONSUMPTION SYMBOLS. SUCH
SYMBOLS HELP IDENTIFY GROUP MEMBERSHIP AND
DEFINE THE GROUP SELF.
• EMPHASIS ON MATERIAL POSSESSIONS TENDS TO
DECREASE WITH AGE, BUT REMAINS HIGH THROUGHOUT
LIFE AS PEOPLE SEEK TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES THROUGH
POSSESSIONS AND USE MATERIAL POSSESSIONS TO SEEK
HAPPINESS, REMIND THEMSELVES OF EXPERIENCES,
ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND OTHER PEOPLE IN THEIR LIVES,
AND EVEN CREATE A SENSE OF IMMORTALITY AFTER
DEATH. THE ACCUMULATION OF POSSESSIONS PROVIDES A
SENSE OF PAST AND TELLS PEOPLE WHO THEY ARE,
WHERE THEY CAME FROM AND WHERE THEY ARE GOING.
• SELF-EXTENSION OCCURS THROUGH CONTROL AND
MASTERY OF AN OBJECT, THROUGH CREATION OF AN
OBJECT, THROUGH KNOWLEDGE OF AN OBJECT, AND
THROUGH CONTAMINATION VIA PROXIMITY AND
HABITUATION TO AN OBJECT.
THE ROLE OF CONSUMER CULTURE ON THE
SENSE OF SELF AND IDENTITY
• CONSUMER IDENTITY IS THE PATTERN OF
CONSUMPTION THAT DESCRIBES THE CONSUMER.
PEOPLE MAY NO LONGER CONSUME GOODS AND
SERVICES PRIMARILY BECAUSE OF ITS FUNCTIONAL
SATISFACTION. THIS DEVELOPS THE CONSUMER
CULTURE. CONSUMPTION HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY
MORE MEANING-BASED: BRANDS ARE OFTEN USED AS
SYMBOLIC RESOURCES FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND
MAINTENANCE OF IDENTITY.
• BRANDS AND PRODUCTS ARE NOW BEING USED BY MANY
CONSUMERS TO EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITIES. PEOPLE MAY
CONSTRUCT THEIR SOCIAL IDENTITIES THROUGH THE
CONSUMPTION OF COMMERCIAL BRANDS OR LUXURY
COMMODITIES. THIS IS ONE OF THE BASIC FEATURES OF
PEOPLE IN THE MODERN ERA, A BEHAVIOR THAT LEADS TO
CONSUMERISM.
• CONSUMERISM IS THE PREOCCUPATION WITH AN
INCLINATION TOWARDS THE BUYING OF CONSUMER
GOODS. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THE
PEN MARKET OR TECHNOLOGY BASED MARKET. HIGH
CLASS CONSUMPTION IS ATTACHED TO THE IDENTITIES
OF PEOPLE IN THE SOCIETY AND IT LEGITIMIZES
CONSUMER CULTURE IN THE DAILY LIVES OF PEOPLE.
• TO FULLY EXPLICATE THAT VIEW AND TEASE OUT THE
UNDERLYING THEORY, IT IS FIRST NECESSARY TO
DISSECT THIS SANS POSSESSIONS' SELF.
DECOMPOSING THE SANS POSSESSIONS' SELF WOULD
HELP US PLACE POSSESSIONS IN A BETTER CONTEXT—
HOW POSSESSIONS FIT INTO THE CONSUMER'S SELF.
THE SANS POSSESSION' VIEW OF SELF IS POPULATED IN
THE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR LITERATURE BY TWO
VISIBLY DIFFERENT DISCOURSES.
• THE FIRST IS A 'PERSONAL IDENTITY' VIEW, WHEREIN
SELF IS SEEN AS A MULTI-FACETED, MULTI-LAYERED,
SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BEING, REFLECTING,
DEEPLY AND CONTINUALLY, ON ITSELF. THIS
CONCEPTION HAS BLOSSOMED RICHLY IN THE POST-
MODEM, INTERPRETIVIST CONSUMER RESEARCH
LITERATURE WHERE IT IS REFERRED TO AS THE CORE
SELF.
SELF IS VIEWED AS A SUM OF PERSONAL QUALITIES,
MORE OR LESS ENDURING, THAT AN INDIVIDUAL SEES
HIMSELF IN POSSESSION OF. THESE INCLUDE
PERSONALITY TRAITS IN THEIR SUBJECTIVE
VERSION(I.E. PERSONALITY TRAITS AS PERCEIVED BY
THE PERSON HIMSELF/HERSELF) AS WELL AS ANY
SUPERFICIAL BEHAVIORAL AND BODY APPEARANCE
TRAITS.
• THE SELF-NARRATIVE CONCEPTION OF IDENTITY
OFFERS A RICH LITERARY VIEW AGAINST WHICH
PRODUCTS AND BRANDS MAY BE APPRAISED FOR
POTENTIAL FIT. BUT IT CALLS FOR INTENSIVE HIGH-
SKILLED ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH. THE SELF-IMAGE
VIEW LENDS ITSELF TO EASY, QUANTITATIVE
MEASUREMENT. BUT AS ALREADY ARGUED, THIS VIEW IS
ANCHORED AND EMBEDDED ENTIRELY IN PERSONALITY-
LIKE DISPOSITIONS AND SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS AND
IGNORES OTHER CONTENT' —DESCRIBED BELOW.
• PURCHASE CAN BE THE CONSUMER'S SELF-CONCEPT
OR SELF-IDENTITY. THIS INCLUDES BOTH SANS
POSSESSIONS' SELF AND THE EXTENDED SELF, AND IS
OFTEN THE OBJECT OF INTROSPECTION AMONG MOST
CONSUMERS AT ONE TIME OR THE OTHER.
• ALTHOUGH THE CONCEPT OF 'I' CAN INCLUDE VIRTUALLY
EVERYTHING A PERSON EVER COME TO OWN AND LIVE
WITH, A SYSTEMATIC LIST WOULD INCLUDE SIX
COMPONENTS: (A) THEIR BODIES; (B) THEIR VALUES AND
CHARACTER; (C) THEIR SUCCESS AND COMPETENCE, (D)
THEIR SOCIAL ROLES, (E) THEIR TRAITS, AND, FINALLY (F)
THEIR POSSESSIONS.
• PRODUCTS THUS CAN RELATE TO ONE'S SELF IN TWO
WAYS: (A) BY BEING INSTRUMENTAL TO ENHANCING
THEIR SELF SANS POSSESSIONS,' AND (B) BY BECOMING
A VALUED POSSESSION. AS TO THE SECOND ROLE,
PRODUCT POSSESSIONS BECOME PART OF SELF.
• NOT ALL PRODUCT CATEGORIES HAVE A PLACE IN A
PERSON'S SENSE OF SELF. SUCH PRODUCTS ARE BEST
SOLD BASED ON FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS; OF COURSE,
THESE FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS CAN BE DISPLAYED AS
CONNECTED TO HIGHER LEVEL OUTCOMES IN
RELEVANT MEANS-END-CHAINS.
THANK YOU !!!