THE SELF

1. Perspective on The Self

— Does the self exist?
— Self-concept
— Multiple Selves
— Self-consciousness

SELF

Self is defined as the total being of a person, awareness of the individual or qualities of the individual
and an individual person as the object of its own reflective consciousness.

Since the self is a reference by a subject to the same subject, this reference is necessarily subjective.
The sense of having a self or self-hood should however, not be confused with subjectivity itself.

■ PERSPECTIVES ON THE SELF

Does the Self exist?
The 1980s were called the ‘Me Decade’ because for many this time was marked by an
absorption with the self. While it seems natural to think about each consumer having a
self, this concept is actually a relatively new way of regarding people and their relation-
ship to society.

‘Me Decade’ means many young people were focused on themselves, rather than the world at large.
The idea that each human life is unique, rather than a part of a group, developed in late medieval times
The notion that the self is an object to be pampered is even more recent. In addition, the emphasis on
the unique nature of the self is much greater in Western societies.

Many Eastern cultures by contrast stress the importance of a collective self, where the person’s
identity is derived in large measure from his or her social group.

The self is seen by by both Western and Eastern cultures as being divided into the:

- Inner, more private self

- Outer, more public self

The West tends to subscribe to an independent construal of the self which emphasizes the inherent
separateness of each individual. Non-Western cultures, in contrast, tend to focus on an interdependent
self where one’s identity is largely defined by the relationships one has with others.

Self Concept

The self-concept refers to the beliefs a person holds about his or her attributes, and how he or she
evaluates these qualities.

self that are evaluated more positively than others.

For example, Gareth felt better about his professional identity than he did about his pending ‘middle
age’ identity.

Components of the self-concept

The self-concept is a very complex structure. It is composed of many attributes, some of which are
given greater emphasis when the overall self is being evaluated. Attributes of self-concept can be
described along such dimensions as their content (for example, facial attractiveness vs. mental
aptitude),
positivity or negativity (i.e. self-esteem),
intensity, stability over time and accuracy (that is, the degree to which one’s self-assessment
corresponds to reality).
As we’ll see later in the chapter, consumers’ self-assessments can be quite distorted, especially with
regard to their physical appearance.

Self concept has Three Components these are Self esteem, Real and ideal selves and Fantasy: bridging
the gap between the selves.
Self-esteem
refers to the positivity of a person’s self-concept.

People with low self-esteem

do not expect that they will perform very well, and they will try to avoid embarrassment, failure or
rejection.

In developing a new line of snack cakes, for example, Sara Lee found
that consumers low in self-esteem preferred portion-controlled snack items because they felt they
lacked self-control. In contrast, people with high self-esteem expect to be successful, will take more
risks and are more willing to be the centre of attention.

Self-esteem is often related to acceptance by others. As you probably remember, teenagers who are
members of high-status groups have higher self-esteem than their excluded classmates.

Self-esteem advertising attempts to change product attitudes by stimulating positive feelings about the
self. One strategy is to challenge the consumer’s self-esteem and then show a linkage to a product that
will provide a remedy. Sometimes compliments are derived by comparing the person to others.

Real and Ideal Selves

Ideal - How a person would like to be
Real - Realistic Appraisal of who we really are

Self-esteem is influenced by a process where the consumer compares his or her actual standing on
some attribute to some ideal. A consumer might ask ‘Am I as attractive as I would like to be?’, ‘Do I
make as much money as I should?’, and so on.
The ideal self is a person’s conception of how he or she would like to be, while the real or actual self
refers to our more realistic appraisal of the qualities we have or lack.
The ideal self is partly moulded by elements of the consumer’s culture, such as heroes or people
depicted in advertising who serve as models of achievement or appearance. Products may be
purchased because they are believed to be instrumental in helping us achieve these goals. Some
products are chosen because they are perceived to be consistent with the consumer’s actual self, while
others are used to help reach the standard set by the ideal self.

Fantasy: bridging the gap between the selves

When the Gap between the Real and Ideal Self is Large, Those consumers are good targets for fantasy
appeals.

While most people experience a discrepancy between their real and ideal selves, for some consumers
this gap is larger than for others. These people are especially good targets for marketing
communications that employ fantasy appeals. A fantasy or daydream is a self-induced shift in
consciousness, which is sometimes a way of compensating for a lack of external stimulation or of
escaping from problems in the real world. Many products and services are successful because they
appeal to consumers’ tendency to fantasize. These marketing strategies allow us to extend our vision
of ourselves by placing us in unfamiliar, exciting situations or by permitting us to try interesting or
provocative roles.
And with today’s technology, like Dove’s Real Beauty campaign or the virtual digitized preview from
the plastic surgeon’s PC of how your new face lift will probably look, consumers can experiment
before taking the plunge in the real world.

Multiple selves
 The self has different components, or role identities that are active at specific times.
 They cause us to prefer different products and services.
 Some of the identities are more central than others (i.e. husband, boss, student)
 Other identities may be more dominant in certain situations (i.e. Stamp collector, dancer,
volunteer).

For example, executives in a survey undertaken in the United States, the UK and some Pacific Rim
countries said that different aspects of their personalities come into play depending on whether they
are making purchase decisions at home or at work. Not surprisingly, they report being less time-
conscious, more emotional and less disciplined in their home roles.

Symbolic interactionism stresses that relationships with other people play a large part in
forming the self.

This perspective maintains that people exist in a symbolic environment, and the meaning attached to
any situation or object is determined by the interpretation of these symbols. As members of society, we
learn to agree on shared meanings. Thus, we ‘know’ that a red light means stop, or that McDonald’s
‘golden arches’ mean fast food.

Like other social objects, the meanings of consumers themselves are defined by social consensus. The
consumer interprets his or her own identity, and this assessment is continually evolving as he or she
encounters new situations and people. In symbolic interactionist terms, we negotiate these meanings
over time. Essentially the consumer poses the question: ‘Who am I in this situation?’ The answer to
this question is greatly influenced by those around us: ‘Who do other people think I am?’ We tend to
pattern our behaviour on the perceived expectations of others in a form of self-fulfilling prophecy. By
acting the way we assume others expect us to act, we may confirm these perceptions.
This pattern of self-fulfilling behaviour is often expressed in our ‘gendered roles’, as we will see later
in this chapter.

Looking-glass self process of imagining the reactions of others towards us (self fulfilling prophecy).

According to this view, our desire to define ourselves operates as a sort of psychological sonar: we
take readings of our own identity by ‘bouncing’ signals off others and trying to project what
impression they have of us. The looking-glass image we receive will differ depending upon whose
views we are considering. Like the distorted mirrors in a funfair, our appraisal of who we are can vary,
depending on whose perspective we are taking and how accurately we are able to predict their
evaluations of us.

Self-consciousness
is a heightened sense of awareness of oneself. In the contemporary sense of the term, self-
consciousness is a preoccupation with oneself, especially with how others might perceive one's
appearance or one's actions.

There are times when people seem to be painfully aware of themselves. If you have ever walked into a
class in the middle of a lecture and noticed that all eyes were on you, you can understand this feeling
of self-consciousness. In contrast, consumers sometimes behave with shockingly little self-
consciousness. For example, people may do things in a stadium, a riot or a student party that they
would never do if they were highly conscious of their behaviour.
Some people seem in general to be more sensitive to the image they communicate to others (on the
other hand, we all know people who act as if they’re oblivious to the impression they are making!). A
heightened concern about the nature of one’s public image’ also results in more concern about the
social appropriateness of products and consumption activities.