My body, your rules? Reflections on reference groups and sacrifice perceived by the fitness consumer

Abstract

In this article, we aim to understand the involvement of reference groups in the sacrifice perceived by the fitness consumer. We analyze the group typologies involved in this sacrificial process, their modes of influence, the impact exerted, the social identity offered, and the roles of social groups in the (re)construction and maintenance of the sacrificial perception of the fitness consumer. The study is based on two theories from Social Psychology: Social Impact Theory and Social Identity Theory. Data construction was carried out through personal episodic interviews, and the content was analyzed using Thematic Analysis. We identified that reference groups influence normatively and informatively the painful and congenial spheres of sacrifice performed by the consumer, exercising social roles that contribute to the sacrificial action to occur, remain, or not practiced, encouraging (the encourager) or inhibiting (the inhibitor), educating (the educator) or confronting (the confronter) the fitness subject, helping in the formation of social identity. We recognize that individuals can develop mobility and social creativity strategies in their communities, demonstrating that the social impact is changeable and that groups are permeable. Finally, we recognize that groups can be typified beyond the categories of affiliation, aspiration, and avoidance, identifying, in this research, a fourth unpublished grouping called the prescription group. Thus, the article contributes to the development of research that departs from the social to the individual sphere, aiming at understanding the consumer from their context and relationships.