Impacts of mate attraction goal on young women’s interests in conspicuous consumption

Abstract

Purpose Drawing on an evolutionary perspective, prior studies have revealed that conspicuous consumption by men has signaling functions (i.e. signaling the consumer’s positive mate qualities such as status and ability to acquire resources) for mate attraction. However, it is unclear whether conspicuous consumption of luxury products by women has a function in mate attraction. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of mate attraction goal on women’s interest in conspicuous consumption and the possible mediating effect of the attractiveness enhancement need in this effect. Design/methodology/approach A survey and two experimental studies were conducted in which 354 Chinese female undergraduates participated. In the survey, the respondents’ desire to have a romantic partner was measured; in the two experiments, the participants’ mate attraction goals were primed. The authors followed the literature to measure dependent variables (i.e. consumption measures), but the specific consumption items were adapted to meet the purpose of the current research. The authors analyzed the data from the three studies through analysis of variance, regression analysis and bootstrapping. Findings Young women with a strong (vs weak) desire for a romantic partner reported a high level of attractiveness enhancement needs, thereby indicating a higher willingness to pay (WTP ) for conspicuous items that can enhance their attractiveness (Studies 1 and 3). Furthermore, activating young women’s mate attraction goal can also increase their WTP for conspicuous items (Studies 2 and 3) and attractiveness enhancement items (Study 3) but not inconspicuous luxury product (e.g. underclothes) (Study 3). These findings suggested that young women consider conspicuous consumption of certain products as a means of enhancing attractiveness to acquire a desired mate. Originality/value This research identifies a novel function of conspicuous consumption: young women, especially those who do not have a romantic partner, may use conspicuous consumption of certain products to satisfy their attractiveness enhancement needs and, ultimately, to attract an ideal mate.

The influence of consumer culture on feminist consciousness in social media field

“…The first approach involves adopting the "good marriage style" and employing the "man-slaying color" to appeal to women seeking to captivate the opposite sex through their own allure. Yuan Shaofeng [3] has explored the influence of mate attraction goals on women's conspicuous consumption tendency. Women who are motivated by mate attraction goals will conspicuously consume certain goods or services out of the need to enhance beauty and attractiveness.The second approach revolves around promoting the concepts of "be your own queen" and "treat yourself after work," targeting independent women influenced by feminist ideals.…”

Mating Goals Moderate Power’s Effect on Conspicuous Consumption Among Women

“…Women need to display men’s preferred qualities in order to attract a mate ( Roney, 2003 ). Griskevicius et al (2007) suggest that conspicuous consumption is a suboptimal mate-attraction strategy for women because conspicuous goods signal wealth and status, which is ranked lower in men’s than in women’s mate preferences; however, research on this point has typically examined male-preferred goods (e.g., luxury watches, grand houses, expensive pens) rather than female-preferred goods (e.g., clothes, accessories; Yuan, Zheng, & Li, 2013 ). Men use conspicuous consumption to display status and access to resources ( Charles & Roussanov, 2007 ); however, no research has tested if women use it to maximize their attractiveness.…”

“…Men use conspicuous consumption to display status and access to resources ( Charles & Roussanov, 2007 ); however, no research has tested if women use it to maximize their attractiveness. The term “conspicuous consumption conviction” refers to women’s belief that they may improve their attractiveness through conspicuous consumption ( Yuan et al, 2013 ). Women’s inclination to consume conspicuous clothes, handbags, and accessories appears to increase if mate attraction is primed ( Hudders, De, Fisher, & Vyncke, 2014 ; Yuan et al, 2013 ).…”

“…The term “conspicuous consumption conviction” refers to women’s belief that they may improve their attractiveness through conspicuous consumption ( Yuan et al, 2013 ). Women’s inclination to consume conspicuous clothes, handbags, and accessories appears to increase if mate attraction is primed ( Hudders, De, Fisher, & Vyncke, 2014 ; Yuan et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Low power promotes self-comparison ( Jin et al, 2014 ), particularly regarding improving personal inadequacies. Women commonly believe they can use conspicuous consumption (e.g., of clothes and accessories) to make themselves more attractive ( Yuan et al, 2013 ). Therefore, low-power women aiming to attract a mate may engage more in conspicuous consumption than similar high-power women.…”