Postdecisional Dissonance and the Commodified Self-Concept: A Cross-Cultural Examination

Abstract

By observing the dissonance-arousing capabilities of product selection in two countries (United States and Finland), the authors examine the supposition that the pervasive consumerism in modern society has implications for people's self-conceptions. Participants were 18-to 22-year-old students of both sexes. Subjects were forced to select between two magazines they initially indicated were less desirable. Dissonance was measured by the change in magazine evaluations from pre-to post choice. For the American subjects, postdecisional dissonance was more consistent for image magazines (which contain more consumerism relevant information) than for news magazines. In addition, postdecisional dissonance for the image magazines was greater for the American sample than for the Finnish sample, and it was positively correlated with measures of consumer orientation only for the American sample.

The cultural grounding of personal relationship: The importance of attractiveness in everyday life.

“…As Arnett (2002) has noted, globalization promotes an experience of bicultural identity in which people in any setting (but especially cosmopolitan, urban settings) participate in both a local culture of origin and a rapidly evolving, global culture manifested in entertainment media and consumer goods (among other carriers). Although engagement with these manifestations of global culture can promote psychological tendencies associated with Western market societies-including perception of the self as a consumer with consistent tastes (Murphy & Miller, 1997) or an emphasis on physical attractiveness and its importance for life outcomes (Smith et al, 1999)-everyday realities of West African worlds may promote an experience of relationship that resonates more strongly with embedded or interdependent constructions of relationship. As a result, attractive people in West African worlds who simultaneously inhabit settings associated with global culture may come to expect that their attractiveness will yield benefits for life outcomes.…”

Cognitive Dissonance, de Kock and Odd Psychological Testimony

“…One of the more important of these suggests that inconsistency only generates disharmony if it is sufficiently relevant to the person's self-concept (Aronson, 1992). For persons to whom the cognitions have no relevance to their selfconcept, a purported inconsistency may pose no threat to all (Murphy & Miller, 1997). In order to claim CD as a significant motivating force, one would of necessity need to show links between the particular cognitive elements and a person's self concept.…”

Television Viewing and Self‐Perceived Health, Weight, and Physical Fitness: Evidence for the Cultivation Hypothesis1

“…An overlooked factor is the reason why people watch TV. That is, research has shown that people use TV to satisfy different needs at different times (Murphy & Miller, 1997;Rubin, 1994). People may watch TV to be entertained (e.g., escapism or emotional arousal), to gather information (e.g.. from news broadcasts).…”