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27 results

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  • 11 - The Psychology of Consumer Social Hierarchy and Rank Signaling
  • from 2 - Consumer Psychology of Groups and Society
  • Edited by Cait Lamberton, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Derek D. Rucker, Kellogg School, Northwestern University, Illinois, Stephen A. Spiller, Anderson School, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
  • Published online: 30 March 2023
  • Print publication: 06 April 2023, pp 309-330
  • View extract

    Summary

    This chapter discusses and delineates how consumption can act as a rank-signaling system. Specifically, we offer three propositions regarding the mechanics of rank-signaling systems as they relate to consumption. Our first proposition is that people use consumption – the purchase and display of goods and services – as a means to encode (i.e., signal) their social rank. Our second proposition is that consumers use others’ consumption as a means of decoding their social rank. Our third proposition is that people can learn, adjust, and update the signals they use – that is, recoding how they signal their social rank. We both review evidence in support of these propositions and introduce results from two recent studies that examine people’s awareness and use of these rank-signaling mechanics. Finally, we close with a discussion of directions we see as fruitful for future research at the intersection of consumption and rank signaling.

The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
  • The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
  • 2nd edition
  • Edited by Cait Lamberton, Derek D. Rucker, Stephen A. Spiller
  • Published online: 30 March 2023
  • Print publication: 06 April 2023
  • View description
    In the last two years, consumers have experienced massive changes in consumption – whether due to shifts in habits; the changing information landscape; challenges to their identity, or new economic experiences of scarcity or abundance. What can we expect from these experiences? How are the world's leading thinkers applying both foundational knowledge and novel insights as we seek to understand consumer psychology in a constantly changing landscape? And how can informed readers both contribute to and evaluate our knowledge? This handbook offers a critical overview of both fundamental topics in consumer psychology and those that are of prominence in the contemporary marketplace, beginning with an examination of individual psychology and broadening to topics related to wider cultural and marketplace systems. The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, 2nd edition, will act as a valuable guide for teachers and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology, marketing, management, economics, sociology, and anthropology.
The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
  • The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology
  • Edited by Michael I. Norton, Derek D. Rucker, Cait Lamberton
  • Published online: 05 October 2015
  • Print publication: 09 September 2015
  • View description
    Why do consumers make the purchases they do, and which ones make them truly happy? Why are consumers willing to spend huge sums of money to appear high status? This Handbook addresses these key questions and many more. It provides a comprehensive overview of consumer psychology, examining cutting-edge research at the individual, interpersonal, and societal levels. Leading scholars summarize past and current findings, and consider future lines of inquiry to deepen our understanding of the psychology behind consumers' decision making, their interactions with other consumers, and the effects of societal factors on consumption. The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology will act as a valuable guide for faculty as well as graduate and undergraduate students in psychology, marketing, management, sociology, and anthropology.

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