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The roles of self‐discrepancy and social support in young females' decisions to undergo cosmetic procedures
Author(s) -
Pentina Iryna,
Taylor David G.,
Voelker Troy A.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of consumer behaviour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.811
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1479-1838
pISSN - 1472-0817
DOI - 10.1002/cb.279
Subject(s) - psychology , affect (linguistics) , social psychology , ideal (ethics) , multidisciplinary approach , social marketing , marketing , business , sociology , political science , social science , communication , law
Advertising appeals emphasizing unrealistic body images are increasingly linked to depression, loss of self‐esteem, and unhealthy eating habits. Understanding the motivation of young and vulnerable populations to undergo cosmetic procedures can help modify marketing and public policy practices. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this paper confirms the motivating role of self‐concept discrepancy in young women seeking cosmetic procedures. It also reveals conflicting moderating influences of different types of social support on the relationship between self‐discrepancy and choice of cosmetic procedures. Our findings show that family‐based social support attenuates the effect of perceived actual‐ideal self‐discrepancy on the choice of cosmetic procedures, while social support from friends amplifies this effect. Actual‐ought discrepancy appears to negatively affect the propensity for cosmetic procedures. Discussion of the findings and implications for public policy and marketing managers are presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.