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How Attachment Affects the Strength of Peer Influence on Adolescent Consumer Behavior
Author(s) -
Huang Yunhui,
Wang Lei,
Shi Junqi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/mar.20543
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , normative , perception , normative social influence , interpersonal communication , attachment theory , anxiety , consumption (sociology) , interpersonal influence , developmental psychology , social science , philosophy , epistemology , neuroscience , psychiatry , sociology
This research examined how attachment affected the peer influence on adolescent consumer behavior. Results showed that attachment toward family and toward peers emerged together. Adolescent attachment anxiety strengthened the peer influence in consumption while attachment avoidance weakened the peer influence. Anxiety was positively related to adolescents’ perception of friends’ greater knowledge, spending when shopping with friends, and motivation to comply with friends’ suggestions on purchases directly and indirectly through consumer susceptibility to informational and normative influence. In contrast, attachment avoidance decreased the tendency to shop often with friends and the motivation to comply in a purchase. This study revealed that the influence of individual attachment orientations on interpersonal relationships can be extended to the field of consumption.