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R‐E‐S‐P‐E‐C‐T Find out what my name means to me: The effects of marketplace misidentification on consumption
Author(s) -
RankChristman Tracy,
Morrin Maureen,
Ringler Christine
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of consumer psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.433
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1532-7663
pISSN - 1057-7408
DOI - 10.1016/j.jcps.2016.12.002
Subject(s) - feeling , consumption (sociology) , psychology , fragility , identity (music) , social psychology , product (mathematics) , aesthetics , philosophy , chemistry , geometry , mathematics
Little research has focused on understanding how the misuse of consumers' names in the marketplace impacts consumption. Building on the motivation and personal identity threat literatures, we explore the impact of being identified by someone else's given name in the marketplace. We find that consumers exhibit avoidance behaviors when misidentified (versus remaining unidentified or being correctly identified), which is mediated by feelings of respect. We also show that misidentification effects are moderated by ego fragility (i.e., as measured by implicit self‐esteem), with the effects more pronounced among those with more fragile egos. We attenuate this effect via self‐affirmation, showing that misidentified consumers who have been affirmed no longer exhibit product avoidance responses. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.