How is a possession "me" or "not me"? Characterizing types and an antecedent of material possession attachment

Article Abstract:

Material possession attachment, a property of the relationship between a specific person and a specific object of possession, reflects the extent of "me-ness" associated with that possession. The two Q-methodological studies reported here investigated the nature of this me-ness (and "not me-ness"). Study 1 explores different types of attachment and how these types portray various facets of a person's life story (i.e., identity). It shows how strong versus weak attachment, affiliation and/or autonomy seeking, and past, present, or future temporal orientation combine to form qualitatively distinct types of psychological significance. Study 2 begins development of a nomological network encompassing attachment by showing how mode of gift receipt (self-gift vs. interpersonal gift), as an antecedent, influences attachment type. Study 2 also examines aspects of successful and unsuccessful gifts. Both studies demonstrate that unidimensional affect fails to adequately describe or explain attachment. Together, the two studies suggest a more parsimonious way to represent person-possession relationships than has been offered in previous studies. Moreover, the findings help delineate the boundaries of attachment (e.g., What does it mean to say a possession is "not me"?). (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Attachment behavior, Attachment (Psychology), Possessiveness

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Contextual influences on the meanings ascribed to ordinary consumption objects

Article Abstract:

Although the perception of contextualized objects pervades our everyday experiences, the literature provides little insight into how consumers ascribe meaning to contextualized products, or indeed into what meaning is. We address this gap in the literature by providing a conceptualization of consumption-object meaning and an a priori model for measuring it. An experiment tested several hypotheses concerning how the kind and amount of context affects the meanings people ascribe to ordinary consumption objects (and the labels that they use to identify those meanings). Overall, the findings support the proposed conceptualization. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Psychological aspects, Models, Consumption (Economics), Consumer goods

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Knowledge, information mode, and the attraction effect

Article Abstract:

The attraction effect, or a consumer's decision to prefer one product over another, can be directly influenced by knowledge. Knowledge allows consumers to differentiate between the target product's attribute levels and those of the decoy. Verbal knowledge, such as word of mouth, is highly effective in dictating consumer behavior but may be diluted when integrated with a consumer's own subjective and variable judgments.

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