ABSTRACT

A full-page, black-and-white print ad ran in newspapers promoting the Italian clothing and handbags brand, Krizia. The only copy accompanying a photo of an attractive, young model described the "Krizia woman" as "thoughtful, contemporary, passionate, unconventional, determined, charming, confident, spirited." Self-concept emerged as an important concern in marketing as consumer researchers began to recognize that the views people hold about themselves can have more of an impact on their behavior than objective measures of actual personality traits. To elucidate some of the foregoing points, consider the personality characteristic known as sociability, which reflects one's degree of interest in social or group activities. Marketing researchers appear to have heeded the call. Gone are the days of their using inappropriately modified instruments or irrelevant personality scales not specifically pertinent to the research question under consideration. Administration of the materialism scales has revealed several distinguishing characteristics of adult materialistic consumers.