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Egocentric Categorization and Product Judgment: Seeing Your Traits in What You Own (and Their Opposite in What You Don't)

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  • Liad Weiss
  • Gita V. Johar

Abstract

Previous research uses categorization principles to analyze the interplay between individuals and groups. The present research uniquely employs categorization principles to analyze the interplay between individuals and products. It proposes that consumers classify owned (but not unowned) products as integral to their personal self (experiment 1). Consequently, consumers judge product traits (e.g., masculinity) as consistent with their own traits (assimilation) if they own the product, but as inconsistent with their own traits (contrast) if they interact with the product but do not own it, even when owning the product is nondiagnostic of its properties (e.g., following random ownership assignment; experiments 2-4). For example, less creative consumers who enter a drawing for an iPhone may judge it as less creative (assimilation) if they win the product, but as more creative (contrast) if they do not win the product. Moderators of these effects are identified, and their theoretical and substantive implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Liad Weiss & Gita V. Johar, 2013. "Egocentric Categorization and Product Judgment: Seeing Your Traits in What You Own (and Their Opposite in What You Don't)," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(1), pages 185-201.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/669330
    DOI: 10.1086/669330
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    Cited by:

    1. Leah Warfield Smith & Randall Lee Rose & Alex R. Zablah & Heath McCullough & Mohammad “Mike” Saljoughian, 2023. "Examining post-purchase consumer responses to product automation," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 530-550, May.
    2. de Bellis, Emanuel & Venkataramani Johar, Gita, 2020. "Autonomous Shopping Systems: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Consumer Adoption," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 74-87.
    3. Savita Hanspal & P. Raj Devasagayam, 2017. "Impact of Consumers’ Self-Image and Demographics on Preference for Healthy Labeled Foods," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(1), pages 21582440166, January.
    4. Graf, Erika & Franz, Catharina & Rugbarth, Matthias & Schmidt, Leonard, 2021. "Wie beeinflussen die Namen von Fleischersatzprodukten die Akzeptanz der Verbraucher?," Working Paper Series 21, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Law.
    5. Borau, Sylvie & Bonnefon, Jean-François, 2020. "Gendered products act as the extended phenotype of human sexual dimorphism: They increase physical attractiveness and desirability," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 498-508.
    6. Handberg, Øyvind Nystad, 2018. "No sense of ownership in weak participation: a forest conservation experiment in Tanzania," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 434-451, August.
    7. Kim, Aekyoung & Briley, Donnel, 2020. "Finding the self in chance events," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 853-867.
    8. Cait Lamberton & Kelly Goldsmith, 2020. "Ownership: A Perennial Prize or a Fading Goal? A Curation, Framework, and Agenda for Future Research [“Sharing-Dominant Logic? Quantifying the Association between Consumer Intelligence and Choice o," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 47(2), pages 301-309.
    9. Hwang, YooHee & Shin, Joongwon & Mattila, Anna S., 2018. "So private, yet so public: The impact of spatial distance, other diners, and power on solo dining experiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 36-47.
    10. Hingston, Sean T. & Whelan, Jodie, 2024. "What’s mine is mine, what’s yours is yours: Contamination concerns enhance psychological ownership," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    11. Gaetano Miceli & Maria Antonietta Raimondo, 2020. "Creativity in the marketing and consumer behavior literature: a structured review and a research agenda," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2020(1), pages 85-124, March.
    12. Liu, Jingshi (Joyce) & Dalton, Amy Nicole, 2024. "The inauthentic consumer: Consequences of self-inauthenticity for possession disposal," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    13. Tang, Honghong & Li, Lin & Su, Song, 2022. "Experiencing less leads to the use of more: The effect of a scarcity mindset on product usage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 139-148.
    14. Charan K. Bagga & Neil Bendle & June Cotte, 2019. "Object valuation and non-ownership possession: how renting and borrowing impact willingness-to-pay," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 97-117, January.
    15. Kirk, Colleen P. & McSherry, Bernard & Swain, Scott D., 2015. "Investing the self: The effect of nonconscious goals on investor psychological ownership and word-of-mouth intentions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 186-194.
    16. Kun Zhou & Jun Ye & Xiao-xiao Liu, 2023. "Is cash perceived as more valuable than digital money? The mediating effect of psychological ownership and psychological distance," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 55-68, March.
    17. Leonardo M. Raimundo & João F. Proença, 2023. "The Influence of Sustainability on Psychological Ownership in Services Based on Temporary Access," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-35, July.

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