The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 69 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Who drives divergence? Identity signaling, outgroup dissimilarity, and the abandonment of cultural tastes.
Open accessAbstract
People often diverge from members of other social groups: They select cultural tastes (e.g., possessions, attitudes, or behaviors) that distinguish them from outsiders and abandon tastes when outsiders adopt them. But while divergence is pervasive, most research on the propagation of culture is based on conformity. Consequently, it is less useful in explaining why people might abandon tastes when others adopt them. The 7 studies described in this article showed that people diverge to avoid signaling undesired identities. A field study, for example, found that undergraduates stopped wearing a particular wristband when members of the "geeky" academically focused dormitory next door started wearing them. Consistent with an identity-signaling perspective, the studies further showed that people often diverge from dissimilar outgroups to avoid the costs of misidentification. Implications for social influence, identity signaling, and the popularity and diffusion of culture are discussed.
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Metadata
- Authors
- Berger, J., & Heath, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- ORCID
- Berger, Jonah
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 2008-09
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 593-607
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W2059726439
- Cited by
- 549
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 86 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 43 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 61.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- repository.upenn.edu
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) (submittedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Stanford University
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Cultural Differences and Values
- Keywords
- identity signaling, cultural taste, social divergence, cultural diffusion, social influence, misidentification, conformity, material possessions, wristband
- MeSH terms
- Choice Behavior, Culture, Humans, Individuality, Interpersonal Relations, Prejudice, Social Conformity, Social Desirability, Social Environment, Social Identification, Social Perception
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