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Cited by 1,317

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 46 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity Signaling and Product Domains

Open access
Berger, Jonah, Heath, Chip·2007·Journal of Consumer Research
DOI 10.1086/519142
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Abstract

We propose that consumers often make choices that diverge from those of others to ensure that they effectively communicate desired identities. Consistent with this identity-signaling perspective, four studies illustrate that consumers are more likely to diverge from majorities, or members of other social groups, in product domains that are seen as symbolic of identity (e.g., music or hairstyles, rather than backpacks or stereos). In identity domains, participants avoided options preferred by majorities and abandoned preferences shared with majorities. The social group associated with a product influenced choice more in identity domains and when a given product was framed as identity relevant. People diverge, in part, to avoid communicating undesired identities.

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Metadata

Authors
Berger, J., & Heath, C.
Venue
Journal of Consumer Research
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2007-06-13
Volume
34
Issue
2
Pages
121-134
ISSN
  • 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
  • 1537-5277
DOI
10.1086/519142
OpenAlex
W2106901357
Cited by
1,317
References
46
FWCI
89.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity Signaling and Product Domains. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1086/519142
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Berger, J., & Heath, C. (2007). Where Consumers Diverge from Others: Identity Signaling and Product Domains. Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1086/519142

Data sources

Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.

Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).

Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.