Individual Differences in the Pursuit of Self‐Uniqueness Through Consumption
Abstract
In this paper, we report an original study of the relationships between self‐attributed need for uniqueness and several consumer dispositions. The results indicate that the self‐attributed need for uniqueness is related to consumers' desires for scarce, innovative, and customized products and to consumers' preferences for unusual shopping venues, but not to consumers' susceptibilities to normative influence. Moreover, we find that these relationships are mediated by a latent variable reflecting individual differences in the tendency to pursue uniqueness through consumption. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed along with directions for future research.
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The tipping point depends on whether or not being unique is considered to violate social norms, resulting in isolation and disapproval by others.
“The tipping point depends on whether or not being unique is considered to violate social norms, resulting in isolation and disapproval by others (Lynn & Harris, 1997).”
From Creativity: The Influence of Cultural, Social, and Work Contexts (2010) · cites this paper as Lynn & Harris, 1997
Cites
Possessions and the Extended Self
Belk, R. W. (1988) · Journal of Consumer Research · doi:10.1086/209154 · Cited by 9,064 · see citing works
Effects of supply and demand on ratings of object value.
Worchel, S., Lee, J., & Adewole, A. (1975) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.32.5.906 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Store-choice behavior for pre-owned merchandise
Darley, W. K., & Lim, J.-S. (1993) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/0148-2963(93)90013-f · Cited by 46 · see citing works
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Too special to be duped: need for uniqueness motivates conspiracy beliefs
Imhoff, R., & Lamberty, P. K. (2017) · European Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1002/ejsp.2265 · Cited by 260 · see citing works
Creativity: The Influence of Cultural, Social, and Work Contexts
Erez, M., & Nouri, R. (2010) · Management and Organization Review · doi:10.1111/j.1740-8784.2010.00191.x · Cited by 263 · see citing works
Legault, L., Ray, K., Hudgins, A., Pelosi, M., & Shannon, W. (2017) · Motivation and Emotion · doi:10.1007/s11031-016-9593-3 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lynn, M., & Harris, J.
- Affiliations
- Cornell University (US)
- Florida International University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lynn, Michael
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1997-11
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 1861-1883
- ISSN
- 0021-9029 (ISSN-L)
- 1559-1816
- OpenAlex
- W2157757011
- Cited by
- 257
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 1.57
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- eCommons (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Perception and Purchasing Behavior
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Retail Behavior Studies
- Keywords
- need for uniqueness, individual differences, consumer dispositions, innovative products, product customization, normative influence, consumer behavior
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