Unique Like Everybody Else? The Dual Role of Consumers' Need for Uniqueness

摘要

Uniqueness has a positive and attractive connotation, but being toounique can result in social sanctions. This paper focuses on the dualrole of consumers' need for uniqueness. The findings of two studiesin Israel support the notion that expressing uniqueness via con-sumption behavior is a safe way to achieve a different sense of beingwithout damaging an individual's sense of social assimilation. Theresults imply a possible new theoretical view of the interplaybetween consumers' need for uniqueness and their need for socialassimilation.