Keeping up with the Joneses: Status projection as symbolic self-completion

摘要

We studied the incidence and correlates of status projection-use of material possessions to emphasize social status to others-among 100 adolescents in a historical context of rising affluence. Participants listed 10 possessions, rated each for its value as a status symbol, and chose five to discuss with another participant in a forthcoming interaction. Participants selected especially those of their possessions that they had rated higher in ,tatus value (p <.001). This effect was stronger among those reporting upward or downward change in their families' socioeconomic status (p <.05), greater actual-ideal self-discrepancies (p <.05), and stronger commitment to materialistic values (p <.01); moreover, the effect of changing status was stronger among higher materialists (p <.05). These results indicate that people self-complete through presenting their possessions selectively to others, and they help to clarify the precise role of identity commitment in symbolic self-completion.