Identity-signaling behavior

Abstract

What do wearing a tie-dye shirt, driving a high-end sports car, carrying an intellectual book on a train, placing political signs on one's lawn, filling out a consumer survey, posting on Facebook, reading a Japanese manga, donating to a charitable cause, sharing a rumor, and choosing a healthy snack have in common? While the answer to this question might serve as a projective test to some, one answer is that they all can be considered forms of identity-signaling behavior. In this chapter, identity-signaling behavior is defined as behavior motivated by the belief that the behavior will convey particular information about the individual to the self or to others. In this context, it is not imperative that others in fact observe the behavior, or even that the individual has a strong expectation others will observe the behavior. Rather, for the purpose of this chapter, it is sufficient that the individual anticipates how others would interpret the behavior if they were to observe it to constitute identity-signaling behavior motivated by others’ perceptions of the behavior. This definition is consistent with the conception of social psychology as the study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of others (Allport, 1985). Whereas identity-signaling behavior can involve self-signaling without regard to the perceptions of others (Bodner & Prelec, 2003), most identity-signaling behavior appears to reflect concern with signaling information about the self to others (Ross, 1971; Wicklund & Gollwitzer, 1982). This is reflected in findings that show that people are more likely to engage in signaling behavior when engaging in public or conspicuous behavior than in private or inconspicuous behavior (Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Ross, 1971). Likewise, individuals are more likely to engage in identity-signaling behavior in domains that they perceive can convey information about themselves to others (Berger & Heath, 2007; Shavitt, 1990; Shavitt & Nelson, 1999). Research on identity-signaling behavior has a long history in consumer psychology research, with a number of well-known articles identifying identity-signaling motives as drivers of product and brand choice (Belk, 1988; Belk, Bahn, & Mayer, 1982; Fournier, 1998; Gardner & Levy, 1955; Holman, 1981; Levy, 1959; McCracken, 1986; Sirgy, 1982; Thompson & Hirschman, 1995).