Kent Hunt, Ann Abor, MI : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 714-720.Īdvances in Consumer Research VolPages 714-720 Scott (1978) ,'Self-Perception Processes in Consumer Behavior: Interpreting One's Own Experiences', in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 05, eds. Implications for consumer research are then considered.Ĭarol A. The basic postulates of and evidence for self-perception are reviewed, and current research issues are identified and discussed in this paper. Recent developments in self-perception theory, however, provide the analytical tools necessary for investigating this process. Or we're tricked into believing we answered a survey favouring one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – and assume that must be our view.ABSTRACT - Although consumer behavior has been conceptualized as dynamic in nature, little empirical work has been done on the process by which behavior in one time period forms the basis for subsequent attitudes and actions. But we conclude 'that our behaviour emanated from some inner disposition'. In reality, many pressures shape our behaviour – maybe, Wilson writes, we 'returned the wallet in order to impress the people around us'.

After returning the lost wallet, we conclude that we're honest. 'After purchasing the latte, we assume that we are coffee connoisseurs,' as the psychologist Timothy Wilson writes on.

But 'self-perception theory' proposes that the opposite's also true: we observe our behaviour, then reach conclusions about who we are.

Normally, we assume things work the other way: that a person who thinks of herself as compassionate will therefore act compassionately. But the Swedish study points towards something weirder: not just that we're subconsciously influenced by our environments, but that we infer our very sense of who we are from our behaviour. It's weird enough that a phone on the next table at a restaurant might reduce the chances of two people hitting it off on a date. More than half proved perfectly willing to argue for the opposite of at least one position they'd originally taken: so much for deep convictions. But thanks to some sleight of hand, their answers now appeared beneath different questions – so it looked as if a pro-Israeli respondent, say, had given a pro-Palestinian answer. Then they were asked to look back and discuss their responses. In a study published last month, Swedish volunteers were asked to complete an attitudes survey on everything from internet privacy to the Middle East conflict. (Whether or not they're correct, fair play to the researchers for their title: No Country For Old Men.) Even our deepest convictions can be manipulated by simple trickery. Research conducted in Newcastle, meanwhile, suggests that in areas where fewer elderly people are seen in the street, younger residents may subconsciously conclude that life is short, and thus fast-track their lives, for example by having children earlier. According to the latest findings on the phenomenon of 'priming', the mere presence of a mobile phone near where two strangers are talking makes them less likely to end up feeling positive about each other, perhaps because it triggers distracting thoughts about other friends. More specifically: you don't know why you do what you do. H ardly a week goes by, these days, without some psychologist uncovering more evidence that – and there's no point soft-soaping this – you don't know what the hell you're doing.

Self perception definition