The Malleable Morality of Conspicuous Consumption

Conspicuous consumption has often been decried as immoral by many philosophers and scholars, yet it is ubiquitous and widely embraced. This research sheds light on the apparent paradox by proposing that the perceived morality of conspicuous consumption is malleable, contingent upon how different mor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 2020-03, Vol.118 (3), p.562-583
Main Authors: Goenka, Shreyans, Thomas, Manoj
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conspicuous consumption
Consumer Behavior
Consumption
Deference
Equality
Expenditures
Female
Human
Ingroup Outgroup
Judgment
Loyalty
Male
Moral judgment
Morality
Philosophers
Preferences
Purity
Social Identity
Test Construction
Values
Visibility
Welfare
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Summary:Conspicuous consumption has often been decried as immoral by many philosophers and scholars, yet it is ubiquitous and widely embraced. This research sheds light on the apparent paradox by proposing that the perceived morality of conspicuous consumption is malleable, contingent upon how different moral lenses highlight the different characteristics embedded in the behavior. Utilizing the Moral Foundations Theory, we demonstrate that the individualizing values (i.e., equality and welfare) make people focus on the self-enhancing characteristics of conspicuous consumption, making it seem morally objectionable. However, the binding values (i.e., deference to authority, in-group loyalty, and purity) make people focus on the social identity signaling characteristic of conspicuous consumption, making it seem morally permissible. First, an archival dataset shows that the prevalence of the different moral values predicts per-capita spending on luxury goods across different countries. Then, 6 studies (N = 2903) show that the trait endorsement and the momentary salience of the different moral foundations can influence the moral judgment of conspicuous consumption as well as the propensity to engage in conspicuous consumption. Further, analyses show that the effect of the binding values (individualizing values) is mediated by heightened sensitivity to the social identity signaling (self-enhancing) aspects of conspicuous consumption. Finally, the studies demonstrate that the effect is moderated by the extent of social visibility during consumption. Thus, this research suggests that some moral values can, somewhat paradoxically, increase conspicuous consumption.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/pspp0000237