Marketing Seminar（2016-01）

Title: The Devil Wears Prada? How Luxury Consumption Influences Social Behavior

Speaker: WANG, YAJIN , University of Maryland

Time: Wednesday, 23 March. 13:30-15:00

Location: Room217, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

Does the Devil wear Prada? Or does wearing Prada lead people to behave more like the Devil? We propose that using luxury products boosts people’s sense of social status, which encourages them to behave in ways to further their self-interest. In six experiments, women used either a luxury or a non-luxury product, and were then provided opportunities to behave in a selfish or generous manner. We found that women using a luxury product exhibited more selfish behavior, except when they were in a public setting that offered an opportunity to enhance their reputation by being generous. For example, women using a luxury product who were asked to donate money to a charity were more selfish when donating money in private, but were more generous when donating money in front of other people. Overall, we show that luxury consumption leads consumers to act in ways to benefit the self, which can result in either more selfish or more generous behavior depending on the situation.