Psychological Landscape of Consumption: Examining the Nexus between Self-Esteem, Dunning Kruger Effect and Conspicuous Consumption for Gen Z
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20560805Keywords:
Dunning-Kruger Effect, Conspicuous Consumption, Self-Esteem, Consumer BehaviorAbstract
Consumption is an essential tool for an individual to express himself in society. One of the crucial consumption patterns that can be taken into account in this situation is conspicuous consumption. It is possible to discuss the existence of numerous psychographic internal factors that influence an individual's consumption behavior. In this context, self-esteem uses consumption as a tool in the individual's journey to reach the ideal self. Based on this conceptual framework, conspicuous consumption behavior may be a choice that an individual can apply to increase self-esteem. This study examines the moderator role of the Dunning-Kruger (D-K) Effect in the interaction of self-esteem and conspicuous consumption. Considering the variables, the research is interdisciplinary, based on the psychology, microeconomics, and consumer behavior literature. The research discusses how the interaction between the dependent and independent variable emerges in the moderation of the D-K Effect, which can be described as a self-assessment failure, over the Gen Z population. Finally, as a result of the analysis, it was found that a high level of D-K moderates the effect of self-esteem on conspicuous consumption.
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