Under Pressure

Video games frequently invoke high-pressure circumstances in which player performance is crucial. These high-pressure circumstances are incubators for 'choking' and 'clutching'-phenomena that broadly address critical failures and successes in performance, respectively. The eruption of esports into the mainstream has vitalized the need to understand performance in video games, and particularly in competitive games spaces. In this work, we explore the potential mechanisms behind choking and clutching and how they are related to player traits and tendencies. We report the results of multiple regression analyses, finding that the propensity to choke is positively correlated with Reinvestment, Obsessive Passion, and Public Self-Consciousness, as well as Approach and Avoidance coping styles. Likewise, we find that the propensity to clutch is negatively correlated with Social Anxiety, and positively with Private Self-Consciousness and player experience with competitive gaming. We propose that these findings can be utilized to scaffold and support performance in high-pressure gaming spaces, such as esports. This work represents an initial step in the empirical exploration of choking and clutching in competitive video game contexts.

Constructing generational identity through counterfeit luxury consumption

Purpose This paper aims to theorize counterfeit luxury consumption among millennials from a generational identity perspective. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes and tests a model of counterfeit buying behavior using an online survey of 467 millennial respondents. The study uses multi-item measures from the extant literature and uses the structural equation modeling technique to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings The findings reveal when millennials have a self-defining relationship with their generation, they tend to internalize the generational norm pertaining to counterfeit luxury consumption. Millennials’ counterfeit related values: market mavenism, postmodernism, schadenfreude and public self-consciousness contribute to their generational identity. Moreover, market mavenism, cool consumption and public self-consciousness establish counterfeit luxury consumption as a generational norm. Practical implications The findings of this paper suggest that the expertise and influence of market mavens can be used to deter counterfeit consumption. Moreover, luxury brands must communicate a cool image to offset the rebellious image of counterfeits. Further, from a standardization versus adaption standpoint, the generational perspective allows for the standardization of anti-counterfeiting campaigns. Originality/value The paper makes a novel contribution to the counterfeiting literature by demonstrating that millennials pursue counterfeit luxury brands when they pledge cognitive allegiance to their generation. The paper, thus, extends the identity perspective of counterfeit luxury consumption to group contexts. The authors also test and validate the role of descriptive norms in group contexts by introducing the construct generational norm to counterfeiting literature.

The Relationship between Consumers’ Public Self-consciousness and their Purchase Intention of the New Luxury Goods

The era of consumption upgrade has begun due to the rapid economic development. Nowadays, the new luxury consumption is prevailing, and China has emerged as the primary consumer of these luxury goods. Based on the public self-consciousness of consumers, the relationship between this aspect and consumers’ purchase intentions of the new luxury goods is explored. This study investigated the impact of consumers’ public self-consciousness on their willingness to purchase new luxury goods, validated the proposed hypothesis by design experiments, and used the linear regression analysis of the experimental data. This study showed that the higher the consumer’s public self-consciousness, the more inclined they were to purchase these luxury goods. The findings of this study would be helpful to expand and enrich the research of the new luxury consumption behaviors in consideration that public self-consciousness is hardly reflected in recent research. Hence, this study would enlighten and acts as a significant reference for companies of the new luxury goods to develop more effective marketing strategies.

(Dis)satisfied with your choices? How to align online consumer’s self-awareness, time pressure and self-consciousness

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this study applies social presence theory to explore the influences of public self-awareness on consumers’ choice inconsistency and post-choice satisfaction. Second, the authors investigate how time pressure moderates the effects of self-awareness on choice inconsistency and post-choice satisfaction so that online sellers can better align their marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach This research consists of two studies. Study 1 conducted a 3 (self-awareness: public/private/control) × 2 (time pressure: high/none) experiment, and 311 online participants were recruited to explore the influence of public self-awareness and time pressure. Study 2 used a 3 (self-awareness: public/private/control) × 2 (time pressure: high/no) × 2 (self-consciousness: high/low) quasi-experiments, and the authors used 652 online participants to examine the effect of self-awareness, time pressure and public self-consciousness on choice inconsistency and post-choice satisfaction. Findings The results indicate that publicly self-aware consumers under high time pressure show greater inconsistency than those under no time pressure. Also, people with higher public self-consciousness exhibited higher choice inconsistency and post-choice satisfaction in public self-awareness situations than those in private self-awareness and control conditions. Research limitations/implications To generalize the results, this study should be replicated using more heterogeneous populations in diverse regions and cultures, as well as other product categories. Practical implications This study explores the implications of evoking self-awareness during online consumption and the online purchase process by observing the moderating effect of self-consciousness and time pressure. The findings provide insights to marketing practitioners who seek to increase their companies’ competitive advantage and profits through effective online manipulations of consumers’ self-awareness. Originality/value Extant research does not address how time pressure affects the relationships among public self-awareness, choice inconsistency and post-choice satisfaction. In addition, prior research only focused on public self-awareness in customer consumption. This study bridges these gaps and has implications for e-commerce, consumer behavior and relationship marketing research fields.

Self-Consciousness in Online Shopping Behavior

Self-consciousness can be considered as the internal disposition to direct attention to oneself. This dispositional tendency can be focused on private aspects of the self, but also on public characteristics of the individual. We examine self-consciousness in online consumer behavior. This concept has been poorly investigated in consumer research. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the influence of the dimensions of self-consciousness in consumer adoption of online shopping. This study is based on a sample of 725 Spanish undergraduates. Findings indicated that public self-consciousness is a significant predictor of the adoption of online shopping, and inversely affects perceived ease of use and usefulness. These results may have important implications in the segmentation of users of self-service technologies.

Gray-Matter Expansion of Social Brain Networks in Individuals High in Public Self-Consciousness

Self-consciousness is a personality trait associated with an individual’s concern regarding observable (public) and unobservable (private) aspects of self. Prompted by previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, we examined possible gray-matter expansions in emotion-related and default mode networks in individuals with higher public or private self-consciousness. One hundred healthy young adults answered the Japanese version of the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) questionnaire and underwent structural MRI. A voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed that individuals scoring higher on the public SCS showed expansions of gray matter in the emotion-related regions of the cingulate and insular cortices and in the default mode network of the precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, these gray-matter expansions were particularly related to the trait of “concern about being evaluated by others”, which was one of the subfactors constituting public self-consciousness. Conversely, no relationship was observed between gray-matter volume in any brain regions and the private SCS scores. This is the first study showing that the personal trait of concern regarding public aspects of the self may cause long-term substantial structural changes in social brain networks.

Factors Influencing Price Perception for Fashion: Study of Millennials in India

Indians are culturally conditioned to be price sensitive, but do the Indian millennials hold similar price perception for fashion. This paper provides new insights into the price perception of Indian millennials for fashion and is the first to examine the influence of fashion involvement and personality traits viz., self-confidence and public self-consciousness with fashion innovativeness as a mediator and zodiac signs as a moderator on price perception with specific focus on price-quality schema of Indian millennials. A conclusive, descriptive and single cross-sectional research design was used to collect data from Indian millennials using a self-completion questionnaire. The model fit and hypothesized relationships between the variables were assessed using AMOS, a covariance-based structural equation modeling technique. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship between personality traits and price perception of Indian millennials for fashion. The mediating effect of fashion innovativeness was not found. The moderating effect of zodiac signs was observed. This study contributes to the understanding of the price perception of Indian millennials and brings to light a new dimension of the moderating role of zodiac signs. The results provide valuable inputs to the marketers in designing their marketing strategies.

Self-consciousness in female university students: the predictive role of social anxiety

Objective: To find out the degree and direction of correlation between social anxiety and self-consciousness and to investigate the predictive role social anxiety plays in determining self-consciousness among female university students. Method: The study with cross sectional research design was conducted using non-probability purposive sampling technique to collect data. Participants of the research were university students within the age range of 18 to 26 years and were gathered from different public and private sector universities. Reliable instruments including Social Anxiety Scale, Self-consciousness Scale- R and demographic sheet were used. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis were employed for data analysis. Results: All the subjects in the study, 300(100%) were females with different educational qualifications ranging from Intermediate to Doctorate. The overall mean age was 21.14±2.06 years. Interesting findings revealed that age had significant inverse correlation with social anxiety (r=-0.17, p<0.01), whereas no significant relation was found between age and self-consciousness. Private self-consciousness was positively correlated with public self-consciousness (r=0.55, p<0.01), evaluation anxiety (r=.18, p<0.01), and interaction anxiety (r=0.11, p<0.05) whereas significant positive correlation was observed between public self-consciousness and all domains of social anxiety i.e. performance anxiety (r=0.21, p<0.01), interaction anxiety (r=0.29, p<0.01), and evaluation anxiety (r=0.35, p<0.01). Moreover social anxiety turned out to be a strong positive predictor of self-consciousness. Continuous...