Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: conspicuous consumption as a sexual signaling system.
Peacocks, Porsches, and Thorstein Veblen: conspicuous consumption as a sexual signaling system.
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DOI：
10.1037/a0021669
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发表时间：
2011-04
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Jill M. Sundie;D. Kenrick;Vladas Griskevicius;J. Tybur;K. Vohs;D. Beal
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jill M. Sundie;D. Kenrick;Vladas Griskevicius;J. Tybur;K. Vohs;D. Beal
炫耀性消费是一种经济行为形式，在这种行为中，自我表现的关注压倒了以低廉价格获得商品的欲望。炫耀性的消费可能是一种针对潜在伴侣的社交信号。我们通过检查(a)哪些个体发送了这些信号，(b)哪些背景触发了这些信号，以及(c)观察者如何解读这些信号来调查这些信号。三个实验表明，炫耀性消费是由遵循低投资（相对于高投资）交配策略的男性驱动的，并且是由短期（相对于长期）交配动机触发的。第四个实验表明，观察者准确地解读了这些信号，女性认为那些明显消费的男性对短期交配感兴趣。此外，炫耀性购买增强了男性作为短期伴侣（而不是长期伴侣）的吸引力。总的来说，这些发现表明，向潜在伴侣炫耀与地位有关的商品并不仅仅是为了展示经济资源。相反，炫耀性消费似乎是一个专注于短期交配的更精确的信号系统的一部分。这些发现有助于形成关于人类生活史策略的新兴文献。
Conspicuous consumption is a form of economic behavior in which self-presentational concerns override desires to obtain goods at bargain prices. Showy spending may be a social signal directed at potential mates. We investigated such signals by examining (a) which individuals send them, (b) which contexts trigger them, and (c) how observers interpret them. Three experiments demonstrated that conspicuous consumption is driven by men who are following a lower investment (vs. higher investment) mating strategy and is triggered specifically by short-term (vs. long-term) mating motives. A fourth experiment showed that observers interpret such signals accurately, with women perceiving men who conspicuously consume as being interested in short-term mating. Furthermore, conspicuous purchasing enhanced men's desirability as a short-term (but not as a long-term) mate. Overall, these findings suggest that flaunting status-linked goods to potential mates is not simply about displaying economic resources. Instead, conspicuous consumption appears to be part of a more precise signaling system focused on short-term mating. These findings contribute to an emerging literature on human life-history strategies.