The Influence Mechanism Of Envy On Conspicuous Consumption Tendencies: The Interaction Of Commodity Symbolic Meaning

With the rapid development of the times,more and more unhealthy consumption behaviors appear on college campuses,and even lead to illegal borrowing and debt consumption among college students.Domestic and international studies have found a correlation between conspicuous consumption,jealousy and state self-esteem.Therefore,this study takes the theory of compensatory consumption as the theoretical basis of this paper to explore the internal mechanism of college students’ conspicuous consumption tendency.Objective: To investigate the chain reaction of psychological mechanism caused by the conspicuous consumption tendency of college students due to envy;In addition to exploring the relationship between envy,state self-esteem and conspicuous consumption,the role of commodity symbolic meaning in state self-esteem and conspicuous consumption is also studied.Methods: Experiment 1 used the questionnaire method to test 420 college students in a university in Jiangxi Province by using the self-report jealousy scale,the state self-esteem scale and the conspicuous consumption tendency scale.Experiment2 used a test room design of 2(state self-esteem level: high/low)x 2(product symbol:status/quality)to conduct an offline experiment on 140 college students.The following results were obtained from this study:(1)verify that the experience of envy can improve an individual’s tendency to conspicuous consumption;(2)State self-esteem plays a mediating role between envy and conspicuous consumption tendencies: the experience of envy reduces state self-esteem and leads to increased contemptuous consumption tendencies.(3)Individuals’ pursuit of the meaning of commodity symbols plays a certain role in regulating between state selfesteem and conspicuous consumption: individuals with low state self-esteem tend to choose goods with status symbols,resulting in a stronger willingness to buy conspicuous goods.This paper explores the internal mechanism of college students’ conspicuous consumption tendency with the theory of compensatory consumption: the experience of jealousy causes the individual’s state and self-esteem to decline,so as to seek products with status symbols for compensation,resulting in an increase in conspicuous consumption tendency.The results of this paper can enable college students to better understand the causes of their unconscious irrational consumption behaviors,help college students establish a rational view of consumption,correct their irrational consumption tendencies and behaviors,and continuously promote the healthy growth of college students.