The Effect Of Materialism On Conspicuous Green Consumption:The Mediating Role Of Impression Management Motives

Materialism is a value that emphasizes the importance of material wealth.Since the concept of materialism was introduced,many researchers have studied the relationship between materialism and consumption behavior.Previous studies have generally concluded that materialism can significantly promote conspicuous consumption but can inhibit green consumption.With the increasing emphasis on materialistic values and environmentalist values,some scholars have proposed the concept of conspicuous green consumption to seek a symbiosis between materialism and environmentalism.Conspicuous green consumption refers to the purchase of green products due to their visible display or public recognition,and is characterized by two features: high display and possession of an environmental label.So how does materialism relate to conspicuous green consumption? Few studies have examined the relationship,and no studies have examined the underlying mechanisms by which materialism influences conspicuous green consumption.Therefore,this study explores the psychological mechanisms by which materialism influences conspicuous green consumption through three studies from the perspective of impression management motivation,explaining and complementing existing research.It is beneficial to discover the psychological mechanisms that promote materialists to engage in green consumption and alleviate the green consumption dilemma.Study 1 initially examined the relationship between materialism and impression management motivation and conspicuous green consumption.The materialism values scale,the impression management motivation scale,and the adapted conspicuous green consumption tendency scale were used to measure 351 participants.The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between materialism,impression management motivation and conspicuous green consumption,and impression management motivation partially mediated the relationship between materialism and conspicuous green consumption.Study 2 consisted of 2 pre-studies and 1 formal study,which aims to examine the causal relationship between materialism and conspicuous green consumption and validate the research model of this study.To select the green products in the formal study,the first pre-study used 40 general adults to assess the showiness of 12 green products using an adapted perceived showiness scale,and found that shopping bags,masks,cell phone cases,and umbrellas were the green products with the highest degree of showiness.And compared to the showiness scores when there was no green logo,the showiness scores of the four green products when there was a green logo were significantly higher.To examine the validity of the initiation of materialism material,the second pre-study uses a picture initiation paradigm to manipulate the level of materialism in 189 general adults,and the results showed that the initiation of materialism was effective.Formal study used156 adults between the ages of 18-40 with some consumption ability as participants,and verified the causal relationship between materialism and conspicuous green consumption by manipulating materialism,followed by measuring impression management motivation and conspicuous green consumption,again demonstrating the mediating role of impression management motivation between materialism and conspicuous green consumption.Study 3 consisted of a pre-study and a formal study,which aims to examine the causal relationship between impression management motivation and conspicuous green consumption.The relationship between materialism,impression management motivation,and conspicuous green consumption was further tested.To test the validity of impression management motivation initiation materials,pre-study was conducted on 133 general adult participants using the textual material initiation method,and the results showed that the initiation of impression management motivation was effective.Formal study used an experimental approach with 170 working individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 with some spending power as participants.The causal relationship between impression management motivation and conspicuous green consumption,as well as the mediating role of impression management motivation,was confirmed by manipulating the participants’ impression management motivation.In summary,this study found the influence of materialism on conspicuous green consumption and the underlying mechanism,which provides explanations and supplements to promote conspicuous green consumption among materialists with certain theoretical and practical significance in today’s prevalent materialistic values.The main findings of this study are as follows:(1)Materialism positively influences individuals’ conspicuous green consumption,and high materialists are more likely to engage in conspicuous green consumption compared to low materialists.(2)Impression management motivation plays a mediating role between materialism and conspicuous green consumption.The higher the individual’s level of materialism,the higher the level of impression management motivation,and the more likely to produce higher conspicuous green consumption.