Self gift Giving: A New Widespread Consumption Culture

Year 2008, Volume: 17 Issue: 3, 259 - 276, 01.09.2008

Yrd.doç.dr. Altan Kar

Abstract

The meanings derived from consumption goods have an increasing impact on the
psychological formation of individuals. Hence, to understand the complex nature of
consumer behavior, a multidisciplinary approach is needed.
Consumption goods become magical fetish objects which satisfy individual
pleasures. The gift, in this concept, becomes a token that the individual gives
her/himself, and evolves from being a collective system to an individual form of
consumption. The aim of this study is to explore cross-cultural differences in self-gift
giving behavior, which has been studied mainly in individualistic societies. This study
will explore self-gift giving behavior in collectivistic cultures. Within this respect, this
study investigates whether the seven factors of self-gift giving behavior identified by
Mick (1991) are also valid in Turkish society. Based on these grounds this survey,
investigating the behavior of self-gift purchases, also includes a measure of the
attachment levels of individuals to traditions and an analysis of whether these levels
significantly affect, purchasing behavior.
The giving and receiving of gifts, being an interpersonal communication
phenomenon, has within the popular culture system been seen as an individualistic act,
in which the individual recipient receives gifts directed towards her/himself. Individuals
satisfy needs for “affection, indulgence, getting rid of stress, self-reward, motivation
and fighting loneliness” that are usually met through collective relationships by buying
self-gifts.
Western researchers have found that purchases are becoming more and more
self-centered and that in this context self-giving has become more widespread. The
present study investigates whether the seven categories of antecedents of the purchase
of self-gifts put forward by Mick (1991) remain valid for practices in Turkish society.

Keywords

Self-centered consumption, popular culture, culture of desire, self-gift.

SELF-GIFT GIVING: A NEW WIDESPREAD CONSUMPTION CULTURE

Abstract

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Keywords

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