Sacramental Theology in a Consumer Society

Critics of consumerism frequently denounce it for being too materialistic. In fact, much consumer marketing appeals to desires that transcend the material. Marketers present material goods in a manner analogous to sacramental elements: a means of mediating an encounter with that which transcends the material. In a consumer society, it is important for Christian sacramental theology to distinguish itself from the quasi‐sacramental appeal of consumerism. One important way to do this is to emphasize that Christian sacramental theology honors and cherishes material mediations of the transcendent far more than consumerism does.     

I want it and I want it now: Using a temporal discounting paradigm to examine predictors of consumer impulsivity

This paper proposes a new model of consumer impulsivity, using type of good, a person's endorsement of materialistic values, and identity deficits as predictors. Traditional decision making and psychological accounts see impulsive behaviour as a general overweighing of short‐term gratification (I want that dress now) relative to longer‐term concerns, irrespective of consumer good. Our proposal is that consumers' impulsivity (a) differs according to type of good and (b) is linked systematically to a combination of materialistic values and high identity deficits. Beginning with Study 1, three experiments, using a temporal discounting paradigm, show consistently that discount rates are higher for goods that are seen as highly expressive of identity (e.g., clothes) than goods not expressive of identity (e.g., basic body care products). For materialistic consumers, identity deficits predict discount rates for identity‐expressive goods (Study 2), and discount rates change for materialistic individuals when their identity deficits are made salient (Study 3). These findings support a conceptualization of consumer impulsivity as identity‐seeking behaviour.     

When does dual identity predict protest? The moderating roles of anti‐immigrant policies and opinion‐based group identity

Dual identities are defined as immigrants' identification with their ethnic ingroup as well as the national community in their country of residence. Dual identities have been argued to increase protest, because they make immigrants feel entitled to advocate for their disadvantaged ethnic group as part of a larger national community. In a study of Latino immigrants to the United States, however, we found that dual identities no longer predict protest when immigrants learn that other members of the national community have passed laws or enacted policies that would exclude immigrants or restrict their rights, through deportation and detention. Further, we found that immigrants who identify with those fighting to change such anti‐immigrant policies support protest regardless of the level of their dual identity and regardless of policy salience. We argue that these results point to the importance of dual identity recognition for research on immigrant protest. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Immigrant Acculturation and Transnationalism: Israelis in the United States and Europe Compared

This article examines relations between social integration into host societies, religio‐ethnic acculturation into group belonging, and ties to home country among Israeli émigrés in the United States and Europe. I use data from a 2009–2010 Internet survey into which I incorporated country‐contextual characteristics. The results of multivariate analyses show that a social integration combining duration of residence abroad and local citizenship enhances religio‐ethnic identification. Another measure of integration, social networks, deters group behaviors. All measures of general integration inhibit attachment to the home country, whereas religio‐ethnic acculturation is largely insignificant for transnationalism. The religiosity of the new country does not influence immigrants’ religio‐ethnic patterns or homeland attachment. Insofar as group size is a significant determinant of particularistic behaviors, it weakens them. The more policy‐based opportunities newcomers receive, the more they dissociate from group behaviors and homeland ties. Irrespective of individual and contextual factors, living in the United States encourages group affiliation more than living in Europe does. The results are discussed in reference to four working hypotheses—marginalization, integration, assimilation, and separation—and from a U.S.‐European comparative perspective.     

Are Japanese groups more competitive than Japanese individuals? A cross‐cultural validation of the interindividual–intergroup discontinuity effect

The interindividual–intergroup discontinuity effect is the tendency for relationships between groups to be more competitive than the relationships between individuals. It has been observed robustly in studies conducted in the United States, which is a society characterized as “individualistic.” In this study, it was explored whether the effect was replicable in a “collectivistic” society such as Japan. From the traditional view in cross‐cultural psychology, which emphasizes the collectivistic nature of East Asian peoples, it was expected that the discontinuity effect would be greater in Japan than in the United States. On the other hand, based on recent empirical findings suggesting that North Americans are no less group‐oriented than East Asians, it was expected that the discontinuity effect would be no greater in Japan than in the United States. One hundred and sixty Japanese university students played a 10‐trial repeated prisoner's dilemma game: 26 sessions of interindividual and 18 sessions of intergroup. Following exactly the procedure of prior experiments in the US, individuals and groups were allowed face‐to‐face communication with their opponents before making their decisions, and participants in the intergroup condition were further allowed to converse freely with their in‐group members. Results replicated previous findings in the United States; groups made more competitive choices than did individuals. In addition, neither the magnitude of the discontinuity effect, nor the frequency of competitive choices made by the groups, were larger in Japan than they were in the majority of prior studies conducted in the United States. These findings suggest cross‐cultural robustness of the interindividual–intergroup discontinuity effect. Also, interestingly, they contradict the simple distinction between individualism and collectivism. Implications for studies of culture and group processes are discussed.     

Cultural and demographic correlates of self‐reported guardedness among East Asian immigrants in the US

The study examined guarded self‐disclosure or reticence to reveal personal information about oneself to others among East Asian immigrants in the United States, in terms of cultural (ethnic identity, self‐construal, and acculturation) and demographic (gender, age, number of years in the US, and English fluency) variables. Norms regarding appropriate amount, content, and type of self‐disclosure differ noticeably between Asian and American cultures. In general, Asians have been found to be more guarded in their self‐disclosure than their American counterparts. Such differences may hinder the formation of relationships between Asian immigrants and Americans. Thus, it is important for psychologists to examine culture‐specific and non‐culture‐specific correlates of guarded self‐disclosure among Asian immigrants in the United States. However, to date, there has been a dearth of studies examining this topic. This paucity of research is somewhat surprising given the large number of Asian immigrants in the United States. The participants included 170 East Asian immigrants (88 males, 82 females) who were administered a battery of psychometrically established measures. While guarded self‐disclosure did not vary by ethnic group (i.e., Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), it was associated with cultural and demographic variables. East Asian immigrants who exhibited guarded self‐disclosure were more likely to report elevated ethnic pride, interdependent self‐construal, separation, and marginalization, and were less likely to report elevated interpersonal distance, independent self‐construal, and integration. Men reported significantly higher guarded self‐disclosure than women. Overall, this study highlights the importance of assessing both culture‐specific and nonspecific factors in guarded self‐disclosure among East Asian immigrants. The findings emphasize the importance of considering more generic types of self‐disclosure in addition to disclosure of very private and/or distressing information. Awareness of the cultural correlates of guarded self‐disclosure may help counsellors target their outreach programmes for individuals of East Asian heritage.     

Religiosity and consumer behavior of older adults: A study of subcultural influences in Malaysia

• Although differences in consumption patterns across countries are often inferred to be the result of different cultural values and religious orientations, they raise issues of validity because of the many country‐specific factors that may affect behavior. Furthermore, the effects of religiosity are confounded with those of variables that are associated with religiosity such as age. This paper examines the effects of religiosity on well‐being and changes in consumer preferences of 645 adults age 50 and older living in different regions of Malaysia who were surveyed via personal interviews. The results confirm the positive effects of religiosity on well‐being but show differences across the three main ethnic subcultures of Malaysia (Malays, Indians, and Chinese), and they provide little support for the hypotheses that the consistency of consumer brand and store preferences is influenced by religious values. It is suggested that the relationship between religiosity and consumer behaviors warrants additional research, focusing also on variables that relate to religiosity, method of analysis, and on mechanisms that link religiosity to consumer behaviors.

Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Materialism and Well‐being in the UK and Chile: Basic Need Satisfaction and Basic Need Frustration as Underlying Psychological Processes

A growing body of evidence shows that materialistic values are linked to lower well‐being. Self‐determination theory offers an explanation through the low fulfilment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. However, recent research suggests that frustration of these psychological needs may also play an additional role. Using structural equation modelling in adult samples from an established mass‐consumer society (UK: N = 958) and a fast‐developing new economy (Chile: N = 257) and employing more comprehensive measures to tap into a materialistic orientation than used in previous studies, we found that a materialistic value orientation related negatively to well‐being and positively to ill‐being and that both psychological need satisfaction and psychological need frustration played an explanatory role herein. The model was found to be highly equivalent across both samples, supporting the cross‐cultural generality of the mechanisms involved. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Antecedents of young adults' materialistic values

Given the adverse effects of materialism on consumer well‐being, the present study integrates various theoretical frameworks within the life course paradigm to assess the effects of earlier‐in‐life experiences on young Greek adults' materialistic values. Findings from a sample of 285 young adults suggest that disruptive family incidents in early life affect the development of materialistic values, while peers have no discernible influence. Disruptive family settings appear to impair socio‐economic status and self‐esteem, but young Greek adults with impaired self‐esteem are not more materialistic. A family communication environment that places emphasis on autonomy and individual achievement appears to promote the importance of materialism, while a family communication setting that encourages compliance instead of self‐direction appears to deter the development of such orientations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social identity,attribution, and emotion: Comparisons of Americans,Korean Americans,and Koreans

The social identity of another person, in addition to the social identity of self, can be an important factor affecting the types of attribution judgments and emotions that individuals indicate for the other person. In April 2007, the perpetrator of the shooting incident on the Virginia Tech University campus was identified as a person who emigrated to the USA from Korea at a young age. The current study compared non‐Korean Americans, Korean Americans, Koreans in the USA, and Koreans in Korea in terms of their attributions and emotions concerning the perpetrator and the shooting incident. Participants were asked to indicate (1) the extent to which they attributed the cause of the incident to either American society or the perpetrator, (2) their emotions (e.g., upset), and (3) the extent to which they categorized the perpetrator as an American, a Korean American, or a Korean. The results indicated that non‐Korean Americans were most likely to attribute the cause of the incident to the perpetrator as opposed to American society. Non‐Korean Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans in the United States had more negative emotions (e.g., unhappy, sad, and upset) about the incident than Koreans in Korea did. The results also indicated that individuals differed in their attributions and emotions depending on how they categorized the perpetrator. For example, categorizing the perpetrator as being a Korean was positively related to Americans’ tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible, while categorizing the perpetrator as being an American was negatively related to the tendency to hold the perpetrator responsible among Koreans in Korea. The findings may imply that social identity theory, intergroup emotion theory, and cultural orientations (e.g., individualism and collectivism) can provide insights into people's reactions to a tragic incident.     

Religion and Ethnicity Among New Immigrants: The Impact of Majority/Minority Status in Home and Host Countries

Research shows that religion continues to be an important identity marker for new immigrants in the United States. However, immigrant groups differ in the ways they integrate religious and ethnic identities and the emphasis they place on each. In this paper, we argue that majority or minority status of their religious affiliation in the home and host countries is an important, but overlooked, factor in understanding strategies concerning religious and ethnic identities. By comparing two Chinese congregations, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Chinese Christian church in Houston, Texas, we analyze what happens when an immigrant group moves from majority status in the home country to minority status in the United States (Chinese Buddhists) and when a minority group (Chinese Christians in China) become part of the Christian majority in the United States. We conclude by arguing the importance of going beyond U.S. borders and taking into account factors in their home countries in attempts to understand patterns of adaptation of the new immigrants.     

Examining Correlates of Civic Engagement Among Immigrant Adolescents in the United States

Using a diverse urban sample of immigrant adolescents in the United States (N = 345) followed from 10^th grade (M_age = 15.69) to 12^th grade, this study examined the extent to which ecological assets (i.e., community connections and social network resources) predicted civic commitments (i.e., community engagement, social responsibility) as potentially mediated by fair society beliefs. The authors also examined whether ethnicity and generation status moderated these associations. As hypothesized, fair society beliefs were higher and predicted greater civic commitments only among Asian youth. Ecological assets were associated with greater civic commitments for all participants; these links were primarily direct for Latino immigrants and indirect (via fair society beliefs) for Asian youth. First-generation immigrants had more ecological assets and were more civically committed, however social network resources predicted fair society beliefs and community engagement only for second-generation youth. These differences indicate that immigrant youth are best understood as a heterogeneous group and suggest the need for further investigation of cultural variations in civic developmental processes.     

Real brands in imaginary worlds: investigating players' experiences of brand placement in digital games

• This paper explores the development of brand placement in digital games using focus groups with game‐players. Growth in in‐game brand placement is explained by game developers' financial and creative priorities and experimentation in marketerss' use of media. The external context of game‐play is then examined based on explanations of the non‐material aspects of consumer behaviour. Internal game processes are also reviewed, including psychological processes that are likely to be of interest to marketers. The reported experiences of players are then considered in terms of these processes. Findings seem to support the use of brand placement in games. Players easily recall encounters with brands during game‐play and are generally positive about these experiences, suggesting that brands increase realism because it allows individuals to create and explore consumption‐based daydreams. However, some players reject brand placement, preferring in‐game fantasies that are independent of mundane commodities. The findings also raise issues related to the ways in which individuals may use digital games to reflect on our consumer society and this raises a question of the degree to which digital games may support or oppose existing consumer cultures. Other problems for managers wishing to use this technique were revealed by the repetitive nature of games which may cause message wear‐out, and by playerss' frustration with aspects of a game which may lead to negative evaluations of in‐game brands.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transformational consumption choices: building an understanding by integrating social identity and multi‐attribute attitude theories

• Transformational value offerings result when marketers bundle products, services, and experiences in ways that provide consumers with opportunities to alter who they are. Examples include universities, healthcare providers, travel and leisure services, and many other businesses that guide individuals to change in some desired and lasting way. Pine and Gilmore ( 1999 ) predict that in the emerging economy “…transformation offerings will emerge across almost every industry that today views itself as part of the service sector” (p. 168). By definition, transformational value offerings involve identity development. Thus, it makes sense to use identity related variables to explain transformational value offering choices. This paper tests a model merging social identity theory and multi‐attribute attitude modeling to better understand factors predicting consumers' intentions to select a transformational value offering. A survey sample of United States Army Reserve recruits was used to test the integrated model. Results show that identity‐related perceptions form the basis for evaluating the value offering's benefits and intentions to adopt the offering. The prospective consumer also considers whether his or her self‐concept can accommodate that role. The proposed blending of social identity and multiattribute attitude models provides a promising framework for understanding and investigating consumers' choices to adopt transformational value offerings.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Impact of Al‐Islam on the African American Population

At the beginning of the 21st century, there seems to be a growing interest in the Islamic religion, or Al‐Islam, in the African American community. This interest is evidenced by the recognition that Al‐Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States. In some cases, Muslims outnumber some of the traditional religions in America. In addition, of the 5 million Muslims in the United States, approximately 40% are African Americans. This article explores different aspects of Al‐Islam, including the beliefs and religious practice of Muslims; the historical relationship among Africa, African Americans, and Al‐Islam; and the current and future implications for African Americans.     

Imagine that: examining the influence of sport‐related imagined contact on intergroup anxiety and sexual prejudice across cultures

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationship among sport‐related imagined intergroup contact, intergroup anxiety, and sexual prejudice, and (b) how these relationships varied across cultures. Students enrolled at major public universities in South Korea (n = 100) and the United States (n = 100) participated in an experiment in which they imagined playing basketball and then engaging in a conversation with a gay man or with a friend. They then responded to a post‐experiment questionnaire. South Koreans' intergroup anxiety significantly decreased when they imagined contact with a gay man, but the same was not necessarily the case for Americans. Intergroup anxiety mediated the relationship between imagined contact and sexual prejudice for Americans, but not for Koreans.     

Compulsive buying – a growing concern? An examination of gender,age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors

Compulsive buying is an understudied, but growing, dysfunctional consumer behaviour with harmful psychological and financial consequences. Clinical perspectives treat it as a psychiatric disorder, whereas recent proposals emphasize the increasing endorsement of materialistic values as a cause of uncontrolled buying (e.g. Dittmar, 2004b ; Kasser & Kanner, 2004 ). The present research aims to improve understanding of compulsive buying through examining gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as key predictors in three UK questionnaire studies, which sampled individuals who had contacted a self‐help organization and residentially matched ‘controls’ (N=330), consumer panelists from a multinational corporation (N=250), and 16‐ to 18‐year‐old adolescents (N=195). The results confirmed previously documented gender differences, and showed that younger people are more prone to compulsive buying. The central findings were that materialistic value endorsement emerged as the strongest predictor of individuals' compulsive buying, and that it significantly mediated the observed age differences.     

Assuring me that it is as ‘Good as New’ just makes me think about how someone else used it. Examining consumer reaction toward marketer‐provided information about secondhand goods

The current study explores consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information regarding secondhand products. Contamination fears and repugnance have not been addressed at length in consumer research. This study seeks to understand why consumers react negatively to used goods from a perspective of the Accessibility and Diagnosticity of information, addressing the issue of consumer reaction elicited by information about contamination of those goods by others. Specifically, it looks at the process of information processing in consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information, assuring them that secondhand goods are as good as new. Two studies were done to determine the difference in consumer reaction to information about a pair of pants between three conditions: used pants, used pants with assurance that they are as good as new and new pants. Results find that consumers may react negatively to positive marketer‐provided information, even if they believe it. Even though marketer‐provided information can persuade consumers to believe that a secondhand product is as good as new, consumer reaction is more negative than if consumers saw no such information. Negative emotions revolving around perceived contamination are elicited by this information that influences consumer reaction seemingly independent of beliefs about used goods. These results have implications for understanding the impact of information processing on consumer reaction to secondhand goods and to marketing communications in general. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Secularism,Fundamentalism, or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043

We provide a cohort‐component projection of the religious composition of the United States, considering differences in fertility, migration, intergenerational religious transmission, and switching among 11 ethnoreligious groups. If fertility and migration trends continue, Hispanic Catholics will experience rapid growth and expand from 10 to 18 percent of the American population between 2003 and 2043. Protestants are projected to decrease from 47 to 39 percent over the same period, while Catholicism emerges as the largest religion among the youngest age cohorts. Liberal Protestants decline relative to other groups due to low fertility and losses from religious switching. Immigration drives growth among Hindus and Muslims, while low fertility and a mature age structure causes Jewish decline. The low fertility of secular Americans and the religiosity of immigrants provide a countervailing force to secularization, causing the nonreligious population share to peak before 2043.