사회적 배제가 물질적 소비(vs. 경험적 소비)의 상대적 선호에 미치는 영향

초록

Despite the development of social media that connects people to each other, many people today ironically feel disconnected in social situations. Accordingly, the understanding of socially excluded consumers is becoming more important, so this research demonstrates their preference between two purchase types with the result of low perceived control. Being alone indicates the unavailability of others' help in the face of external danger, so that social exclusion impairs an individual’s perceived control. When people experience an uncomfortable tension caused by deprivation of perceived control, they tend to regain perceived control by possessing something. Postulating that material goods are easier to possess than experiential goods, it is predicted that socially excluded consumers(vs. socially included consumers) will relatively prefer material purchase to experiential purchase and this will be mediated by the level of perceived control(H1 and H2). Besides, the relationship between social exclusion and the asymmetric preference for purchase types can be moderated by power state because having more power than others can bolster perceived control. Therefore, we further hypothesize that the effect of social exclusion will be attenuated under high power condition(vs. low power condition) and perceived control will play a mediating role(H3 and H4). We tested these hypotheses in two studies. In study 1, we used one-factor two-level(social inclusion vs. social exclusion) between-subjects design and found that the relative preference for material purchase(vs. experiential purchase) was increased in social exclusion condition(vs. social inclusion condition) and this effect was mediated by perceived control. Study 2 followed a 2(social inclusion vs. social exclusion) × 2(low power vs. high power) between-subjects design. The results showed that social exclusion(vs. social inclusion) increased the relative preference for material purchase(vs. experiential purchase) in the low power condition but not in the high power condition and the level of perceived control mediated this moderation effect. Finally, we discuss theoretical and practical implications of this work and directions for future research.

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