CHAPTER 5: THE SELF

4 LEVELS OF THE EXTENDED SELF:

- Individual level - Family level - Community level - Group level

ideal of beauty

a particular model, or exemplar, of appearance.

ideal self

a person's conception of how he would like to be

identity marketing

a promotional strategy where consumers alter some aspects of their selves to advertise for a branded product

bromance

affection between straight male friends

sex-typed traits

characteristics we stereotypically associate with one gender or the other

extended self

external objects that we consider a part of us

communal goals

i.e. affiliation and the fostering of harmonious relations

Contemporary Young Mainstream Female Achievers (CYMFA)

identified different roles these women play in different contexts

virtual identities

identity in real-time, interactive virtual worlds

impression management

process where we work hard to "manage" what others think of us

body image

refers to a consumer's subjective evaluation of his physical self

body cathexis

refers to a person's feelings about this body

actual self

refers to our more realistic appraisal of the qualities we have and don't have

self-esteem

refers to the positivity of a person's self-concept

agentic goals

stress self-assertion and mastery

symbolic interactionism

stresses that relationships with other people play a large part in forming the self

masculinism

study of the male image and complex cultural meanings of masculinity

self-image congruence models

suggest that we choose products when their attributes match some aspect of the self

symbolic self-completion theory

suggests that people who have an incomplete self-definition tend to complete this identity when they acquire and display symbols they associate with that role

self-concept

summarized the beliefs a person holds about his own attributes and how he evaluates the self on these qualities

übersexual

the best. attractive, confident, masculine, in all areas of life

androgyny

the possession of both masculine and feminine traits

looking-glass self

the process of imagining others' reactions "taking the role of the other"

computer-mediated environments (CMEs)

virtual worlds

avatars

visual identities online that range from realistic versions of themselves to tricked out versions with exaggerated physical characteristics or winged dragons or superheroes.

metrosexual

a straight, urban male who is keenly interested in fashion, home design, gourmet cooking, and personal care. (i.e. David Beckham)

gender-bending products

a traditionally sex-typed item adapted to the opposite gender