The Formation and Malleability of Brand Personality Inferences

Considerable research in consumer experimental psychology has examined the self-expressive role of brands, but has found little support for the premise that the interaction of the personality traits associated with a brand and those associated with an individual’s self-concept influence attitudes. The current research focuses on the influence of the malleable self-concept on consumer attitudes toward a brand based on its personality associations. The results of two experiments demonstrate that traits that are made accessible by salient situational cues and those that are chronically accessible (schematic traits) positively influence consumer attitudes toward a brand based on its personality associations. More importantly, these effects were tested in a set of theory-based interactions relying on the self-monitoring individual difference variable. Self congruity was enhanced for low versus high self-monitoring individuals, and situation congruity was enhanced for high versus low self-monitoring individuals. Together, these experiments shed light on the self-expressive use of brands and the role of brand personality in influencing consumer attitudes.