The Signature Effect: How Signing One’S Name Influences Consumption-Related Behavior

We propose that signing one’s name acts as a general self-identity prime, facilitating the activation of particular aspects of one’s self-identity that are afforded by the situation, resulting in behavior congruent with these aspects. In line with this theoretical account, we show that signing causes consumers to become more (less) engaged when shopping for a product they (do not) closely identify with (studies 1 and 2), to identify more (less) closely with in(out)-groups (study 3), and to conform more with (diverge more from) in(out)-groups when making consumption choices in preference domains that are relevant to signaling one’s identity (study 4).

Citation:

Keri Kettle and Gerald Häubl (2011) ,"The Signature Effect: How Signing One’S Name Influences Consumption-Related Behavior", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Zhihong Yi, Jing Jian Xiao, and June Cotte and Linda Price, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 43-44.