Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2010-10
The Relationship of Body-Related Self-Discrepancy to Body Dissatisfaction,Apparel Involvement,Concerns With Fit and Size of Garments,and Purchase Intentions in Online Apparel Shopping
The purposes of this study was to examine the relationships among body-related self-discrepancy, body dissatisfaction, apparel involvement, concerns with fit and size of garments, and purchase intentions based on self-discrepancy theory. A random sample of college female students (n = 348) was drawn from a Midwestern university. The data was collected using a web-based survey. A hypothesized model was tested using the SEM technique. The results indicated that consumers’ perceived body-related self-discrepancy from online models had a direct relationship with body dissatisfaction. Consumers with higher enduring apparel involvement tended to feel a higher degree of body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction was positively related to five concerns with fit and size of garment dimensions. Enduring apparel involvement was negatively related to concerns with overall appearance and concerns with imagining fit/size in online shopping. Finally, two of the concerns with fit and size of garment dimensions (concerns with overall appearance and concerns with imagining fit/size in online shopping) were negatively related to purchase intentions.
Ashdown, S., Loker, S., & Adelson, C. ( 2005, June). Improved apparel sizing: Fit and anthropometric 3-D scan data (NTC Project: S04-CR01). National Textile Center.
2.
Beck, B. ( 2003). Key strategic issues in online apparel retailing. Retrieved January 6, 2005, from http://www.techexchange.com/thelibrary/online_fit.html
3.
Bessenoff, G.R. ( 2006). Can the media affect us? Social comparison, self-discrepancy, and the thin ideal. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 30, 239-251.
4.
Bobrow, D.G., & Norman, D.A. ( 1975). Some principles of memory schemata. In D. G. Bobrow & A. Collins (Eds.), Representation and understanding: Studies in cognitive science (pp. 131-149). New York, NY: Academic Press..
5.
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. ( 1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological methods and research, 21, 230-258.
6.
Cases, A.S. ( 2002). Perceived risk and risk reduction strategies in Internet shopping. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 12, 375-394.
7.
Cash, T.F., & Szymanski, M.L. (1995). The development and validation of the body image ideals questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 64, 466-477.
8.
D’Angelo, J. ( 2004, October 27). Big dummies mean big business. FoxNews. Retrieved June 11, 2010, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,136698,00.html
9.
DesMarteau, K. ( 2000, October). CAD: Let the fit revolution begin. Bobbin, 42, 42-56.
10.
Dholakia, U.M. ( 2000). A motivational process model of product involvement and consumer risk perception. European Journal of Marketing, 35, 1340-1360.
11.
Fairhurst, A.E., Good, L.K., & Gentry, J.W. ( 1989). Fashion involvement: An instrument validation procedure . Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 7, 10-14.
12.
Festinger, L. ( 1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
13.
Fiske, S.T., & Taylor, S.E. ( 1991). Social cognition (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
14.
Folkes, V.S. ( 1988). The availability heuristic and perceived risk. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 13-23.
15.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D.F. ( 1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research , 18, 39-50.
16.
Forsythe, S., Liu, C., Shannon, D., & Gardner, L.C. ( 2006). Development of a scale to measure the perceived benefits and risks of online shopping. Journal of Interactive Marketing , 20, 55-75.
17.
Forsythe, S., & Shi, B. ( 2003). Consumer patronage and risk perceptions in Internet shopping . Journal of Business Research, 56, 867-875.
18.
Frost, K. ( 1988). Consumer’s perception of fit and comfort of pants (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Minnesota , St. Paul.
19.
Hargreaves, D., & Tiggemann, M. ( 2003). The effect of ‘‘thin ideal’’ television commercials on body dissatisfaction and schema activation during early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 32, 367-373.
20.
Heinberg, L.J., & Thompson, J.K. (1995). Body image and televised images of thinness and attractiveness: A controlled laboratory investigation . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 325-338.
21.
Higgins, E.T. ( 1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319-340.
22.
Hsu, H., & Burns, L.D. ( 2002). Clothing evaluative criteria: A cross-national comparison of Taiwanese and United States Consumers. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 20, 246-252.
23.
Ige, O. ( 2004). Electronic shopping: Young people as consumers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 28, 412-427.
24.
Internet Retailer. (2005, April 14). More than a quarter of consumers who go online still won’t buy there . Retrieved June 10, 2009, from http://www.internetretailer.com/printArticle.asp?id=14686
25.
Irving, L.M. ( 1990). Mirror images: Effects of the standard of beauty on the self- and body-esteem of women exhibiting varying levels of bulimic symptoms . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9, 230-242.
26.
Joines, J., Scherer, C., & Scheufele, D. ( 2003). Exploring motivations for consumer Web use and their implications for e-commerce. Journal of Consumer Marketing , 20, 90-108.
27.
Jung, J. ( 2006). Media influence: Pre- and postexposure of college women to media images and the effect of mood and body image. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 24, 335-344.
28.
Jung, J., Lennon, S.J., & Rudd, N.A. ( 2001). Self-schema or self-discrepancy? Which best explains body image? Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 19, 171-184.
29.
Kaiser, S.B. ( 1997). The social psychology of clothing. New York, NY: Fairchild Publications.
30.
Kher, U. (January 24, 2003). How to sell XXXL. Time. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,409556,00.html#
31.
Kim, H., & Damhorst, M.L. (2008). The impact of body image self-discrepancy on body dissatisfaction, fashion involvement, concerns with fit and size of garments, and loyalty intentions in online apparel shopping (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Iowa State University , Ames.
32.
Kim, J., & Forsythe, S. ( 2008). Adoption of virtual try-on technology for online apparel shopping. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 22, 45-59.
33.
Kim, H., & Lennon, S.J. ( 2010). E-atmosphere, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses . Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 14(3), 412-428.
34.
Kim, J., & Lennon, S.J. ( 2007). Mass media and self-esteem, body image, and eating disorder tendencies. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 25, 3-23.
35.
Kwon, Y.-H. ( 1991). The influence of the perception of mood and self-consciousness on the selection of clothing. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 9, 41-46.
36.
Kwon, Y.-H., & Parham, E.S. ( 1994). Effects of state of fatness perception on weight conscious women’s clothing practices. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 12, 16-21.
37.
Lavine, H., Sweeney, D., & Wagner, S.H. ( 1999). Depicting women as sex objects in television advertising: Effects on body dissatisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1049-1058.
38.
Locander, W.B., & Hermann, P.W. ( 1979). The effect of self-confidence and anxiety on information seeking in consumer risk reduction. Journal of Marketing Research , 21, 268-274.
Markus, H. ( 1977). Self-schemata and processing information about self. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63-78.
41.
McVey, D. ( 1984, February). Fit to be sold. Apparel Industry Magazine, pp. 24-26.
42.
Modeling Advice. (n.d). Fashion model size requirements. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from http://www.modelingadvice.com/FashionSize.html
43.
O’Cass, A. ( 2000). An assessment of consumers’ product, purchase decision, advertising and consumption involvement in fashion clothing. Journal of Economic Psychology, 21, 545-576.
44.
O’Donell and Associates, LLC. (2004). College students spending behavior. Retrieved January 8, 2008, from http://www.odassoc.com/resources/docs/student_spending_behavior.pdf
45.
Posavac, H., Posavac, S., & Posavac, E. ( 1998). Exposure to media images of female attractiveness and concern with body weight among young women. Sex Roles, 38, 187-201.
46.
Richins, M.L., & Bloch, P.H. ( 1986). After the new wears off: The temporal context of product involvement. Journal of Consumer Research, 13, 280-285.
47.
Rogers, E.M. ( 1995). Diffusion of innovations. New York, NY: Free Press.
48.
Rosa, J.A., Garbarino, E.C., & Malter, A.J. ( 2006). Keeping the body in mind: The influence of body esteem and body boundary aberration on consumer beliefs and purchase intention. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 16, 79-91.
49.
Shim, S., Kotsiopulos, A., & Knoll, D.S. ( 1991). Body cathexis, clothing attitude, and their relations to clothing and shopping behavior among male consumers. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 9, 35-44.
50.
Silverman, D. ( 2000, March 8). Teeny boppers, big shoppers: Survey pegs burgeoning young market as future of internet shopping. DNR, p. 12.
51.
Singh, S., & Dalal, N. ( 1999). Web home pages as advertisements. Communications of the ACM, 42, 91-98.
52.
Stone, G.P. ( 1965). Appearance and the self. In M. E. Roach & J. B. Eicher (Eds.), Dress, adornment, and the social order (pp. 216-245). New York, NY : Wiley & Sons..
53.
Then, N.K., & DeLong, M.R. (1999). Apparel shopping on the web. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 91, 65-68.
54.
Venkatraman, M. ( 1989). Involvement and risk. Psychology & Marketing, 6, 229-247.
55.
Yu, U.-J., & Damhorst, M.L. (2008, November). Impact of body image on consumers’ perceptions of idealized advertising images and brand attitudes. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Textile and Apparel Association. Schaumburg, IL.
