Arguing that psychology has failed to come to terms with the cultural context within which identities are established, this paper focuses on consumption as a means of identity formation in a 'postmodern' culture. It is suggested that the impact of consumption upon contemporary identities might be better understood by focusing upon the meanings with which young consumers endow consumer goods. In particular, data obtained through a participant observation in a sports shop in a northern English town are used to illustrate some of the misunderstandings that have arisen as a result of conceptualizations of the fragility of postmodern identities. The importance of applying theoretical insights (e.g. Bourdieu, Simmel) alongside innovative methodologies is therefore stressed.
Archibald, W.P.
(1976).Psychology, sociology and social psychology: Bad fences make bad neighbours. British Journal of Sociology, 27(2),115-129.
3.
Barthes, R.
(1967). Elements of semiology. New York: Hill & Wang.
4.
Baudrillard, J.
(1983). Simulations. New York: Semiotext.(e)
5.
Bourdieu, P.
(1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
6.
Branson, J.
, & Miller, D. (1991). Pierre Bourdieu. In P. Beilharz (Ed.), Social theory: A guide to central thinkers (pp. 37-45). Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
7.
Csikszentmihalyi, M.
, & Rochberg-Halton, E. (1981). The meaning of things: Domestic symbols and the self. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Davis, F.
(1985). Clothing and fashion as communication. In M.R. Solomon, (Ed.), The psychology of fashion (pp. 15-27). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
9.
Derrida, J.
(1986). The ends of man. In K. Baynes, J. Bohman, & T. McCarthy (Eds.), After philosophy (pp. 125-158). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
10.
Dichter, E.
(1964). The handbook of consumer motivations. New York: McGrawHill.
11.
Dittmar, H.
(1992). The social psychology of material possessions: To have is to be. Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
12.
Dittmar, H.
, Manetti, L., & Semin, G.R. (1989). Fine feathers make fine birds: A comparative study of material wealth on perceived identities in England and Italy. Social Behaviour, 4,195-200.
13.
Douglas, M.
, & Isherwood, B. (1979). The world of goods: Towards an anthropology of consumption. London, Allen Lane.
14.
Erikson, E.H.
(1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Newton.
15.
Featherstone, M.
(1991). Consumer culture and postmodernism. London: Sage.
16.
Fine, B.
, & Leopold, E. (1993). The world of consumption. London: Routledge.
17.
Foucault, M. (1980). Truth and subjectivity. In Howison Lectures. Unpublished manuscripts.
18.
Foxall, G.
, & Goldsmith, R. (1988). Personality and consumer research: Another look. Journal of the Market Research Society, 30(2), 111-125.
19.
Frisby, D.
(1985). Georg Simmel: First sociologist of modernity. Theory, Culture & Society, 2(3), 49-67.
20.
Frisby, D.
(1992). Simmel and since. London: Routledge.
21.
Graumann, C.
(1974). Psychology and the world of things. Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, 4, 389-404.
22.
Hebdige, D.
(1988). Hiding in the light. London: Routledge.
23.
Holland, R.
(1977). Self and social context. London: Macmillan.
24.
Jameson, F.
(1984). Postmodernism, or the cultural logic of late capitalism. New Left Review, 146, 53-93.
25.
Jenkins, R.
(1992). Pierre Bourdieu. London: Routledge.
26.
Jenks, C.
(1993). Culture. London: Routledge.
27.
Kellner, D.
(1992). Popular culture and the construction of postmodern identities. In S. Lash & J. Friedman (Eds.), Modernity and identity (pp.141-177). Oxford: Blackwell.
28.
Kvale, S.
(1992). Postmodern psychology: A contradiction in terms? In S. Kvale (Ed.), Psychology and postmodernism (pp. 1-57). London: Sage.
29.
Laaksonen, P.
(1994). Consumer involvement. London: Routledge.
Logan, R.D.
(1983). A re-conceptualization of Erikson's identity stage. Adolescence, 18(72), 943-946.
32.
Lunt, P.
(1995). Psychological approaches to consumption: Varieties of research-past, present and future. In D. Miller (Ed.), Acknowledging consumption (pp. 238-263). London: Routledge.
33.
Lyon, D.
(1994). Postmodernity. Buckingham: Open University Press.
34.
Lyotard, J.-F.
(1984). The postmodern condition. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
35.
Marsland, D.
(1993). Understanding youth: Issues and methods in social education. St Albans: Claridge.
36.
Miller, D.
(1987). Material culture and mass consumption. Oxford: Blackwell.
37.
Mittal, B.
(1983). Consumers' cognitive journey through the product forest. In R.P. Bagozzi & A.M. Tybout (Eds.), Advances in consumer research (pp. 464-468). Provo, UT, and Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research.
38.
Parker, H.
(1978). View from the boys. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
39.
Ratneshwar, S.
, & Chaiken, S. (1991, June). Comprehension's role in persuasion: The case of its moderating effect on the persuasive impact of source cues. Journal of Consumer Research, 18, 52-62.
40.
Robson, C.
(1993). Real world research. Oxford: Blackwell.
41.
Shields, R.
(Ed.). (1992). Lifestyle shopping: The subject of consumption. London: Routledge.
42.
Simmel, G.
(1971). On individuality and social forms. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
43.
Simmel, G.
(1990). The philosophy of money (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.
44.
Spiggle, S.
, & Sewall, M.A. (1987, April). A choice sets model of retail selection. Journal of Marketing, 51, 97-111.
45.
Veblen, T.
(1994). The theory of the leisure class. Mineola, NY: Dover.
46.
Warde, A.
(1990). Introduction to the sociology of consumption. Sociology, 24(1), 1-4.
