Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025

Spotlighting Customers' Visual Attention at the Stock, Shelf and Store Levels with the 3S Model
Published on: May 24, 2019
Someone just posted on Instagram: Conspicuous consumption, anticipated engagement, and trait mindfulness
Cleoputri Yusainy1, Ika Fitria1, Thoyyibatus Sarirah1
1Psychology Department, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia.
Abstract:
The practice of "flexing," showing off one's wealth and status, gradually penetrates daily life on various social media platforms, most notably Instagram. We investigated the extent to which exposure to conspicuous consumption by a stranger stimulated the viewers' materialistic aspiration and whether this effect could be mediated by anticipated engagement and moderated by trait mindfulness. A large number of Instagram users in Indonesia (N = 2,296, 75.30% female; Mage = 31.14 years old, SDage = 7.09) completed the trait mindfulness scale, randomly received a single Instagram photo showcasing luxury material vs. experiential purchase, provided an estimate of the intensity of love and comment from other viewers (i.e., anticipated engagement), and filled out the materialistic aspiration scale. Participants exposed to material purchase reported higher aspiration than those exposed to experiential purchase, but lower anticipated engagements also reduced materialistic aspiration. Participants with higher trait mindfulness were better at distinguishing the effects of conspicuous consumption on anticipated engagement and materialistic aspiration. These findings indicate that the viewers' anticipation of collective attention could reverse the impact of exposure to conspicuous consumption and the potential of trait mindfulness as an anti-mimetic quality for situational materialism.
More Related Videos
12:22Mindfulness in Motion MIM: An Onsite Mindfulness Based Intervention MBI for Chronically High Stress Work Environments to Increase Resiliency and Work Engagement
Published on: July 1, 2015
05:58Using Rapid Serial Visual Presentation to Measure Set-Specific Capture, a Consequence of Distraction While Multitasking
Published on: August 29, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy Theory
High-Level and Low-Level Awareness
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Traits, Mood, and Subjective Wellbeing
Neuroticism and...
Cognitive Dissonance
Self-Schemas