Integrating an evolutionary perspective of “self-concept” in consumer research

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to propose a framework for understanding the dynamism of the human self-system from evolutionary and socio-psychological perspective. The study aims to help scholars interested to use an evolutionary lens for examining consumer behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

Relying on the principle of self-cybernetics, the study proposed a general framework explaining the operating mechanism of human self-system. The proposed framework incorporates the socio-psychological and the evolutionary perspective of the human self-concept.

Findings

The framework may help consumer scholars to integrate socio-psychological and evolutionary theories to produce novel and testable hypotheses.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to propose a framework based on the principle of cybernetics to facilitate the use of an evolutionary lens in consumer research.

Citation

Das, P. and Pingali, V. (2022), "Integrating an evolutionary perspective of “self-concept” in consumer research", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 7, pp. 779-799. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-08-2020-4046