Who could blame me? I got it on sale! An investigation of purchase price disclosure as an impression management tactic

Surveys 72 female undergraduates at a US Midwestern university to establish whether or not people distort the purchase price of goods as a means of impression management, an, if so, whether they under‐ or over‐report the price, depending on their level of self‐esteem. Finds that people with low self‐esteem are more likely to use price as a surrogate indicator for taste. Links this to marketing theory in that consumers purchase products for their meaning as well as their purpose and as symbols to demonstrate social status and to communicate self‐image. Takes into account micro‐economics and the price‐quality relationship. Supposes that consumers would buy the cheaper article when confronted with two similar items at different prices but confirms that this is not necessarily the case.