Abstract
Culture plays a significant role in the meanings that consumers attach to possessions. One stream of research in consumer behaviour suggests that possession meanings deemed as special, cherished, important, loved, or favourite are considered as parts of the Extended-self.
Literature on the Extended-self centres on the incorporation of possessions into the Extended-self, but there is little understanding on how Pacific cultures with social structures built on Fa’amatai or Chiefly systems attach meaning to favourite and desired clothing that extend the Self. This study applied Projective Photo elicitation semi structured interviews to investigate the influence of Fa’a Samoa (Samoan culture) on the incorporation of favourite and desired clothing into the Extended-self in two different countries.
The Meaning Transfer Model (MTM) (McCracken, 1986, 1989), is applied to the understanding of culture as it relates to the Extended-self in the context of clothing. The Meaning Transfer Model (MTM), enabled the researcher to investigate possession meanings attached to the extension of Self and their instruments of meanings transfer. The results from this study suggest that there are two Culturally Constituted Worlds (CCCW1 and CCW2) that influence the meanings attached to clothing that relate to the Extended-self. The first world represents cultural categories, assumptions and principles that are in harmony with dimensions of Self Concept and support the extension of self through favourite and desired clothing. CCW2 represents cultural categories and elements of culture that clash with dimensions of Self Concept and trigger internal or personal tension and conflict. Samoans living in two different countries struggle with the tensions in CCW2 due to cultural obligations and the pressure to conform to traditional values, beliefs and protocols.
The Extended Meaning Transfer Model (eMTM) derived from the results of this study offer an understanding on the influence of culture on the Extended-self from a Pacific worldview. Although many elements culture are universal, it is the context in which these elements are understood, practised and interpreted that differentiate one culture from another. This thesis highlights those elements unique to Samoan culture that relates to the Extended-self.