Beauty and riches: People who think they are attractive are more materialistic, the mediating role of social comparison orientation and the buffering role of self-affirmation

Abstract

Self-perceived physical attractiveness, as a pivotal variable influencing an individual's self-cognition and evaluation. Investigating its impact on materialism via social comparison orientation and the buffering effect of self-affirmation in this relationship can elucidate the psychological mechanisms through which individuals employ material consumption to construct and present their self-image in social interactions. Study 1 utilized a recall writing paradigm to manipulate participants' self-perceived physical attractiveness, thereby examining its effects on both explicit and implicit materialism, as well as the mediating role of social comparison orientation. Study 2 adopted a scale measurement approach to select participants with high self-perceived physical attractiveness and randomly assigned them to either a self-affirmation group or a control group, to investigate the buffering effect of self-affirmation in the process where high self-perceived physical attractiveness influences explicit and implicit materialism through social comparison orientation. The results indicate that: (1) Self-perceived physical attractiveness significantly and positively predicts both explicit and implicit materialism; (2) Social comparison orientation mediates the impact of self-perceived physical attractiveness on explicit and implicit materialism; (3) Self-affirmation buffers the mediating process through which high self-perceived physical attractiveness influences explicit and implicit materialism via social comparison orientation.