Interpretation of the Self Concept in a consumer
The Social Homebird
This subject is a 21 year old female living in Cork. She is studying nutritional science in UCC. From the analysis of the interview conducted with her we have hopefully gained some insight into her self concept. Almost immediately in the interview it becomes apparent that she has a close connection with her family. When asked how long she has been baking for she tells us that she’s been baking “forever, my Mam and I used to spend all weekend baking together when I was younger”. To even further the point that family is of great importance to her she says that one of the things she would do if she won the lotto was go and spend time in Thailand with her family who were over there visiting her sister. “I think I would go to Thailand, I’ve been there before, it’s a beautiful country and because my sister just moved out there and it would be nice to see her. Plus my parents, my brother, his wife and child are just gone out to visit her for three weeks so it would be a lot of fun”. She further cements the importance of family by saying that if she had won the lotto she would donate some of the money to charity, rather than buying designer bags. The reason for the donation to the respective charities is because someone in her family had suffered from an illness the charities support “If I could spread it out I would but if not maybe to Alzheimer’s research or cancer research. I’ve had people that were affected by both in my family.” The social aspect of having a close family group can be compared and confirmed in her choice in preferred places to socialise. When she was asked what her preferred night out would be she chooses pubs. They’re “just a nicer environment, nightclubs are messy and you would need to be drunk going into them. Plus there are so many nice pubs in cork.” When we asked the subject if she had a particular pub that she liked the most she said that she liked the Oval. “The Oval, it’s cosy and homely. I love the fire down the back and it’s never too loud so you can talk to people”. Notice to be given to the fact that she described the Oval as cosy and homely. The subject also says in the interview that she’s recently been introduced to craft beers, in particular the IPA’s (Indian Pale Ale) “I’ve had a few of the IPA’s and didn’t like them. They made me feel sick. They’re tasty and plenty of flavour in comparison to standard beer but they’re too heavy.” While she said she didn’t like the IPA’s she did mention Heineken and a glass of Guinness, something that would probably look out of place if she was into going crazy on a Saturday in a nightclub. Craft beer is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland, it’s becoming a social drink, almost how wine was in the 2000’s, something to accompany good conversation, highlighting the importance the subject holds on being social and part of a social group.
The “Understated Creative”
The subject is very interested in fashion she follows news on fashion as well as idea leaders within the fashion arena. She says that she follows the editor of Vogue Japan, Anna della Russo. “She’s the editor of Vogue Japan and she wears mad stuff, really colourful and really different to anything you would see here. It’s really mad and out there.” The subject shows her interest in very colourful and unusual style but when asked about how she would describe her own style she described it as conservative. “No, I think my own style is a bit more conservative”. When we asked the subject if she regularly wore make up she said that she did not wear it very often and did not like for it to look un-natural. “ No, not really and if I do wear it I like it to look natural so you'd hardly even notice that I'm wearing it”. The subjects interest in baking could be looked at here and the connection made between her baking and the “mad and out there” style comes to play. When asked what has been her favourite cake that she has baked in the last few weeks she responded by saying that she had made a three tiered Mojito cake. “A couple of weeks ago I was asked to make a cake for a 21st, something special that couldn’t be got in the shops, I knew the person and knew that she loved Mojitos so I thought it would be cool to make something with that in mind. The cake looked great, three teirs with the lime green icing and decorated with mint but the best thing was that it actually tasted of Mojito.” Its possible to make the connection between the fashion that she is interested in and the cake that she made. She expresses her creativity through her food and not through what she wears or the type of make up she uses.
The “Eclectic Explorer”
Another identifyable side to the subjects multiple self is the idea of the eclectic explorer. She dips in and out of trends and genres creating a mash up of interests. For example her interest in the lifestyles that the Kardashians live is very different to the lifestyle that Jamie Oliver or Hugh Fernelly Wittingstall live but she chose to mention them all in the one sentence when she was asked what celebrities she followed. “The Kardashians and Beyonce and a lot of celebrity chefs, they have great pages. They post pictures of their new books and new recipies. People like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fernelly Wittingstall.” Indicating that she rates them all on or around the same level. The subject has a very interesting taste in music, again this is a patchwork of different genres from across a number of years. When asked if she had any preference when it came to music, she said that she listened to a mix of chart music and old rock. “I like some of the stuff in the charts, like Taylor Swift and Clean Bandit or maybe some Florence and the Machine but I also really like old rock, Blur, Guns and Roses and the Rolling Stones.” The eclectic explorer side of her self concept is very evident throughout her entire interview. She regularly makes reference to trying new and different things. When asked why she would be a Macaroon she replied that “they're all different”. She says that if she won the lotto she would travel to experience other cultures and taste their foods “I would go travelling across the world in order to taste all of the local types of food so when I came home I would have loads of ideas and experience to open a bakery.” The subject goes on further to say that “tryng new foods and going to new places can be very exciting”. The subject also talks about buying a Chanel bag and following Vogue on on social media, two brands that are seen as high end in the fashion idustry but when asked if she would pair her Chanel bag to a Pennys top she responded, “well, yea, I don't see why not”. In a more literal way, the subject talks about her love for travel and exploration in particular her love for Paris. “It was just amazing to walk around. Everything was so pretty. The architecture was amazing. The food was amazing. The art was amazing. There was always something to do or see. It was great after seeing pictures of it on TV to see it in person. Like the Eiffel tower, it was great to see that.” It's interesting to note what she mentions in this statement, architecture, food and art. This statement alone is testament to the eclectic nature of things that she has interest in.
The “Strong Independent Woman”
Some of the choices the subject made refers to the ideal self. Her ambition in life is to open a bakery and although traditionaly baking is something that females would have done in the household, very few would have used it to establish their own business. The subjects entrapreneurial spirt and dedication to what she wants to do is displayed early in the conversation. “I would probably drop out of college, I would go travelling across the world in order to taste all of the local types of food so when I came home I would have loads of ideas and experience to open a bakery.” Entrapreneurship, is a practice that is predominatly dominated by males and it's only in the last 10 years that Ireland has seen a rise in the amount of females entering into it. The subject shows a knowledge of how she would go about making her business a success, “you’re not just going to be baking apple tarts, that’s what everyone does!! You’re getting new ideas for new products and things that maybe people haven’t tried. That’s what would draw people to your bakery, rather than having people think that they could go anywhere for that. You have to be different; have to stand out when you’re trying to sell something.” Differenciation in a market is one of the key factors in deciding if your business will be a success or a failure, something that the subject already knows. Her determination for her other goals is shown in a very independent light also. When she was asked if she would like to be the owner of a Chanel bag and expensive shoes she gave a very definate response. “Yea, I think so. I think that I’ll get there, regardless of winning the lotto or not.” Further showing that her ideal self is a very independent woman. When UCC didn't have someting that she was interested in she went about steeing up her own society, it wasn't accepted but she doesn't seem to be deterred, she says that she will re-apply next year. “Yea, I love it! I went about setting up a baking society in UCC this year, I had all the relevant documents filled out and the 100 signatures needed but they refused my application. They thought that I could just join the foodies society. They do nothing though. I'm not going to give up on it though, I'll try again next year.” When we asked the subject about her choices in films she listed off a few comedies but then said that she loved the hunger games, in particualr, the character Catniss played by Jennifer Lawrence. Catniss in the films is a very strong and independent woman. She is entered into games that are a modern version of the Colosseum in Rome and comes out the victor both times. “Yea, I like Superbad and the Anchorman and a lot of the Disney films. OH, I also really like the Hunger Games. Jlaw plays the Catniss part great!” When we asked the subject more on Jennifer Lawrence and what it was about her that she liked, her response was an echo of the independent woman ideal self that she was displaying. “Shes great, shes such a role model for young women. She eats what she wants she isn't skin and bones, she even snorts on live TV when shes laughing. She just seems to be so down to earth and is proof that you don't have to be the steriotypical stick insect woman with no brain to make it big.” The subject choices in the things that she wants to do in the future and the people that she admires all point to the independent woman concept of the ideal self that we identified.