You Have to Earn it, but I Don’t: The Role of Monetary Fairness in Conspicuous Consumption

Consumers who are motivated to present themselves in a socially desirable manner often choose to display images of higher status, wealth, and prestige through conspicuous consumption. However, will conspicuous consumption have its desired social benefits even when conspicuous products are purchased with money or wealth acquired unfairly? Will consumers themselves engage in conspicuous consumption when they earned money without adequate effort? The results of four studies suggest that the social benefits of conspicuous consumption can be diminished when others spend money acquired without fair effort. However, consumers who themselves acquire money without adequate effort still prefer to engage in conspicuous consumption. These effects are moderated by individual differences in the value placed on social justice. Though conspicuous consumption has many known social benefits (Griskevicius et al. 2007; Nelissen and Meijers 2011; Scott, Mende, and Bolton 2012), these social benefits may not accrue when money spent on conspicuous consumption is acquired without adequate effort. Justice is an important, universal social value, and people have a desire to believe that people get what they deserve (Lerner 2003; Haidt and Graham 2007). Thus, when consumers are aware that others spend conspicuously using money acquired without their own effort, conspicuous consumption may highlight social inequality and the other person may be perceived negatively. Furthermore, this effect will be more pronounced if evaluators place greater importance on social justice.