This document summarizes a study exploring how women's self-perceptions relate to their experiences shopping for fashion and interacting with sales associates. The study found that a woman's self-esteem and fashion consciousness do not correlate, meaning low and high self-esteem women can both be fashion conscious. It also found that while women do not frequently seek out sales associates, they are more likely to engage if first complimented. Additionally, women with high self-esteem were found to be more influenced by sales associates' persuasive appeals that create cognitive dissonance. The study provides insights but had limitations like sample size that could be improved in future research.

1. Women’s Self Perceptions and Dissonance in Fashion Shopping
Kathleen M. Duff
School of Communication Studies
University of Tennessee

2. Abstract
The goal of this paper is to explore how women’s self perceptions relate to their
experience shopping and interacting with sales associates in a fashion retail setting. More
specifically this study will seek to explore how a woman’s self-esteem and fashion
consciousness will make them more or less susceptible to cognitive dissonance created by
the persuasive appeal of a sales associate and whether or not dissonance is an effective
motivator in this kind of interaction. The research resulted in mixed results of which
some interesting inferences can be made.

3. Women’s Self-Perceptions and Dissonance in Fashion Shopping
In the modern society in which we live in today, unless one chooses to reside
within a nudist community, fashion inevitably plays a large role in how people present
their public selves. This can be seen especially in the various fashion styles worn by
women around the world. How is it that women attain these clothes? For most of them,
they have to go out shopping for them at some point. This is the environment in which
this study will take place: in the realm of shopping for women’s fashion. Like any other
social environment there is more than one person involved and therefore communication
that must take place. Particularly in a social environment where a monetary transaction is
involved, communication takes on a different role as a tool for compliance gaining where
a consumer wants to make the right purchase and a sales associate wants to make a sale.
This study will seek to explore how a woman’s self-perceptions on herself and her own
fashion consciousness impacts this interaction with a sales associate and how a sales
associate’s persuasive appeal may use a fashion consumer’s self-perceptions to create a
dissonance that can only be relieved by purchasing the intended merchandise.
Literature Review
Venkatesh, Joy, Sherry, and Deschenes (2010) define fashion as “the most
admired style in clothes and bodily adornments” (p.460). Valerie Steele (2004) defines it
as “the cultural construction of the embodied identity”. Fashion, however is so much
more than just the clothes that serve a utilitarian purpose of shielding the body from
natural forces, it can actually serve as a means of self expression and give a wearer an
outlet with which to create and project an identity created from fashion choices.
Particularly in a society that is as image obsessed as we are today, one’s appearance can

4. be very important to the formation of one’s self-identity. Llewellyn Negrin (1999) argues
that “In the present age where self-identity has increasingly been defined in terms of
one’s physical appearance by the advertising industry, one could argue that modes of
dress which promote the view of the self as a series of changing guises are conservative
insofar as they leave unchallenged the reductions of self-identity to an image which is
constructed by the commodities one buys” (p. 110). While this heavy emphasis on
outward appearances has, at times, hindered women by being valued in their appearance
rather than in their work, women in all manners of life can choose to use fashion to their
advantage to create a certain identity they wish to display through the clothes they choose
to wear.
Fashion can be a very effective tool creating a woman’s positive self-image and
projecting that image publically. Consumer studies have found that some consumers do
tend to use possessions, brands, and fashion to create their self-identities and
communicate these selves both to themselves and to others (Belk 1988; Fournier 1998;
McCracken 1989). Other studies have found that self-image can be a motivational factor
in women’s consumer decisions and that they sometimes purchase fashion items as a
means to lessen discrepancies between their perceived and ideal selves (Dittmar, Beattie,
& Friese, 1995). Along with a positive self-image fashion may also be used to publically
convey attractiveness and social status. In a cross-cultural analysis by Souiden, M’Saad,
and Pons (2011) it was found that a “growing consumer interest in luxury products may
partially be explained by their intent to display wealth and social status and enhance the
self-concept through the consumption of branded items” (p. 329). This previous research

5. shows that for some women, fashion can certainly play a large part in their private and
public identities.
In being so engrossed in a woman’s self-image and identity, it can be assumed
that fashion consciousness and personal style is indeed a strongly held belief a woman
holds about herself. As shown by cognitive dissonance theory any personally held belief
can act as a powerful motivator when challenged. According to Festinger’s (1957)
cognitive dissonance theory a cognitive element is any “knowledge, opinion, or belief
about the environment, about oneself, or about one’s behavior” (p. 3). In a natural state,
these cognitive elements are in accord and logically compatible, however when a person
is confronted with two conflicting cognitive elements they become internally conflicted
and uncomfortable. In consequence of this psychological discomfort a person will often
seek a way to reduce the amount of dissonance between conflicting elements, often with
a change in behavior or thought. As described by Joel Cooper (2007), dissonance is an
experience that is “an unpleasant state of arousal and it is to reduce this arousal that
people are motivated to restore consistency” [emphasis added] (p. 45). This theory can
be applied to a variety of situations encountered in daily life and for the purposes of this
study it will be applied to compliance gaining strategies within the context of shopping
for women’s fashion. Since the emergence of Festinger’s cognitive dissonance theory,
further research has shown how the self plays an important part in the dissonance
process, as seen in Steele’s self-affirmation theory (1983), Bem’s self-perception theory
(1967), and Aronson’s self-consistency theory (1969). With this in mind, it can be
inferred that if a woman holds predisposed belief of herself as being a stylish and

6. fashionable woman, then when confronted with a situation that will affirm or conflict
with that belief she will be most likely to choose the behavior that will affirm it.
Since fashion is about creating and projecting a certain image, it can be inferred
that it may also be linked to self-esteem. As with personally held beliefs about the self,
self-esteem can also impact the dissonance process. Some previous research by Cooper &
Duncan (1970) suggested self-esteem does not matter in cognitive dissonance stating, “if
logical inconsistency between cognitions is the cause of dissonance, then individuals,
regardless of their level of self-esteem, should experience dissonance” (p. 301). However
more recent research by Cooper claims that self-esteem does impact cognitive dissonance
stating that “People with high self-esteem generally think they make good choices and act
honorable. They should experience a great amount of dissonance when they act in a way
that violates their expectancy. However people with low self-esteem do not have the
same expectancy about how they will behave” (102-103).
Rationale
The purpose of this study is to take a deeper look into how women’s self-perceptions
affect how they shop for fashion and particularly how that affects how they interact with
a sales associate hoping to persuade them to buy certain merchandise. As previous
research has shown, fashion can play part in one’s self-identity and self-esteem. With this
in mind it can be inferred that one’s personal beliefs of fashion and style susceptible to a
persuasive appeal that creates cognitive dissonance within the mind of the target, in this
case a female fashion consumer. This study seeks to explore how impactful an interaction
with a sales associate is on a female fashion consumer’s shopping experience and how a
persuasive appeal that creates dissonance between a woman’s belief of being fashionable

7. and stylish and not having a fashion item that confirms that belief. This study will seek to
explore these ideas with the following research questions:
RQ1: How often are female consumers and sales associates interacting?
RQ2: Is a consumer with high self-esteem more fashion conscious?
RQ3: Is a consumer with higher self esteem more likely to be influenced by a sales
associate when fashion shopping?
RQ4: Does the creation of dissonance by a sales associate’s persuasive appeal result in a
more or less effective interaction?
Method
Participants. For this study, fifty-five participants were recruited through social media to
take part in an online survey measuring self-perceptions and fashion shopping.
Participants were all female and ranged in age from 18-69 years old.
Procedure. Participants were asked to complete a short survey that first measured self-
esteem using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale followed by my own measures for fashion
consciousness. The survey then asked questions regarding the participant’s observations
on their most recent interaction with a sales associate in a fashion retail environment. In
the final questions of the survey, participants were presented with hypothetical persuasive
appeals with the goal of creating dissonance between their privately held belief of their
own fashion consciousness and not having a fashion item that will affirm that belief. [See
Appendix A]
Results. In order to answer the initial research question of how often female consumers
are interacting with sales associates I used descriptive statistics to find the frequencies for
how often these women were shopping, how often they sought out the help of a sales

8. associate and how likely they were to be influenced by a sales associate (see Appendix
B). I found that the majority of respondents (N=55) shopped for fashion apparel and
accessories less than once a month (34.5%). As for how often participants interact with
sales associates, some said that they never seek help (40%) and the majority said that they
sometimes (56.4%) seek the help of a sales associate while shopping for fashion apparel
and accessories. While a majority of participants are not actively seeking out the help of a
sales associate every time they shop for fashion apparel and accessories, a majority did
report that if first complemented by a sales associate they are more likely to engage in a
conversation with the sales associate (52.7%). To explore whether or not the frequency of
which participants shop for fashion apparel and accessories impacts how likely they are
to be influenced by a sales associate in their purchasing decision, participants were
grouped into six categories of how often they shop: less than once a month, once a
month, 2-3 times a month, once a week, and daily. It was discovered that the frequency
that participants shop has no significance as to how often a participant shops to how
likely they are to be influenced by a sales associate (F=1.49, N.S.) However, it should be
noted that while the frequency of which a participant shops has no impact on how likely
they are to be influenced by a sales associated. The second research question sought to
explore how a woman’s self-esteem and fashion consciousness are related. Results found
that these two variables are in fact, not related (r= -.195, p<.05). The third research
question sought to find out how self-esteem makes a woman shopping for fashion apparel
and accessories more or less susceptible to a sale associate’s persuasive attempt at
making a sale. Results found that the two variables have no correlation at all and are
actually quite random (r= -.007, p<.05). Results did however find that participants with

9. high self-esteem were more likely to be influenced by a sales associate’s persuasive
appeal that created dissonance in the mind of the consumer (r=.325, p<.05) but that a
participant’s high level fashion consciousness did not make them more susceptible to
dissonance created by a persuasive attempt (r=-.206, p<.05). The results for the
hypothetical persuasive appeals yielded mixed results with most resulting in an
undecided response (see Appendix B).
Discussion.
The purpose of this study was not to prove or disprove any hypotheses but to take a
deeper look into how women shop for fashion and how communication interactions with
sales associates effects this process. This study resulted in many insignificant statistics
that some very noteworthy inferences can be made from. Firstly I wanted to find out how
self-esteem and fashion consciousness are related and how that affects the shopping
experience in this context. I found that self-esteem and fashion consciousness are actually
not related at all. This means that a person with low self-esteem can be just as fashion
conscious as someone with low self-esteem. Future studies could look further into this
phenomenon and perhaps seek to identify the motivators behind a person’s fashion
consciousness regardless of self-esteem.
In relevance to how often the women in this study are shopping for fashion
apparel and accessories, it was found that the majority did so less than once a month. It
could be argued if women are not frequently shopping for fashion apparel and
accessories, when they do so they are shopping for that specific purpose and therefore
that they may have a higher level of involvement in both the experience and their
purchasing decisions. Future studies could further explore this idea.

10. When shopping for fashion apparel and accessories the majority of participants
reported that they only sometimes sought the help of a sales associate while shopping,
probably only when they need help finding something or have a specific inquiry about the
store or merchandise. However it was found that a majority of participants were more
likely to engage in a conversation with the sales associate if first approached with a
compliment to their personal style or fashion sense. This led me to infer that participants
with a higher level of fashion consciousness may be more susceptible to the dissonance
created by a sales associate’s persuasive appeal, which was proven in the results.
Overall, I think that this study offers a deeper look into how women shop for fashion and
interact with sales associates when doing so and provides us with some direction for
future studies on the topic.
Limitations.
While this study offers a deeper look into how women shop and communication with
sales associates in a fashion retail setting, there are some limitations that could be
overcame to offer a more conclusive and impactful study. Firstly, the small sample size is
a limitation. With a larger sample population, more significant results could be found.
Also, there are many more aspects to the communication interaction between female
fashion consumers and sales associates that could be explored. This study did not address
the specifics behind a sales associate’s persuasive appeal such as central or peripheral
routes to persuasion, source credibility, source attractiveness, gender, and message style.

11. References
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Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research,
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Bem, D.J. (1967). Self-perception: an alternative interpretation of cognitive dissonance
phenomena. Psychological Review, 74, 277-293
Cooper, J. & Duncan, B. (1971). Cognitive dissonance as a function of self-esteem and
logical inconsistency. Journal of Personality, 39 (2), 289-302.
Cooper, J. (2007). Cognitive dissonance: 50 years of a classic theory. Sage.
Dittmar, H., Beattie, J., Friese, S. (1996). Acta Psychologica, 93, 187-206.
Escalas, Jennifer. (2012) Self-identity and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer
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Festinger, L. (1957). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Row, Peterson, Evanston,
Illonois.
Fournier, Susan. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in
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Negrin, L. (1999). The self as image: A critical appraisal of postmodern theories of
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12. Souiden, N., M’Saad, B., & Pons, F. (2011). A cross-cultural analysis of consumers’
conspicuous consumption of branded fashion accessories. Journal of
International Consumer Marketing, 23, 329-343.
Steele, C.M. & Liu, T.J. (1983). Dissonance processes as self-affirmation. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 5-19.
Steele, V. (2004). Editorial. Fashion Theory V. 8:2
Venkatesh, A., Joy, A., Sherry, J.F., & Deschenes, J. (2010) The aesthetics of luxury
fashion, body and identity formation. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20, 459-
470.

13. Appendix A
Q1: What is your age?
1-(18-29) 2- (30-39) 3-(40-49) 4-(50-59) 5-(60+)
Q2: Overall I am satisfied with myself.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q3: At times I think that I am no good at all.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q4: I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q5: I am able to do things as well as most other people.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q6: I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q7: I feel useless at times.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q8: I feel that I am a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q9: I wish I could have more respect for myself.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q10: All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree
Q11: I take a positive attitude towards myself.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Disagree 4-Strongly Disagree

14. Q12: How I am perceived by others is important to me.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Neither Agree or Disagree 4-Disagree 5-Strongly Disagree
Q13: Fashion is important to me.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Neither Agree or Disagree 4-Disagree 5-Strongly Disagree
Q14: I consider myself a stylish and fashionable person.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Neither Agree or Disagree 4-Disagree 5-Strongly Disagree
Q15: I enjoy shopping for fashion apparel and accessories.
1-Strongly Agree 2-Agree 3-Neither Agree or Disagree 4-Disagree 5-Strongly Disagree
Q16: How often do you shop for fashion apparel and accessories?
1-Never 2-Less than once a month 3-Once a month 4- 2-3 times a month 5- once a week
6- 2-3 times a week 7- Daily
Q17: When shopping for fashion apparel and accessories how often do you seek the help
of sales associates?
1-Never 2-Sometimes 3-Always
Q18: How likely is the help of a sales associate to impact your purchase decisions when
shopping for fashion apparel and accessories?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q19: Think of the last time you interacted with a sales associate when shopping for
fashion apparel and accessories. How informed was the associate about what they were
selling?
1-Very Informed 2-Informed 3-Somewhat Informed 4-Uninformed 5-Very Uninformed
Q20: How intelligent did you perceive the sales associate to be?
1-Very Intelligent 2-Intelligent 3-Average 4-Unintelligent 5-Very Unintelligent

15. Q21: How honest did you perceive the sales associate to be?
1-Very Honest 2-Somewhat Honest 3-Neutral 4-Somewhat Dishonest 5-Dishonest
Q22: How useful was the sales associate in your shopping experience?
1-Very Useless 2-Useless 3-Neutral 4-Useful 5-Very Useful
Q23: How friendly did you perceive the sales associate to be?
1-Very Friendly 2-Friendly 3-Neutral 4-Unfriendly 5-Very Unfriendly
Q24: How pleasant was this interaction with the sales associate?
1-Very Pleasant 2-Pleasant 3-Neutral 4-Unpleasant 5-Very Unpleasant
Q25: How well dressed was the sales associate?
1-Very Well Dressed 2- Well Dressed 3-Somewhat Well Dressed 4-Neutrally Dressed 5-
Somewhat Ill Dressed 6-Ill Dressed 7- Very Ill Dressed
Q26: How attractive was the sales associate?
1-Very Attractive 2-Attractive 3-Somwhat Attractive 4-Average 5-Somewhat
Unattractive 6-Unattractive 7-Very Unattractive
Q27: If you were shopping at a favorite fashion retailer and were approached by a well-
dressed sales associate who complemented you on your outfit and personal style how
likely are you to engage in a conversation with the sales associate?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q28: If you were shopping at a favorite fashion retailer and were approached by an ill-
dressed sales associate who complemented you on your outfit and personal style how
likely are you to engage in a conversation with the sales associate?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely

16. Q29: When engaging in a conversation with a sales associate and he/she comments on
your personal style before pointing out merchandise that compliments or enhances that
style are you more likely to purchase the merchandise?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q30: If a sales associate says something like, “This is the hottest new look that we have,
all of our most fashionable customers are buying it and you would look fantastic in it”,
how likely are you to buy the merchandise?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q31: If a sales associate says something like, “This (fashion item) is selling like crazy
and are almost sold out”, how likely are you to buy the merchandise?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q32: If a sales associate says something like, “I can tell that you have great style, but this
(fashion item) is what you need to perfect your outfit”, how likely are you to buy the
merchandise?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely
Q33: If a sales associate says something like, “This (fashion item) will make you look
and feel as good as a supermodel”, how likely are you to buy the merchandise?
1-Very Unlikely 2-Unlikely 3-Undecided 4-Likely 5-Very Likely

17. Appendix B