The Role and Measurement of Attachment in Consumer Behavior

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Of recent interest in consumer behavior research is the consumer's use of owned possessions to develop and maintain self‐concept. This study presents a measure of a central concept in this area–attachment. A conceptual definition of the construct is proposed and is related to social‐cognitive theories of the self. The role of attachment in the relationship between people and possessions is discussed. Evidence is presented for the reliability and predictive validity of a simple measure of attachment and for the discriminant validity of the construct. Relationships between attachment and other important consumer behavior constructs are explored.