Hiding in the crowd : why and when secrecy spurs consumer conformity

This research investigates how the experience of secrecy affects consumers’ consumption behavior. It is hypothesized that the experience of secrecy will increase consumers’ tendency to seek social conformity in their consumption, and this effect will be driven by the motivation to avoid social attention during secret-keeping. Furthermore, this effect is predicted to be moderated by consumers’ perceived self-control capacity, the usage occasion (public vs. private), and the user of the product (self vs. others). Five studies are planned to test these hypotheses.