Integrating an evolutionary perspective of “self-concept” in consumer research

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the study is to propose a framework for understanding the dynamism of the human self-system from evolutionary and socio-psychological perspective. The study aims to help scholars interested to use an evolutionary lens for examining consumer behaviour. Design/methodology/approach Relying on the principle of self-cybernetics, the study proposed a general framework explaining the operating mechanism of human self-system. The proposed framework incorporates the socio-psychological and the evolutionary perspective of the human self-concept. Findings The framework may help consumer scholars to integrate socio-psychological and evolutionary theories to produce novel and testable hypotheses. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to propose a framework based on the principle of cybernetics to facilitate the use of an evolutionary lens in consumer research.