Honors Projects
Abstract
In this exploratory study, personal and social identity were analyzed for their effect on how consumers choose greeting cards. Factors, including personality, relationships, and identity will be qualitatively analyzed to understand people’s buying habits. Certain factors, including gender, personality, relationships, type of card, and frequency of receiving and giving cards, will be qualitatively analyzed for frequency. The two theories analyzed were the Social Identity Theory (SIT) and the Identity Theory (IT).
525 college-aged students were surveyed to examine their purchasing habits of greeting cards. The results showed that the identity of the card giver and the identity of the card receiver influenced the card chosen. It also showed that females are the majority of the card purchasers, and that females used cards to further and maintain relationships. Because of convenience sampling, there was a limitation to the number of participants as well as the age group surveyed. Greeting cards are a societal form of self-expression which allows for identity to be relevant.
Department
Psychology
Major
Psychology
First Advisor
Doug Ewing
First Advisor Department
Marketing
Second Advisor
Laura Stafford
Second Advisor Department
Communication
Publication Date
Spring 5-13-2019
Repository Citation
Topilow, Emily, "It is in the Cards: an analysis of greeting card selection through identity and personality" (2019). Honors Projects. 431.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects/431
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Business Analytics Commons, Cognitive Psychology Commons, Marketing Commons, Personality and Social Contexts Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, Social Psychology Commons