Identity-Based Preferences

A preference mechanism in which product and brand choices function as expressions of the consumer’s own identity — group membership, values, self-concept — rather than as straightforward utility maximization. Consumption here serves as a signal of “who I am” or “which group I belong to.”

Boycott and buycott behaviors are particularly well explained by this mechanism; combined with Moral Foundations Theory, it allows prediction of how strongly a consumer will react based on which moral identity has been violated.