Non-conscious, automatic and unobserved processes in memory have a high impact in the field of the status and conspicuous consumption, especially in the prestige-seeking consumer behaviour. There is little willingness of the consumers to admit that their purchase is motivated by personal status considerations. This study demonstrates that implicit measures in the field of status consumption add incremental value beyond explicit measures.
Our participants were selected for their presumed very strong need for status, or their strong rejection of status. The selection bias makes the explicit results much less useful and they only confirm the selection. The strong IAT effects make this study however interesting. In the present study the IAT scores have a mean of 0.49 ± 0.46 seconds. This is a surprisingly high level indicating a very strong preference for high status and prestige. It is not surprising that males in the financial service sector prefer status and prestige both implicitly and explicitly. And so do their female counterparts. But also females working in the social sector that explicitly rejected status symbols (such as expensive cars), implicitly preferred status and prestige (but not the males)
