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http://dx.doi.org/10.12940/jfb.2011.15.3.156

Sociocultural Attitudes toward Appearance and Cosmetic Consumption: The Comparison between Chinese and Thai Males  

Lee, Seung-Hee (Dept. of Clothing & Textiles, Ewha Womans University)
Poraksa, Sirin (Dept. of Consumer Studies, Ewha Womans University)
Xie, Yang (Dept. of Mass Communication, Ewha Womans University)
Publication Information
Journal of Fashion Business / v.15, no.3, 2011 , pp. 156-165 More about this Journal
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of major variables and their relationship with the males' appearance consciousness that affect the men's cosmetic consumption. Also, the study also intended to verify the differences of men's cosmetic consumption between Chinese and Thai males. The samples consisted of 200 males who ranged in age from 18 to 35 years (M=24.64). One hundred participants were Thai and one hundred were Chinese. Based on literature review, six research questions were proposed. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, t-test, and multiple regression were used for this study. As the results, the sociocultural attitudes of consumers towards their appearance are positively relevant to the self-esteem and public self consciousness. Also, appearance consciousness such as appearance evaluation and appearance orientation led more cosmetic consumption. Chinese males revealed higher scores on public self-consciousness, appearance orientation, and sociocultural attitudes toward appearance than Thai males. Based on these results, some implications for global cosmetic markets would be suggested.
Keywords
sociocultural attitude; appearance; cosmetic consumption; cultural comparison study;
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