Rich People are Square Lovers: Impacts of Financial Resources on Shape Preference

Having money symbolizes one’s social status and achievements, and shows to others that one is a competent and successful person. And people tend to maintain this desirable social image in front of others. Given that angular (vs. circular) shapes activates competence-related concepts such as energy, toughness, and strength, we propose that more perceived financial resources leads to a higher desire for competence, which in turn results in consumers’ preference for angular-shaped product. The first experiment directly showed the main effect and underlying mechanism. Specifically, it showed that the more participants’ perceived financial resources, the more they preferred the angular-shaped plate over the circular-shaped one. Moreover, this effect is mediated by participants’ desire for competence. The second experiment further showed the directional effect of financial resources on product shapes. It demonstrated that participants who were primed with high financial resources liked the angular-shaped pendant more than low resources primed participants. Participants’ liking for the circular-shaped pendant, however, was not affected by the resource priming. This research contributes theoretically to both marketing and psychology literature by documenting and nuancing a novel effect, that of perceived financial resources on product shape preference. By identifying the underlying driver of this effect, the desire for competence, the current research also contributes to the research area of social perception. Lastly, from a managerial perspective, our research provides yet another evidence for the impact of social-economic status constructs such as financial resources on consumer behavior.