Getting ahead of the Joneses: When equality increases conspicuous consumption among bottom-tier consumers
Ordabayeva and Chandon ran five studies on what greater equality does to the spending of lower-tier consumers. When consumers attended to the smaller gap in possessions between themselves and others, equality reduced spending. When they attended to the larger status gains equality makes possible, such as when consumption was visible, competitive goals were active or the setting was competitive, equality increased spending. The authors' account is that a flatter distribution lets a person in a lower tier move ahead of many others who sit close together.
Ordabayeva and Chandon ran five studies on what greater equality does to the spending of lower-tier consumers. When consumers attended to the smaller gap in possessions between themselves and others, equality reduced spending. When they attended to the larger status gains equality makes possible, such as when consumption was visible, competitive goals were active or the setting was competitive, equality increased spending. The authors' account is that a flatter distribution lets a person in a lower tier move ahead of many others who sit close together.
Written from the abstract via the Erasmus University Rotterdam repository record (paraphrased by the fetch tool), 2026-11-03; full text not read.
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Ordabayeva, N., & Chandon, P. (2011). Getting ahead of the Joneses: When equality increases conspicuous consumption among bottom-tier consumers. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(1), 27-41. doi:10.1086/658165 https://doi.org/10.1086/658165