Conspicuous consumption (purchase of expensive goods and services in order to visibly demonstrate buying power) is a frequent and widely spread type of consumer behavior. Besides its economic dimension, conspicuous consumption certainly also has its - for now under studied - psychological dimension. So far, it has been reported that positive attitude towards conspicuous consumption is associated with conformity, high esteem of authority, social anxiety, Machiavellism, and ruthless self-advancement. In this study, using a sample of 272 high school students (aged 16-18) we studied predictive relationship between narcissism and materialism, and the attitude towards conspicuous consumption. The data indicated that materialism was a significant predictor of the attitude towards conspicuous consumption, quite in line with some previous research. In spite of a significant correlation between narcissism and materialism, narcissism was not a significant predictor of the attitude towards conspicuous consumption. Thus, this study has widened nomological network of the attitude towards conspicuous consumption and clearly delineated two seemingly similar psychological constructs: materialism and the attitude towards conspicuous consumption.

Rad ima za cilj da ispita međusobni odnos stava prema seksualnoj objektivizaciji ženskog tela u javnoj sferi, samoobjektivizacije i zadovoljstva telom žena u Srbiji. U istraživanju su učestvovale 462 žene, starosti između 19 i 45 godina. Stav prema seksualnoj objektivizaciji ženskog tela u javnoj sferi operacionalizovan je skalom od devet tvrdnji, u čijoj osnovi su zapažanja o seksualnoj objektivizaciji žena. Skala samoobjektivizacije (Objectified Body Consciousness Scale; McKinley & Hyde, 1996) razvijena je za merenje samoobjektivizacije kod mladih i žena srednjih godina i uključuje tri subskale: telesni nadzor, internalizacija kulturnih standarda vezanih za telo i verovanja u mogućnosti kontrole izgleda. Ispitanicama su postavljena i tri pitanja koja se odnose na stepen zadovoljstva ukupnim fizičkim izgledom tela, prisustvo želje i spremnosti da se telo menja. Rezultati su pokazali da ispitanice podržavaju stav da je seksualna objektivizacija žena i ženskog tela u javnoj sferi Srbije rasprostranjena. Samoobjektivizacija se najčešće ispoljava u obliku verovanja u mogućnosti kontroli izgleda. Iako su zadovoljne izgledom sopstvenog tela, kod ispitanica je prisutna želja/spremnost da se telo menja/preoblikuje, što navodi na postojanje sumnje u tome kako treba da izgledaju. Generalno, stav prema seksualnoj objektivizaciji nije povezan sa samoobjektivizacijom i zadovoljstvom telom. Zadovoljstvo fizičkim izgledom tela je u negativnoj korelaciji sa samoobjektivizacijom, a najizraženija je povezanost sa dimenzijom internalizacija kulturnih standarda vezanih za telo.

This research aims to examine the attitude towards the ways in which the female body is represented, i.e. to determine the extent to which the respondents (women) agree with the statements based on critical observations of feminist and researchers on gender issues on unethical (unacceptable) representation and treatment of woman and the female body in media and marketing. The study involved 509 women, aged between 18 and 55 years. The attitude towards the representation of the female body is operationalized by a scale (RFB scale) of 21 statements, grouped into three dimensions- sexual objectification, promotion of the “ideal” female body and instrumentalization of the female body. The results show that the respondents, although to varying degrees, agree with all the statements that describe the ways in which the female body is presented in the media and in marketing. Although all three dimensions are quite common in the media and in marketing, the respondents see the instrumentalization (abuse) of the female body for commercial purposes as the most pronounced phenomenon. Both on an overall scale and in dimensions, women from urban areas show a higher score than women living in rural areas. There are no statistically significant differences between groups defined by other sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status, region, type of neighborhood, education). The conclusion is that the respondents support the attitude of feminists and researchers of gender issues that in the media and in marketing there is sexual objectification and promotion of the “ideal” female body, and especially pronounced instrumentalization (abuse) of women and the female body for commercial purposes.