Symbolic self-completion theory

[1] For example, relatively effeminate boys who want to appear macho may use products associated with manliness—such as a strong cologne or a silver watch—in hopes of symbolically fulfilling their self-definitions, i.e. becoming manly.

[1] Individuals are motivated to reduce this tension by using alternate symbols of accomplishment in the relevant self-definitional area.

[1] In the study "Symbolic Self-completion, Attempted Influence, and Self-Deprecation," Robert Wicklund, Peter Gollwitzer and James Hilton asked participants to write an essay teaching people how to perform an activity important to them and then indicate how many people should be required to revise their essays.

[5] The higher this number was, the more participants put themselves in a position to influence others; researchers interpreted this relationship as a means of symbolic compensation for lacking the relevant self-definitional area.

[5] An additional part of this study asked a group of men to make a statement about their ability in the self-definitional area.

"[3] More recent studies have shown how symbolic self-completion influences individuals' communication in online media platforms.

The research follows on from studies that have previously shown that media appearances can be self-complementary symbols for demonstrating competence.

[10] Similarly, the lower the annual rate of publications and citations professors seemed to have, the higher the number of professional titles they enlisted in their email signatures.

The man then counters his insecurity by purchasing a material object that functions as a status symbol, something that both he and others will recognize as a mark of success.

[7] The relationship between self-completion theory and materialism is further shown through individuals' tendency to externalize their concerns about their lives by acquiring symbol-objects that reinforce and improve their self-definitions.

In the same vein, materialism reinforces symbolic self-completion particularly in a societies that are structured in such a way that the consumption of prestigious objects is seen as the best remedy for insecurity.

This reinforcement is due to the fact that in such societies, individuals see material wealth as the best source of comforting reassurance to counter insecurity[7]