Self-expansion

Self-expansion theory [e.g., Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (1996). Love and expansion of the self: The state of the model. Personal Relationships, 3, 45 – 58] suggests that people are attracted to those who offer opportunities to enhance the self. Although there is extensive evidence that similarity predicts liking, self-expansion theorists suggest that self-expansion opportunities are greatest with dissimilar others. Using a social interaction experiment, we explored the associations among perceived self- expansion opportunities, actual and perceived similarity, and attraction in the context of initial interactions. In 15-min interactions, 73 unacquainted dyads either discussed their leisure interests, discussed their political beliefs, or simply “became acquainted.” The discussion topic had no effect on attraction or perceived self-expansion. Actual similarity, operationalized by the degree of difference in partners’ self-reported leisure interests or political views, was generally unassociated with perceived self-expansion opportunities and attraction. Perceived (global) similarity, however, was positively associated with self-expansion opportunities and attraction. Finally, perceived self- expansion opportunities mediated the link between perceived similarity and attraction.

Although brands offer different kinds of rewards through their loyalty programs, little is known about how they can impact consumer-brand relationships and brand attitude. How do loyalty program rewards influence the consumer-brand relationship? And which kinds of rewards establish or maintain closer relationships between consumers and brands than others? To answer these questions, the present research makes use of self-expansion theory (Aron & Aron, 1986) and two experiments that manipulate the extraordinary character of rewards offered to consumers. Our findings show that special rewards produce higher self-expansion than mundane rewards. Moreover, the positive effect of the rewards' extraordinary character on brand evaluation, recommendation, and identification is sequentially and fully mediated by self-brand inclusion and self-expansion. Finally, we show that consumer satisfaction moderates the impact of special and mundane rewards on self-brand inclusion. KEYWORDS brand inclusion, brand relationships, loyalty program, satisfaction, self-expansion, special reward The authors thank the editor and the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful and insightful comments. The preparation of this article was supported by IPAG Business School and the Chair Brands & Values at IAE Paris-Sorbonne, we are grateful for the support of its members. 2

The results from a large survey (N = 2010) show that the positive effects of the congruity between brand values and consumers' ongoing value priorities on a variety of consumers' responses to brands can be generalized to the different value types in Schwartz's framework. More importantly, findings from this survey show that, although brands embody values incongruent with consumers' ongoing value priorities, they trigger a positive effect on the same consumers' responses when these values are associated with a cultural ideal. Results were robust and emerged for a variety of product categories and brands. Furthermore, results from a lab experiment demonstrate that, compared to brands that embody consumers' ongoing value priorities, those that additionally embody non-prioritized values associated with an ideal self induce feelings of self-expansion, which in turn leads to more favorable consumer responses to brands. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings for the branding literature are discussed.

Consistent with predictions derived from the self-expansion model, this three-year longitudinal study found that: participation in more college groups during sophomore year predicted increases in inclusion of the college community in the self at the end of junior year, which further predicted increases in satisfaction with the college experience at the end of senior year (full mediation). This study offers college community connectedness as a theoretically-grounded mechanism to explain why extra-curricular involvement is such an important piece of the college experience, confirming what student affairs professionals already know: connectedness matters.

This study had two aims. One aim was to adapt the Inclusion of Other in the Self (IOS) Scale into the Turkish cultural context. The second aim was to develop the Turkish Self-Change in Romantic Relationships Scale (TSCRRS) based on the existing Relational Self-Change Scale. The research process for this study consisted of four stages. In the first stage, forward-backward translation of the IOS Scale was performed to determine bilingual equivalence. In the second stage, an item-pool was created to measure self-change in romantic relationships. In the third stage, data were collected to determine the reliability and validity of the TSCRRS (N = 426). In the fourth stage, new data were collected to determine the validity and reliability of the IOS Scale and the TSCRRS (N = 348). All of the participants were in a romantic relationship. The findings revealed that both the TSCRRS and the IOS Scale have good reliability and validity.