Self-congruity versus functional congruity: Predictors of consumer behavior

Two common approaches employed in explaining and predicting brand attitude in consumer research are multiattribute attitude models and self-image congruence models. Four studies were conducted to test the hypotheses that: 1. consumer behavior is more strongly predicted by functional congruity than by self-congruity, and 2. functional congruity is influenced by self-congruity. The overall pattern of results from the 4 studies indicated that consumer behavior is indeed a positive function of both functional and self-congruity. With respect to the first hypothesis, the results indicated that functional congruity is more predictive of consumer behavior than self-congruity. The hypothesis that functional congruity is "biased" by self-congruity was also supported. The strength of the relationship was found to be moderate (or weak), which as hypothesized is reflective of a "bias effect."