essay on physical self

Do You Know What You Really Look Like?

How we think we look and how we measure up are often not the same..

Posted November 13, 2019 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

Notions of what constitutes the psychological self are typically derived from verbal reflection. We are really facile at talking about our beliefs, values, and desires. Beyond that, I am interested in other ways a person constructs a sense of the physical self, ways that are powerful determinants of what we actually do in the world. In a chapter of my book, Physical Intelligence , I consider what it takes for a brain to figure out that it is situated inside a body and how it forms a holistic sense of being.

First and foremost, we neurologists treasure the notion of the body schema, the continuous mapping of body shape that is essential if we want to get into a pair of pants or through a narrow passageway. This idea dates back to the origins of neurology as a specialty, when we were first identifying all the reasons a person can't move deftly. At the opposite extreme, there are those patients with semantic problems who can move just fine, but they can't name body parts or remember the relative topology of where body parts are located. They fail to know that the knee bone is connected to the shin bone and so on.

The sweet spot from a theoretical perspective that connects to many clinical disorders is a kind of body knowledge between these two extremes. In this space sits body identification, our internal belief in what we are shaped like. This, of course, can be far from veridical. Some of us believe we are svelte when we are rotund, for example, while some of us report the opposite.

There is growing interest in determining if this distorted sense of self-identity is a root cause of common eating disorders. A disconnection between self-image and actual body size occurs in one-quarter to one-half of all young adult athletes, in virtually every sport tested. Whether they are driven toward a larger (football) or leaner (distance running, equestrian sports, gymnastics) body type, distortions of body image can dominate their eating behavior, even when their actual weight and musculature are at a performance optimum.

In the neurology clinic, there are migraineurs with something called Alice in Wonderland Syndrome who can be hit by a spreading wave of cortical depression that sweeps across the parietal lobe, profoundly disrupting the computations needed for body identification. At the peak of a migraine aura, they could believe they are 4 or 10 feet tall, with giant heads or huge feet.

The different representations of the body that the brain relies on to anchor our sense of a physical self mostly operate under the hood, hidden from our mental life. Thus, it can be hard to get an intuition of how important body identity actually is. While I could acknowledge this importance conceptually, it remained an abstraction for me—until recently. It became dramatically concrete after my recent orthopedic surgery.

I grew up with wildly lax knees, bow-legged like a cowboy since childhood . My brain had that distorted shape embedded in my body schema and I could accomplish most actions without too much trouble until one of the knees finally wore out. I had a total knee replacement and was excited to start walking without pain.

While doing walking exercises on the second postoperative day, I looked down at my legs and started to swear. The surgeon must have made a mistake inserting the new knee: My foot on that side looked too far lateral, as if the leg was bowed outward instead of inward. It didn't match the old familiar side at all. It was a horrible feeling. If you have ever seen a movie of someone dislocating a joint or getting a horrible fracture, it caused the same impulse to look away in disgust.

What I was experiencing was two senses of self in direct conflict, one old, one new. My body identity is built from years of bow-leggedness. The surgeon had done a perfect job, making my leg perfectly straight; something I had never experienced. I simply could not reconcile the facts provided by my vision with my old identity.

Even today, nine months later, I am surprised when I look down. The new leg still looks odd. I think the slowness of this change in physical identity is an important observation with clinical relevance. It implies that the sense of self formed from our belief of what we look like is deeply rooted. This resistance to change will be an impediment for anyone seeking to adapt their self-image. And for those with a distorted self-image that causes a maladaptive behavior, like too much or too little eating, behavioral interventions aimed at changing their belief may need to be strong and require a considerable amount of time.

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Scott Grafton, MD , is a cognitive neuroscientist at UC Santa Barbara who uses MRI to map how the brain organizes action.

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The Physical Self Concept Analysis Essay

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Human development life span is a process that begins between conception and birth of a child and proceeds till old age. The process involves personal growth both mentally and physically, however, the rate of growth differs from one individual to the other such that some children or adolescents will be more physically developed (height and muscles) than others of the same age. Despite genetic and environmental factors having an influence on physical development, some concepts including cephalocaudal, proximodistal, and Orthogenetic principles explain the pattern of human growth and development. Indeed, the physical posture of an individual becomes more balanced as he/she develops from infancy to adulthood.

The physical body of an individual during infancy is largely disproportional. According to the cephalocaudal principle, the head occupies 50% of the body size of a two-month fetus but as physical development occurs, the body becomes more proportional with the head accounting for 12% of body length and 2% of body weight while the legs accounting for 50% of body length in an adult person (Siegleman and Rider, 2008, p.128). This concept views physical growth and development to progress from the head downwards, with the trunk growing fastest during the first year after birth and the legs growing fastest thereafter. Siegelman and Rider (2008, p. 128) also describe the physical growth in terms of proximodistal concept where the internal organs and chest are said to grow faster during the early period of infancy and then the growth spreads to the extremities (arms) thereafter. The third concept, Orthogenetic, provides a different view with the body being seen to initially grow universally with no differentiation and then thereafter the body organs become differentiated and organized as the developmental process progresses.

Given that physical growth is influenced by the brain and endocrine system, any interference of the neural system or secretion of body hormones will interfere with the physical developmental process. The reasons why different children will exhibit different physical developmental patterns will therefore not only be due to genetic and environmental factors but also to the different hormonal influences, for instance, where the pituitary glands are unable to secrete adequate growth and activating hormones, an individual may experience retarded growth, while where the adrenal androgens are insufficient, the bones and muscles may not develop effectively (Siegleman and Rider, 2008, p.125).

These concepts of human physical development are important since they give an understanding of human growth as an organized sequence that needs to be followed throughout the life of an individual. In addition to enhancing knowledge on developmental patterns from conception to adulthood, they give an important illustration of the reasons behind the unequal rate of physical development between individuals. For instance, an infant has the most rapid growth rate and highly sensitive reflexes (Siegleman and Rider, 2008, p.131); children of two and above years have steady growth and their physical behavior more or less controllable while their physical health may be enhanced not only by nutrition but also physical activity; the adolescents’ physical growth spurt due to increased hormonal secretion and setting in of maturation, where the body takes shape (for both girls and boys) and sexual maturation is reached.

With the understanding of these concepts, a psychologist will be in a better position to establish the causes of certain developmental deficiencies in some individuals and apply corrective measures early enough. Moreover, the psychologist will be able to provide convincing explanations and counseling to individuals who may be psychologically affected by their alleged physical difference, which may or may not necessarily be a developmental problem but a differing growth rate from others.

Sigelman, C. K. and Rider, E. A. (2008). Life-Span Human Development . Sixth Edition. NY: Cengage Learning.

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Physical Self

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• Chen Hong 2  

The concept of Physical Self encompasses an individual’s perception, understanding, and evaluation of their body, leading to body image satisfaction and body management. It is one of the earliest developing aspects in the self-system and forms the foundation of the entire self-concept.

The exploration of the Physical Self can be traced back to 1890 when American psychologist William James categorized the self into material (physical), social, spiritual, and pure selves. The material self, or physical self, pertains to an individual’s perception of their body and its material extensions. Systematic studies in the West began in the 1950s, peaking in the 1980s and 1990s. Neo-psychoanalyst Alfred Adler, in the mid-twentieth century, was among the first to underscore the significance of the body in a healthy personality. He suggested that organ defects could be sources of inferiority, necessitating compensation either by developing the affected organ or by enhancing other functions....

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Larsen RJ, Buss DM (2013) Personality psychology: domains of knowledge about human nature, 5th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York

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Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

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Hong, C. (2024). Physical Self. In: The ECPH Encyclopedia of Psychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6000-2_804-1

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Introduction: Understanding the Bodily Self

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We, like many animals, are conscious of our environment, both physical and social. We think about and experience the objects and people that the world contains. But at the same time, those very thoughts and experiences can themselves become the objects of conscious thought and experience, so that we can think critically about them. When this happens, we are often thinking about ourselves—holding ourselves to account by evaluating our own reasoning, for example. According to a long philosophical tradition, rationality and self-consciousness go hand in hand. A rational thinker is one who constantly monitors her own thoughts and updates her beliefs in the light of changing evidence in order to ensure consistency and to increase the likelihood that they will track the truth.

Moreover, it is because we are aware of ourselves as temporally extended beings with a past and a future that we are able to develop a narrative understanding of our lives. The narrative we tell of ourselves can incorporate an interpretation of our personal history. This personal history, in turn, can inform a forward-looking sense of the kind of person we strive to be. That forward-looking sense of how we want to turn out sets the agenda for our plans and projects. It also sets the agenda for how we navigate the social world, for how we engage with other people and with institutions.

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How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples

Published on September 21, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability. Your essay shouldn’t just be a resume of your experiences; colleges are looking for a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

To write about your achievements and qualities without sounding arrogant, use specific stories to illustrate them. You can also write about challenges you’ve faced or mistakes you’ve made to show vulnerability and personal growth.

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Start with self-reflection, how to write about challenges and mistakes, how to write about your achievements and qualities, how to write about a cliché experience, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Before you start writing, spend some time reflecting to identify your values and qualities. You should do a comprehensive brainstorming session, but here are a few questions to get you started:

• What are three words your friends or family would use to describe you, and why would they choose them?
• Whom do you admire most and why?
• What are the top five things you are thankful for?
• What has inspired your hobbies or future goals?
• What are you most proud of? Ashamed of?

As you self-reflect, consider how your values and goals reflect your prospective university’s program and culture, and brainstorm stories that demonstrate the fit between the two.

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Writing about difficult experiences can be an effective way to show authenticity and create an emotional connection to the reader, but choose carefully which details to share, and aim to demonstrate how the experience helped you learn and grow.

Be vulnerable

It’s not necessary to have a tragic story or a huge confession. But you should openly share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences to evoke an emotional response from the reader. Even a cliché or mundane topic can be made interesting with honest reflection. This honesty is a preface to self-reflection and insight in the essay’s conclusion.

Don’t overshare

With difficult topics, you shouldn’t focus too much on negative aspects. Instead, use your challenging circumstances as a brief introduction to how you responded positively.

Share what you have learned

It’s okay to include your failure or mistakes in your essay if you include a lesson learned. After telling a descriptive, honest story, you should explain what you learned and how you applied it to your life.

While it’s good to sell your strengths, you also don’t want to come across as arrogant. Instead of just stating your extracurricular activities, achievements, or personal qualities, aim to discreetly incorporate them into your story.

Brag indirectly

Mention your extracurricular activities or awards in passing, not outright, to avoid sounding like you’re bragging from a resume.

Use stories to prove your qualities

Even if you don’t have any impressive academic achievements or extracurriculars, you can still demonstrate your academic or personal character. But you should use personal examples to provide proof. In other words, show evidence of your character instead of just telling.

Many high school students write about common topics such as sports, volunteer work, or their family. Your essay topic doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, but do try to include unexpected personal details and your authentic voice to make your essay stand out .

To find an original angle, try these techniques:

• Focus on a specific moment, and describe the scene using your five senses.
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• Instead of following a common story arc, include a surprising twist or insight.

Your unique voice can shed new perspective on a common human experience while also revealing your personality. When read out loud, the essay should sound like you are talking.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

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First, spend time reflecting on your core values and character . You can start with these questions:

However, you should do a comprehensive brainstorming session to fully understand your values. Also consider how your values and goals match your prospective university’s program and culture. Then, brainstorm stories that illustrate the fit between the two.

When writing about yourself , including difficult experiences or failures can be a great way to show vulnerability and authenticity, but be careful not to overshare, and focus on showing how you matured from the experience.

Through specific stories, you can weave your achievements and qualities into your essay so that it doesn’t seem like you’re bragging from a resume.

Include specific, personal details and use your authentic voice to shed a new perspective on a common human experience.

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The GW Hatchet

Essay: Finding peace with my body image

Rachel Armany, a freshman majoring in journalism, is a Hatchet opinions writer.

Early memories have the power to shape who you are. Everyone has experienced specific things that have influenced how they act and think as an adult. Unfortunately, in my life, many of my formative moments centered around my struggles with body image.

For most of my life, I have been very aware of how others perceive the way I look. My tendency to analyze social interactions in several aspects of my life is sometimes helpful, but often forces me to be harder on myself and the way I look. Ever since I was in high school, whenever I’m around someone I don’t know well – perhaps at a job interview or a school orientation – I actively use body language to make myself appear thinner.

I’m not unique in disliking parts of myself. Most people have things they wish they could change about their appearance. But my size isn’t just something I’ve struggled with “liking.” From a young age, I have believed my weight and appearance were how I would be defined and would dictate how others treat me. I began to think that any weight I gained would just be more of a reason for people to dislike me and that any weight that I lost would account for my popularity.

I never thought less of anyone else who gained weight – it was a completely personal struggle. When it came to my body, I felt like I had to compensate: I had to be funny or smart or artsy to avoid being defined by my physical appearance.

I started to notice that my body didn’t look like my friends’ when I was in fourth grade. I remember sitting with my best friend and asking, “Do you think I’m fat?” Given our age and lack of any education or discussion on body image, she was startled by my question and immediately responded, “No, of course not.” But her response didn’t comfort me. I felt like she said those words out of pity. My friend didn’t mean any harm. In fact, she probably meant to make me feel better. But since then, I have been hyper aware of my body because I realized that the way I see myself isn’t the same as how others see me.

My confidence in my body and weight hasn’t always been dictated by the number on a scale or by the way I feel. But rather, hearing people talk about weight gain as a negative has affected how I feel about myself. One friend always used to tell me I’m on “the good side of plus-sized.” Although that might be an innocent enough statement, all it does is tell me that I’m overweight but not in an aesthetically displeasing way. The statement indirectly warns me of the “bad side of plus-sized” – the scary fate that is being overweight enough to claim the title of “the fat girl.”

Being on the “good side of plus-sized” comes with complications. My mom’s friends used to question her on what she let me eat because they feared I would “get fat.” In middle school, I felt like I had to prove to my friends that I was active and healthy. And even today, I worry over normal weight fluctuations – all to try and avoid people sharing their “concerns” with my size. Although those people might think they’re just looking out for me, they should not feel compelled to comment on my weight if I am not at risk for health problems.

Discussing body image is difficult, especially as a young girl, and even now as an adult. Talking about insecurities is always scary. But with body image, people are quick to tell you that things are just in your head if they aren’t expressing their concerns about you. Even today, hearing things like, “You’re not even fat” does little to help me. Hearing that confirms that if I were a bit heavier I should feel bad about myself and makes me even more fearful that people will judge me for gaining weight.

What I have found to be most helpful is when people allow me to speak openly about why I feel the way I do about my body and talk with me about accepting myself – not about changing it. For example, a positive conversation is one that encourages me to exercise because it makes me feel better, not because I should lose some extra weight. Those conversations are the ones that contribute to my self confidence, because I feel that my voice is being heard, even though the discussion may be more uncomfortable than a friend simply saying I’m not fat.

I understand that sometimes friends or family members may not always know how to respond to someone struggling with the way they look. Those closest to us love us the way we are and want us to accept ourselves, too. So I remain patient with the people in my life, but I am also honest with them. I try to let people know as often as I can when I feel like they are not taking an issue seriously or they are attempting to take the easy way out of an awkward encounter. Ultimately my problems are my own – it is up to me to work on them – but having these conversations with people who care about me helps.

Though my personal struggle with my weight is ongoing, I have made great strides in learning how to live with the body I have. I am beginning to listen to my body and understand how it works in order to develop a healthy lifestyle. I hope to stop overanalyzing and keep developing my confidence, instead of treating a number on a scale as the key to a better life.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Physical self matters: how the dual nature of body image influences smart watch purchase intention.

• 1 School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
• 2 School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
• 3 Southern Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

To determine the role of physical self in body-involving consumption, we explore how body image influences purchasing intention toward hybrid products with body-involving features. In this study, we establish the dual nature of body image: specifically, body image influences intention to purchase via the perception of utilitarian value and symbolic value. Further, we find a competitive mediation in which positive body image (PBI) negatively influences purchase intention (direct effect), while PBI is positively related to purchase intention via utilitarian and symbolic value (indirect effect). This indicates that without the mediation testing of the utilitarian-symbolic framework, the positive influence of body image will be “hidden.” Additionally, the mediated effect of symbolic value is moderated by personal innovativeness toward technology (PITT), suggesting that a consumer’s knowledge of wearables enhances the effect of body image. With the introduction of body image, this paper provides a more comprehensive model to analyze purchase intention with regard to digital products with body-involving features.

Introduction

Mobile health (m-health) emphasizes the role of mobile technology in health promotion ( Lupton, 2018 ). Digital products such as smart phones, smart watches, and smart bracelets enable consumers to record and receive feedback on their health condition, and they further empower consumers in self-care ( Wu et al., 2019 ; Su et al., 2020 ). International Data Corporation (IDC) has predicted that the wearables market will maintain double-digit growth from 2020 through 2024, with the shipment volume to reach a total of 637.1 million units in 2024. 1 Thus, the rapid spread of wearables such as smart watches provide a promising platform for m-health service via empowering consumers to perform self-care and self-management.

Recent studies have reached a consensus that digital wearables are categorized as hybrid products, as they involve features of different products ( Chuah et al., 2016 ; Nieroda et al., 2018 ). For instance, they involve features of both mass fashion (e.g., more affordable fashion) and luxury fashion (e.g., demonstrating higher social status) ( Nieroda et al., 2018 ), have both utilitarian and non-utilitarian aspects ( Choi and Kim, 2016 ), and are both fashion (e.g., are visible to others) and technology (e.g., increase productivity) ( Chuah et al., 2016 ). Health-related wearables have similar hybrid characteristics: on one hand, smart watches have functions including activity tracing, sleep monitoring and heart rate recording, and such functions meet users’ demand for health-related functionality; on the other hand, smart watches are also viewed as fashionable accessories that signal users’ social image and social status ( Chuah, 2019 ). Given these characteristics, digital wearables as hybrid products have unique features that distinguish them from traditional digital devices.

Two reasons drive this research. First, as hybrid products, the body-involving feature of smart watches has been neglected in previous literature. Body-involving products can be defined as products for which consumers make purchase decisions relying on information about their body ( Rosa et al., 2006 ), and these products include cosmetic surgery, weight loss services, fitness services, and fitness accessories. Prior research assumes that consumers make decisions based solely on the perception of the product (e.g., perceived value, quality, and usefulness), ignoring the fact that the perception of one’s own body also relates to the decision making process ( Rosa et al., 2006 ; Gillen and Dunaev, 2017 ; Yim and Park, 2019 ). Body-involving features should be taken into consideration and incorporated into a more comprehensive model that will help researchers understand the hybrid feature of digital wearables. Nevertheless, to the best of our knowledge, research on the body dimension of digital wearables is lacking, and our study intends to fill this gap.

Second, despite the role of self-concepts in consumption has been noticed in past works, such as consumption can build extended self ( Belk, 1988 ), with the emergence of digital wearables, the relationship between physical self and consumption has remained unknown. According to multiple self-aspects framework, self-concepts are multiple, specifically, one’s self-concept includes the acknowledgment of roles, identities and social relationships; some selves are more decisive than others ( Elster, 1987 ; McConnell, 2011 ). Similarly, some research argue that self is multifaceted and hierarchically organized, and one dimension of self has different subareas (e.g., peers and significant others of social self) ( Marsh and Shavelson, 1985 ). Following this stream, self-concepts can be divided into global self and domain-specific self. For example, global self-esteem is one’s attitude toward the self as a totality ( Rosenberg et al., 1995 ), whereas specific esteem, such as academic esteem, reflects one’s agreement with indicators of academic achievement ( Marsh, 1990 ). The global self is associated with psychological wellbeing, and domain-specific self is more relevant to specific behavior ( Rosenberg et al., 1995 ). Physical self involves the perception and evaluation of one’s physical ability and appearance ( Shavelson et al., 1976 ). Previous research has found that the physical self-influences behaviors. For example, according to the self-discrepancy theory, the discrepancy between actual and ideal self generates specific emotions ( Higgins, 1987 ), similar results have been found in physical self-research such as body image discrepancy ( Thompson and Gray, 1995 ), more recent research indicates that patients will experience self-fragmentation, and injured self will alter one’s internal motivation ( Sebri et al., 2020 ), patients’ psychological states are related to their perception of the discrepancy between actual and ideal physical self ( Triberti et al., 2019 ).

Millennials are young consumers born between1980s and 2000s, past research indicate that their consumption motivation are more sophisticated than other groups ( Shin et al., 2017 ), but our knowledge on how physical self-influence millennials’ consumption in digital wearables are still lacking. Therefore, based on the work of Chuah et al. (2016) and Yim and Park (2019) , we evaluate the theoretical foundation of body-involving consumption based on self-concepts. Past research has noted the role of self-concepts in consumption behavior, with most focusing on global self-concepts (e.g., self-esteem, self-image, and identity), arguing that symbolic consumption can facilitate realize idealized self ( Hogg and Michell, 1996 ; Banister and Hogg, 2004 ), and extended self can be built ( Belk, 1988 ). In this study, we consider body image as domain-specific self (physical self) rather than global self to study how body-involving features influence purchase intention. With the introduction of utilitarian (e.g., benefits to health) and symbolic value (e.g., benefits to social image), we posit that the mechanism that physical self-determines consumer behavior differs from that of global self-concepts.

Theoretical Foundation

Utilitarian value perspective.

The utilitarian value perspective suggests that IT users evaluate technology according to the extent to which their goal can be realized with the technology ( Bernardi et al., 2019 ).

In this stream of literature, the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) have been widely used to understand users’ intention and behavior related to technology ( Cenfetelli, 2004 ). Following this stream, the technology acceptance model (TAM) posits that perception of technology at the individual level can be used to account for the adoption of technology, such as perception of usefulness, perception of ease of use, and task-technology fit. This logic has been similarly applied to the consumption of wearables. For instance, in the case of smart watch consumption, both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use (PEOU) have been proven to increase consumers’ adoption intention ( Choi and Kim, 2016 ; Chuah et al., 2016 ). In research on health-related technology, the perception of usefulness for health (e.g., health management) has been proven to positively influence an individual’s intention to use wearables ( Hung and Jen, 2012 ). It has also been established that patients who are satisfied with the health-related value of mobile health monitoring services (MMSs) are more likely to use MMSs ( Xiaofei et al., 2021 ). In sum, the underlying assumption of utilitarian value perspective is that individuals consciously evaluate the goals. However, recent behavior science indicates that goal-directed behavior can be evoked by pre-existent or unconscious factors ( Custers and Aarts, 2010 ), as noted by Triberti et al. (2016) that traditional perspective cannot fully explain why the perception of value differs among individuals in technology adoption. To assess the pre-existent role of physical self, we incorporate the perception of utilitarian value (health function) as part of our model.

Symbolic Value Perspective

Although utilitarian value perspective has been widely applied in technology diffusion, some argue that the perception of technology is also related to external variables; in other words, the perception of technology is affected by factors beyond technology ( Swanson, 2019 ). For example, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and technology acceptance 2 (TAM2) theory both propose that non-utilitarian factors involving social influence, i.e., social image and social norms, should be taken into consideration ( Venkatesh et al., 2003 ). Similarly, emotional design emphasizes non-utilitarian factors (e.g., aesthetic, pleasure) in technology usage other than utility factors ( Heidig et al., 2015 ). In contrast with the utilitarian view, symbolic value perspective emphasizes that certain product attributes meet the non-utilitarian demands that involve expressing one’s unique personality or indicating expected social status ( Tian et al., 2001 ; Wilcox et al., 2009 ). From this perspective, the consumption of counterfeit products, luxury products, and name-brand products are motivated by the symbolic value rather than a specific function or the quality of products ( Wilcox et al., 2009 ; Wolter et al., 2016 ).

In the context of technology consumption, the symbolic value of digital devices has been proven to enhance purchase intention. For instance, in a study of migrant workers in the emerging market, Huang and Wang (2018) found that name-brand smartphone consumption is driven by consumers’ motivation to associate themselves with people with higher social status, or in other words, the symbolic value contributes to the purchase decision. In another research, perceived self-expressiveness and the need to represent one’s uniqueness as part of one’s social image has been proven to be related to digital consumption ( Choi and Kim, 2016 ). Further supporting this point, the visibility of a smart watch, i.e., being noticed by other people, has been found to increase purchase intention ( Chuah et al., 2016 ). Further, Nieroda et al. (2018) proposed that digital wearables are used by some consumers to communicate idealized social image, i.e., there is symbolic meaning of wearables. Therefore, we have adopted the symbolic value perspective as a portion of our model.

The Dual Nature of Body Image

In this study, we define physical self as the perception and evaluation of physical self-worth, such as bodily attractiveness and physical conditioning ( Fox and Corbin, 1989 ; Marsh and Redmayne, 1994 ). In this research, we apply body image as a general measure of physical self. Body image is defined as individual’s evaluation of their body and appearance, and it can be divided into negative and positive body image (PBI) ( Cash and Pruzinsky, 2002 ). Negative body image is defined as perceived inconsistencies between people’s actual and ideal body attributes ( Heron and Smyth, 2013 ). As suggested by Cash et al. (2004) , negative body image is related to body image dissatisfaction, as discontent with one’s body image has psychological consequences (i.e., personal distress and adaptive functioning). PBI broadly refers to the acceptance of and appreciation for one’s body, i.e., resistance to social pressure associated with unhealthy and unrealistic body images or emphasizing the physical function of the body rather than appearance ( Tylka and Wood-Barcalow, 2015b ).

The dual nature of body image refers to the fact that the perception of one’s body and appearance is determined by both physical and social factors ( Thompson and Hirschman, 1995 ; Stowers and Durm, 1996 ). For instance, individuals may have a negative body image due to being overweight, and their assessment of their weight may be based on an accurate evaluation of their physical condition; other individuals with a healthy weight may negatively evaluate their body image just because their bodies are contrary to media-portrayed ideals (e.g., men need a six-pack in order to be masculine), and this process of evaluation is affected by social norms ( Andrew et al., 2014 ). Therefore, we propose that the dual nature of body image influences behavioral intention via the perception of utilitarian value and symbolic value, and in the context of digital wearable consumption, body image drives both health motivation and self-affirmation.

Body Image as a Health Motivation Driver

Health motivation refers to consumers’ goal-directed arousal related to the belief that they should perform preventive actions prior to the emergence of health problems ( Moorman, 1990 ; Moorman and Matulich, 1993 ). Health motivation has been proven to increase health information searching and health behaviors ( Moorman and Matulich, 1993 ). Empirical research reveals that body image is associated with health promoting and health compromising behaviors, which are driven by health motivations, while the effects of PBI and negative image on health motivation differ.

PBI has been proven to be related to higher health motivation. For instance, PBI has been found to increase health promoting behaviors including sun protection, skin screening and seeking medical suggestions ( Andrew et al., 2014 ). However, individuals with negative body image tend to present lower health motivation. Individuals with negative body image experience more social physique anxiety, so they are less likely to place themselves in situations where others may evaluate their body and appearance, such as gyms and sports teams, which further prevents them from engaging in exercise ( Brudzynski and Ebben, 2010 ). Similarly, negative body image has been found to increase exercise avoidance via embarrassment; in other words, individuals dissatisfied with their bodies are more inclined to avoid health behaviors since they tend to avoid been viewed as unskilled in exercise ( More et al., 2019 ). Therefore, body image (PBI and negative body image) is connected to health-related behaviors.

Body Image as a Symbolic Consumption Driver

Body image is socialized; that is, the perception and evaluation of one’s body is dominated by existing cultural ideals, social norms, and moralistic prescriptions ( Thompson and Hirschman, 1995 ), and therefore, body image has been considered as part of physical body-worth, which is related to self-concept ( Lowery et al., 2005 ). For instance, self-esteem has been proven to be associated with body image, and PBI predicts positive self-image or self-esteem, so feeling satisfaction about one’s body and appearance is expected to increase one’s confidence ( Thompson and Gray, 1995 ; Stowers and Durm, 1996 ).

According to self-affirmation theory, individuals are motivated to maintain the integrity of self, so perceived failures to meet social norms may result in adaptive motivations to defend the integrity of the self ( Sherman and Cohen, 2006 ). Consistent with these conceptualizations, recent research reveals how body image influences consumption behavior. For instance, consumers with poor body image demonstrate more preference for augmented reality (AR) based product presentation than for traditional web-based presentation, and the preference for AR can be explained by the fact that the AR-based product presentation portrays a better body image ( Yim and Park, 2019 ). In other words, the image provided by AR can maintain the socially expected body image. Similarly, women exposed to female models’ images experienced body image threats and insecurity, and they also tend to own more shoes and handbags, since accessories facilitate maintenance of their bodily attractiveness ( Boyce et al., 2012 ). In this view, symbolic consumption is critical to maintain body image regulated by culture. Therefore, body image can drive consumers to make consumption decisions that promote an idealized social image.

Utilitarian Value, Symbolic Value and the Dual Nature of Body Image

Smart watches possess utilitarian value through their health monitoring and tracing capabilities, and symbolic value has been represented by the improvement of social image or social status. Under the framework of utilitarian-symbolic value, the dual nature of body image is expected to be related to both utilitarian and symbolic value. For instance, for consumers with PBI, since their health motivation is higher, they may value the health benefits of smart watches; on the other hand, based on the view of body image as a self-affirmation motivation driver, body image may motivate consumers to pay more attention to the appearance of smart watches because they are seeking symbolic value in order to maintain an idealized social image. Thus, past research has ignored the role of body image and failed to investigate the potential link between utilitarian-symbolic value and the dual nature of body image. Given the dual nature of body image, we expect that body image relates to purchase intention via utilitarian and symbolic value.

According to the literature discussed above, both utilitarian value (e.g., monitoring, tracing and feedback) and symbolic value (e.g., demonstration of social image) are expected to influence the purchase of wearables. Taking the dual nature of body image into account, we assume that body image influences both utilitarian and symbolic value and further determines purchase intention regarding smart watches.

Direct Effect of Positive Body Image

Empirical research has proven that negative body image is more likely to motivate consumers to purchase than PBI. For instance, a consumer with a poor evaluation of their own body is more likely to purchase accessories to restore their bodily attractiveness ( Boyce et al., 2012 ). Comparatively, a consumer who is more confident in their body is less likely to buy body-involving products ( Rosa et al., 2006 ), and in a study on cosmetics consumption, PBI failed to predict higher consumption intention ( Gillen and Dunaev, 2017 ). Thus, we propose that:

H1.Positive body image decreases purchase intention regarding smart watches

Mediation Role of Perceived Usefulness for Health

This study focuses on the health-related functions of smart watches, and we redefine perceived usefulness for health as the extent to which a consumer believes that the use of a smart watch will provide health-related benefits, such as health tracing, health management, health monitoring. Since body image is a health motivation driver, and PBI predicts higher health motivation and more health behaviors ( Andrew et al., 2014 ), it is reasonable to assume that consumers with PBI pay more attention to the health-related function of smart watches. Therefore, PBI is related to higher perception of a smart watch’s health functions, or in other words, individuals with PBI are more likely to value the health-related features of digital wearables.

Based on the utilitarian perspective, the user’s rational evaluation of whether a technological innovation can realize the user’s goal is the determinant of technology adoption. In this view, the TAM has been widely applied to investigate utilitarian value related to technology. TAM has been built upon TRA and TPB, and it insists that individuals rationally evaluate the potential profits of technological innovations ( Cenfetelli, 2004 ; Bernardi et al., 2019 ). The core construct of TAM is perceived usefulness, which is measured in the working context or in organizations. This logic has been applied to health-related technologies, indicating that perceived usefulness for health is an important predictor of a user’s intention to adopt mobile health services and hardware ( Guo et al., 2020 ; Xiaofei et al., 2021 ). Based on the literature discussed above, body image can be viewed as driving force behind health motivation, and individuals with higher PBI are more inclined to pursue healthy behaviors; therefore, we propose that:

H2.Positive body image enhances purchase intention by increasing perceived usefulness for health

Mediation Role of Value-Expressive and Social-Adjustive Functions

According to functional theories of attitude (FTA), attitudes are not irrational but perform valuable functions, and individuals change or hold their attitudes because these attitudes serve a purpose ( Smith et al., 1956 ; Katz, 1960 ; Shavitt, 1989 ). Attitudes can perform functions such as expressing one’s values value-expressive function (VEF) or helping self-presentation social-adjustive function (SAF) ( Shavitt, 1989 ; Wilcox et al., 2009 ). SAF refers to the social symbolic function of specific products that can facilitate the realization of self-presentation (i.e., displaying images related to wealth and higher social status to others), while VEF refers to the demonstration of individuals’ personal value (i.e., conveying personality to others) through the ownership of products ( Wilcox et al., 2009 ). SAF and VEF have been widely used to account for the functions that attitudes perform in symbolic consumption decisions. For instance, perceived self-expressiveness has been found to have a positive role in smart watch adoption ( Choi and Kim, 2016 ), both SAF and value-expressiveness function predict luxury brand consumption ( Schade et al., 2016 ), and research has revealed the more complicated mediation effect of SAF and value-expressiveness function on counterfeit luxury consumption ( Wang et al., 2020 ). Similarly, we propose that the perception of symbolic value (value-expressive and SAF) predicts the consumption of smart watches.

According to the symbolic value perspective, the presentation of higher social status or favorable social image is an important motivation for consumption decisions. This assumption is in line with earlier research arguing that self-perceptions (e.g., self-esteem or self-image) and body image can be improved via consumption in some circumstances ( Sirgy, 1982 ; Thompson and Hirschman, 1995 ). Based on the assumption that body image is a driving force of self-affirmation motivation, body image is related to both SAF and value-expressiveness function. Specifically, consumers with PBI are more motivated to purchase body-involving products because they are more interested in maintaining their positive self-concept ( Rosa et al., 2006 ; Merle et al., 2012 ). In other words, PBI drives consumers to affirm their positive self-concept through consumption. Both SAF and VEF are expected to be influenced by PBI; therefore, we propose that:

H3.Positive body image enhances purchase intention by increasing value-expressive function

H4.Positive body image enhances purchase intention by increasing social-adjustive function

Moderating Role of Personal Innovativeness Toward Technology

Compared with other types of personal technology such as smartphones, common consumers are less familiar with digital wearables since digital wearables are cutting-edge technology ( Choi and Kim, 2016 ), and consumers have limited knowledge of the function of the latest technological innovations ( Yang, 2005 ). Therefore, consumers with personal traits such as innovativeness are more likely to be familiar with digital wearables. The concept of personal innovativeness toward technology (PITT) has been developed to identify individuals who tend to adopt the latest information technology innovations earlier than others ( Agarwal and Prasad, 1998 ). Consumers with higher PITT have been found to obtain knowledge regarding a specific product category, so PITT is more than a personality trait: it also drives consumers to seek information about technology products ( Varma Citrin et al., 2000 ).

Following this logic, consumers who are more familiar with digital innovations (e.g., with direct and indirect knowledge of smart watches) are more likely to perceive both the utilitarian and symbolic value of this technology because they pay more attention to technology-related knowledge and information. Higher PITT predicts that customers will assign a higher degree of perceived usefulness ( Lu et al., 2005 ) and relative advantage to a product ( Yang et al., 2012 ), and similarly, consumer innovativeness (measured by the tendency to buy new products) has been found to increase consumers’ continuance intention with regard to smart watch usage ( Hong et al., 2017 ). Therefore, we propose that consumers with higher innovativeness are more likely to perceive both utilitarian and symbolic value:

H5(a).Personal innovativeness toward technology enhances the purchase intention by strengthening the relationship between positive body image and perceived usefulness for health

H5(b).Personal innovativeness toward technology enhances the purchase intention by strengthening the relationship between positive body image and value-expressive function

H5(c).Personal innovativeness toward technology enhances the purchase intention by strengthening the relationship between positive body image and social-adjustive function

Methodology

Data collection.

Data was collected via mobile phone from students attending a university in China. Participants were recruited through campus WeChat groups, and samples with answering time less than 60 s were deleted. We collected 369 valid online questionnaires, and as 303 respondents did not have smart watches, we used these 303 samples to perform the PLS-SEM analysis. Of the respondents, 44.88% were female and 55.12% were male, so the distribution of gender was well balanced from the demographic perspective. Also of all respondents, 32.67% were aged 18–21, 43.89% were aged 22–25, 17.82% were aged 26–29 and 5.61% were aged 30 and above, so the distribution of age was consistent with the predominant purchasers of digital wearables. Overall, the selected sample was well balanced. Demographic descriptive statistics are shown in Table 1 .

Table 1. Demographic descriptive statistics ( N = 303).

Analytical Approach

Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 3 3.2.9.. We use the PLS-SEM method for two reasons. First, this study entails multiple mediation and moderation requirements, and PLS has been recommended for complex model estimation. For instance, in models involving multiple mediators, PLS has an advantage because it considers all mediators simultaneously in one model rather than using a piecemeal approach ( Hair, 2017 ). Second, compared to traditional covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM), PLS-SEM uses weighted composites of indicator variables as proxies, which relaxes the assumptions of CB-SEM based on sum scores. This quality makes it suitable for situations where the theory is less developed ( Henseler et al., 2014 ). Since the theory used in our model was not estimated in prior studies, we used PLS-SEM instead of CB-SEM to introduce new variables and new paths.

We used scales validated in previous studies for all constructs (see Supplementary Appendix A ). The items were measured using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ( totally disagree ) to 5 ( totally agree ). PBI items were adopted from Tylka and Wood-Barcalow’s (2015a) original research and translated into Chinese, and they have been proven to have reliability and validity for Chinese respondents ( Swami et al., 2016 ).

PEOU was measured with three items adapted from Davis (1989) . Perceived usefulness to health (PUH) was measured with three items adapted from Hung and Jen (2012) . VEF was measured with three items and SAF was measured with four items, which were adapted from Wilcox et al. (2009) . PITT was measured with three items adapted from Agarwal and Prasad (1998) . Purchase intention (PI) was measured with two items developed by Kim and Shin (2015) . In terms of control variables, cost (CT) was measured with two items adapted from Shin (2009) , and we also included demographic variables, such as gender, age and income, as control variables.

Measurement Model

To evaluate the measurement model, we assessed reliability and validity. Table 2 exhibits the factor loadings, Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability and average variance extracted (AVE) for our constructs. First, most loadings were above the recommended threshold of 0.70, three loadings of PBI were lower than 0.70, including pbi1 (0.545), pbi5 (0.672), and pbi8 (0.695), and one PBI item was removed because its loading was lower than 0.5 (“I am comfortable in my body”). As suggested by Hair (2017) , three items with loadings lower than 0.7 were deleted to check the increase of composite reliability, and as the increase was minimal (0.918 vs. 0.916), these three items were not removed. The Cronbach’s Alpha and composite reliability of PBI were 0.897 and 0.916 respectively, indicating that the PBI items were reliable. All values of the Cronbach’s Alpha were above the threshold (0.6), and the composite reliability was higher than the accepted threshold (0.70). These results indicated that the measurement of constructs was reliable.

Table 2. Loadings, reliability, and convergent validity.

Second, the AVE was used to assess the convergent validity, and as shown in Table 1 , all AVE values were higher than the threshold (0.50) ( Fornell and Larcker, 1981 ). In addition to evaluating convergent validity, we evaluated discriminant validity using the approach proposed by Fornell and Larcker (1981) . According to Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) criterion, to determine the discriminant validity, the square root of each construct’s AVE is expected to be above the coefficient of bivariate correlations with other constructs. According to results of Table 3 , discriminant validity of most constructs is established because the square root of each construct’s AVE is higher than the correlation coefficients between all opposing constructs. However, the square root of the AVE of SAF and VEF is close to the correlation coefficients between SAF and VEF (0.823 vs. 0.768; 0.819 vs. 0.768), and SAF explains the variance similarly to VEF; in other words, SAF and VEF are correlated. This is because SAF and VEF are highly related sub-dimensions of the same latent construct (FTAs) ( Wilcox et al., 2009 ). To eliminate the potential collinearity caused by the difference in the way researchers and respondents understood the questionnaire constructs (e.g., for some respondents the concept of “express myself” in VEF may be equivalent to “a symbol of social status”), we follow recommendations in using the variance inflation factor (VIF). The VIF values of SAF and VEF were 2.688 and 2.847, respectively, lower than the threshold of 3.3, indicating no collinearity between constructs ( Kock and Lynn, 2012 ).

Table 3. Fornell and Larcker’s (1981) criterion.

Mediation Effects Test

In a departure from to the traditional classification of full, partial and no mediation suggested by Baron and Kenny (1986) and Zhao et al. (2010) proposed three types of mediation: complementary, competitive and direct-only mediation. To assess the mediation effects, we follow an approach proposed by Zhao et al. (2010) .

We first assess the significance of the indirect effect (β x→m × β m→y ), and then we further assess the significance of the direct effect (β x→y ). Complementary partial mediation is determined when direct effect is significant and shares the same direction with indirect effect, or in other words, when β x→m × β m→y × β x→y is positive. In contrast, competitive partial mediation occurs when indirect and direct effect are both significant but move in different directions, i.e., β x→m × β m→y × β x→y is negative. Particularly in competitive mediation, non-significant total effect does not indicate the lack of mediation; for instance, indirect and direct effects of opposite signs may result in the non-significance of the total effect. First, as shown in Table 4 , the indirect effect via utilitarian value (PBI→PHU→PI) was significant (β = 0.047, p < 0.01), and the indirect effect via social symbol value (PBI→SAF→PI) was significant (β = 0.034, p < 0.05). Second, the direct effect (PBI→PI) was also significant but with opposite signs (β = −0.119, p < 0.05), indicating a competitive mediation between PBI and PI. Taking all of these effects together, we conclude that PBI enhances purchase intention regarding smart watches via perceived usefulness for health and SAF. The results of the path coefficients are exhibited in Figure 1 .

Table 4. PLS regression results for the mediation model.

Figure 1. PLS regression results for models without moderation.

Moderating Effects Test

Moderated mediation indicates that either or both of the paths of independent variables to mediating variables (β x→m ) and from mediating variables to dependent variables (β m→y ) vary across levels of the moderator; in other words, indirect effect is contingent on the moderator ( Edwards and Lambert, 2007 ; Preacher et al., 2007 ).

We used the moderated mediation analysis approaches to test the moderating effects. As shown in Table 5 , three distinct models were tested. The first model (Model 1) estimates the moderating effects of PITT on the direct relationship between PBI and PI(β x→y ), and thus it tests the total effect without mediating effects. The second model (Model 2-1, Model 2-2, Model 2-3) estimates the moderating role of PITT on the first-stage indirect effects, i.e., the effect of PBI on PUH, VEF, and SAF, respectively (β x→m ). The third model estimates the moderating role of PITT on the second-stage indirect effect, i.e., the simultaneous effects of PUH, VEF, and SAF on PI (β m→y ) and on the direct effect (β x→y ).

Table 5. PLS regression results for the moderated mediation model.

As indicated by results of Model 2-2 and Model 2-3 in Table 5 , two of the moderating effects of PITT on the first-stage mediation were significant (β = 0.219, p < 0.001 and β = 0.184, p < 0.001, respectively), indicating the moderating role of PITT on the effects of PBI on SAF and VEF. First-stage results suggest that individuals with higher PITT perceive more symbolic value associated with smart watches. Turning to the results of second-stage mediation (Model 3), we observe that the coefficients of PUH and SAF were significant (β = 0.302, p < 0.001 and β = 0.314, p < 0.001). The moderating effect of PITT on the relationship between PBI and SAF in Model 2-2 and on the relationship between SAF and PI were both significant. Taken together, these results indicate that the moderated mediation effect in the indirect effect of PBI on PI via SAF is not zero. This result suggests that the mediation effects partially depend on the extent of PITT ( Figure 2 ).

Figure 2. PLS regression results for the models with moderation.

Additionally, we observe that control variables are non-significant except for cost, and the perception of higher cost predicts higher purchase intention. This finding contrasts with some past research ( Kim and Shin, 2015 ), while some studies argue that high prices in emerging markets are the signal of luxury brands ( Sharma et al., 2020 ). We assume that consumers of digital wearables treat price as a decision reference, or in other words, price is the signal of symbolic value for smart watch consumers.

Further Explanation of the Dual Nature of Body Image

As discussed above, we assume that body image is a health motivation driver and a symbolic consumption driver, to further prove these assumptions we propose that:

H6(a).Positive body image enhances health motivation

H6(b).Positive body image enhances symbolic consumption motivation

Symbolic consumption motivation was measured with social identity. Social identity refers to a social psychological process in which individual categorize himself as a member of specific groups, such as teams, class, or organizations ( Henri and Turner, 1986 ). In consumption behaviors, consumers purchase specific products to signal favorable social identity, especially for conspicuous products with symbolic value ( Wilcox et al., 2009 ). In this research, we used three items adopted from Moorman (1990) to measure health motivation, and social identity was measured with three items from Huang and Wang (2018) , the reliability and validity meet the threshold as in section “Methodology” (see Supplementary Appendix B ). Using the same sample as in section “Methodology”, we conclude that H6 (a) and H6 (b) are supported, and PBI has a stronger relationship with health motivation compared with social identity (see Figure 3 ).

Figure 3. PLS regression results for the dual nature model.

Key Findings

Drawing on the TAM and on FTA, we find that PBI influences intention to purchase via the perception of technology value and symbolic value, thus establishing the dual nature of body image. First, individuals with a positive evaluation of their own body and appearance (PBI) do not exhibit more purchase intention regarding smart watches, while negative body image predicts a higher degree of purchase intention. Second, PBI increases purchase intention via the perception of the utilitarian value, i.e., the health-related value, of smart watches. Among individuals who evaluate their body image positively, respondents present a higher perception of smart watches’ health promoting functions. Third, PBI increases purchase intention via symbolic value. Specifically, individuals with a more PBI perceive more SAF (e.g., that smart watches gain the owner higher social status and more visibility), which further increases purchase intention.

Additionally, we have proven that PITT moderates the mediating role of SAF. For a summary of the main conclusions (please see Table 6 ). These findings have significant implications regarding digital wearables, as outlined below.

Table 6. Summary of results.

Theoretical Contribution

According to our knowledge, this study is the first work to assess the role of physical self in consumption behavior. Self-concepts are individuals’ evaluation toward themselves such as self-esteem (global perceptions of one’s worth) ( Harter and Leahy, 2001 ), compared to global self-concepts, body is considered as domain-specific self-concepts (e.g., body size satisfaction and appearance esteem). Although body image has been widely applied in research into health management topics such as eating disorders and obesity ( Cash and Pruzinsky, 2002 ), the relationship between body image and consumption has remains unknown. For instance, researchers do not agree on how body image (either negative or positive) affects purchase intention ( Rosa et al., 2006 ), this research establishes that without considering the dual nature of body image (indirect effect), such mechanisms cannot be revealed. Therefore, in the view of physical self, we reveal the mechanism driving the effect of body image by introducing the dual nature of body image and demonstrating that body image is a health motivation driver (e.g., influencing the perception of utilitarian value) and also a self-affirmation motivation driver (e.g., influencing the perception of symbolic value).

In other words, our research provides a theoretical framework to understand the role of physical self-concepts in consumption. Self-concepts define who we are and become a driving force to influence consumption decision, however, self-concepts is also multi-dimensional ( Belk, 1988 , 2013 ), the investigation into body-involving products (e.g., clothes, sports, and wearables) requires the introduction of body dimension of self. Furthermore, our findings have implications for research based on self-concepts that self-concepts (global or domain-specific) should be recognized as antecedent variables, and their significance in motivating consumers’ decisions should be given more consideration.

Practical Implications

Although designers and researchers have cumulative knowledge of marketing strategy for digital wearables, our results have two critical implications for design and marketing.

First, the hybrid nature of digital wearables does not necessarily relate to hybrid marketing strategy, i.e., advertisements do not need to emphasize devices’ utilitarian and symbolic value simultaneously. Our results suggest that for consumers with PBI, the health-related function will have direct and significant convincing power, while the realization of symbolic value depends on the knowledge on digital products. More importantly, the health-related functions can attract consumers’ attention. For instance, most mainstream design tends to transform smart watches into mini smartphones (e.g., they have payment, messaging and notification features), and the overlap between smartphones and smart watches increases the burden of making a purchase decision.

Second, designers wish to copy the experience of traditional luxury wearables; convincing consumers that the ownership of smart watches can have symbolic value has already become a prevalent strategy. However, our results indicate that consumers’ past experience may not fully apply to digital wearables, i.e., the perception of symbolic value is affected by the perception of body image. Specifically, consumers with positive attitudes toward their own body and appearance tend to focus on the symbolic value, while negative body image decreases the effect of symbolic value. Additionally, consumers’ knowledge of digital wearables may limit their perception of symbolic value. Compared with more traditional and prevalent luxury wearables, consumers are less familiar with digital wearables. We therefore posit that strategies that are successful for luxury wearables may not work on all potential consumers of digital wearables. For example, given Apple’s advantage in brand premium, Huawei and Xiaomi, two of Apple’s major competitors in China, adopted the differentiation strategy by releasing cheaper smart bracelets from 2016 to 2018. These products have a smaller screen but similar health functions to the Apple Watch.

Limitations and Future Studies

Although the model proposed in this study provides a more comprehensive perspective from which to understand a consumer’s intention to purchase a smart watch, our findings have several limitations. First, our samples are limited to college students, and due to its exploratory purpose, our study uses a convenient sampling method. Despite the fact that young students are a major portion of digital wearable consumers, older respondents (e.g., age 30–40) with different careers should be involved in future research, since consumers with various socioeconomic statuses (SES) and at different life stages may hold different attitudes about their physical self, and the dual nature of physical self may be influenced by these factors. Second, although we tested the theoretical validity of physical self in the context of digital product consumption, a deeper exploration of physical self in wearable consumption is needed. Since studies considering the body-involving features of digital wearables were rare in the past, the theoretical framework applied in this article requires more solid theoretical discussions (e.g., the links to identity, self-image, and self-efficiency). Third, the diffusion of technology involves multiple stages, such as adoption, acceptance, routinization, exploration and infusion, while this research only focuses on purchase intention, we suggest future research to investigate other related topics, for instance, using samples with actual purchase behavior.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Author Contributions

TW developed the theoretical framework and performed the online survey and wrote the manuscript with support from SL. YS suggested the selection of measurements and checked the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Award Nos. 71531007, 71622002, 71471048, 71471049, 71490720, and 71771065) and Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Project: Research and Development of Diagnosis and Treatment System for Common Diseases of Middle-aged and Elderly People Based on Artificial Intelligence (Project No. 202103000037).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846491/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords : physical self, body image, smart watch, competitive mediation, mobile health

Citation: Wang T, Sun Y and Liao S (2022) Physical Self Matters: How the Dual Nature of Body Image Influences Smart Watch Purchase Intention. Front. Psychol. 13:846491. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.846491

Received: 31 December 2021; Accepted: 14 February 2022; Published: 25 March 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Wang, Sun and Liao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Teng Wang, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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How Paralympic Swimmer Mallory Weggemann Starts Her Day

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In SELF’s Wake-Up Call Series, we ask celebrities, athletes, and other notable people exactly how they rise and shine.

To say that Mallory Weggemann is having a hectic summer is a massive understatement. The swimmer is a five-time Paralympic medalist who will be returning to compete in Paris. On top of that—and during the crucial final weeks of her own training, no less—she just became the first Paralympian to host Olympic coverage for NBCU. With that much excitement, pressure, and adrenaline filling up her days, Weggemann savors the opportunity to start things slowly, nursing her 16-month-old daughter, Charlotte.

“She and I get to have that moment just the two of us laying in bed, and there’s no better way to start my day than that,” Weggemann tells SELF. “I think I’m going to miss it a lot when our breastfeeding journey ends, but for now I’m soaking it in. To have that first piece of my day start with her and me is just a really special grounding force.”

Weggemann has a few other comforting constants in her morning routine that help her feel her best. Her simple, hydrating skin care routine is essential, especially when she’s training: “I love to give my skin a drink of something that’s not chlorine before I hit the pool.” In a normal week, in which she’s swimming hard for five or six days, she also relies on “souped up” oatmeal to fuel her—a portable concoction she can assemble just about anywhere.

Below, Weggemann takes us through the specifics of her morning routine, including her skin obsessions, morning media rules, and how she takes advantage of the rare luxury (for a pro swimmer, at least) of a morning shower. As a new mom, sports broadcast host, frequent traveler, and Paralympian—don’t miss her first event on August 31!—a “typical morning” might not really exist, but these essentials always help her feel strong, confident, and prepared to take on the day.

Here she is, in her own words:

I've learned that less is more with my skin.

It’s nice to have an easy morning routine. As a mom especially, I don’t necessarily have half an hour to be in the bathroom. But I do like to have a few minutes of me time—with a system that fits my lifestyle on a daily basis. It gives a little bit of structure and consistency to the organized chaos of life.

I travel a lot for work. I’m on airplanes, I’m in different climates, I’m swimming in chlorine, so my face gets very, very, very dry. But then sometimes my skin tries to catch itself up and wants to get oily…. So it doesn’t really know what it wants to do on any given day.

I’ve really gotten into Osea; I swear, since I transitioned to their products it’s like having my own little spa in my bathroom. The Ocean Cleanser makes me look forward to washing my face every morning, and the Seabiotic Water Cream feels like heaven. The Ocean Eyes Age-Defying Eye Serum is lovely too—they’re all water themed, so very on brand for me! I’ll never ditch the SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Gel , though; that’s a staple in my cabinet because it helps with the redness I get from the chlorine.

OSEA Ocean Cleanser Purifying Face Wash

Seabiotic Water Cream

OSEA Ocean Eyes Age-Defying Serum

With my swim schedule, i can’t always shower in the morning, but i love it when i can..

It helps me wake up and it helps to slow down the start of the day. When I was in studio for Olympics coverage and swimming later in the day, a shower was the first thing I’d do. Oribe is probably my favorite brand for hair care. They have beautiful shampoos: I alternate between Gold Lust and Bright Blonde , to protect my color.

Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo

Oribe Bright Blonde Shampoo

I’m also an SPF-everyday person, though I have to admit I’m not religious about one brand or vehicle. I think that you appreciate how important it is to protect your skin more with age. And I also think I appreciate it more now being a mama—when Charlotte’s in the sun, I’m constantly putting sunscreen on her. I really like the Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense , but I’ll really use anything as long as I can get it in. It’s always part of my morning, unless I’m heading straight to the pool, since I swim inside.

Skinceuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense

SkinCeuticals

Blue Mercury

I’ll bring this breakfast to the Paris Paralympics with me…. It went to Tokyo with me, it went to Rio, it went to London.

My go-to on heavy training days is a souped-up oatmeal—either hot or in an overnight form. I love the little Quaker Oats packets , because they’re so easy to travel with. I always make it with Fairlife milk because it has more protein and I’m always looking to get a big protein hit in the morning.

I also add protein powder—I love Garden of Life Whey —and some kind of nut butter to my oatmeal. Spoon Junkie makes my favorite almond butter. I found them at this farmer’s market in California, and I now buy it online and have it shipped home to Minnesota. Then I load the oatmeal up with berries, and that’s my go-to reliable breakfast. I get the nutrients that I know I need, especially on race day, and I can recreate it anywhere I am.

Quaker Flavor Variety Instant Oatmeal

Fairlife Lactose-Free Milk

Garden of Life Sport Whey Protein Powder

If i’m not racing or hitting the pool first thing….

I love just starting my day with me, Charlotte, and my husband, Jay. She and I will make these simple banana oat pancakes together—they’re literally just banana, egg, oats, cinnamon and a splash of milk in a blender, then throw ’em on the stove. We’ll put music on in the kitchen and Charlotte loves to dance; on the weekends we play jazz in our house, but we’re also loving the Trolls soundtrack right now. She’s obsessed.

Honestly, I try to not touch my phone until after we’ve gotten through breakfast and I’m heading out the door for training. I kind of stay tuned out from the world for the first part of the day because I feel like life gets so fast-paced. The minute you get on your phone, go on social media, or open emails, it just comes at you so quickly and it keeps coming until the day’s over. I think motherhood has shifted how I start my day in a lot of ways because it’s made me want to find time to slow down, and the mornings are a really great place to do it.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

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Self-driving truck company TuSimple accused of exaggerating safety record settles U.S. fraud lawsuit for $189-million

TuSimple delisted from Nasdaq in January, fewer than three years after raising $1.35 billion in an April 2021 initial public offering. Supplied/Reuters

TuSimple reached a $189 million settlement of a lawsuit accusing the self-driving truck technology company of defrauding shareholders by overstating its safety record and concealing three insiders’ control of a Chinese trucking rival.

A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed on Monday in the federal court in San Diego, where TuSimple is based, and requires a judge’s approval.

All defendants, including the company, various TuSimple founders and executives, and TuSimple’s bank underwriters, denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

TuSimple has paid $174 million of the settlement amount into an escrow account while its insurers have paid $15 million there, court papers show.

The company delisted from Nasdaq in January, fewer than three years after raising $1.35 billion in an April 2021 initial public offering.

Lawyers for TuSimple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Shareholders said TuSimple misrepresented the safety of its technology prior to the IPO, with an eye toward addressing the kinks on U.S. roads and transferring the improved technology to the Chinese rival, Hydron.

They said the truth emerged in August 2022, when the Wall Street Journal said an Arizona freeway crash four months earlier underscored analyst and employee concerns that TuSimple’s rush to deliver driverless trucks put public safety at risk.

Lawyers for the shareholders may seek up to 25% of the settlement amount, or about $47 million, for legal fees.

TuSimple went public at $40 per share. The shares traded unchanged at 20 cents in Tuesday afternoon over-the-counter trading on the Pink Sheets.

The case is Dicker et al v. TuSimple Holdings Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, No. 22-01300.

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