Question

Consumption meant to impress others with one's wealth is_____

I put Signaling and got it wrong

Answer 1

Conspicuous consumption means spending your money in such a way that other people can see how wealthy you are.

Conspicuous consumption is the spending of money on and the acquiring of luxury goods and services to publicly display economic power—of the income or of the accumulated wealth of the buyer. To the conspicuous consumer, such a public display of discretionary economic power is a means of either attaining or maintaining a given social status.

The development of Thorstein Veblen's sociology of conspicuous consumption produced the term invidious consumption, the ostentatious consumption of goods that is meant to provoke the envy of other people; and the term conspicuous compassion, the deliberate use of charitable donations of money in order to enhance the social prestige of the donor, with a display of superior socio-economic status

The term refers to consumers who buy expensive items to display wealth and income rather than to cover the real needs of the consumer.

A flashy consumer uses such behavior to maintain or gain higher social status. Most classes have a flashy consumer affect and influence over other classes, seeking to emulate the behavior.

The result, according to Veblen, is a society characterized by wasted time and money.

This boom has seen a binge of consumption that for the first time human longevity might turn down because we are eating ourselves to death. Death by consumption used to explain a fatal case of tuberculosis, now it could explain the rise in obesity, diabetes and cancers.

That is, conspicuous displays of consumption and leisure were the means to demonstrate one’s superiority. Whether you were rich or poor everyone attempts to impress others and seek to gain advantage through “conspicuous consumption” and the ability to engage in “conspicuous leisure”.