London, July 22 (IANS) Emotional reasons which involve self-esteem and looking attractive to the opposite sex, propel people to buy and use cosmetics, according to a new study.
'Our emotions often dictate our decisions. In our buying behaviour, we make emotional decisions and justify them rationally. These emotions are in part learned and in part instinctive,' points out Vanessa Apaolaza, who led the study.
The study was carried out by the University of Basque Country (UPV), Spain, on facial creams - hydrating and nutritive ones, coloured or non-coloured, and anti-wrinkle creams - and body lotions, the firming and anti-cellulite creams.
For example, the unconscious emotional desire 'to be attractive to the opposite sex, to be sexually attractive,' encourages people to buy cosmetics, the African Journal of Business Management reports.
Paradoxically, the cosmetic brand provides positive emotional experience by first causing consumers to have negative feelings about themselves, according to a UPV statement.
'One way of achieving this is by subtly telling them they are ugly - something that many cosmetics adverts achieve implicitly and very effectively by showing images of unusually beautiful women,' says Apaolaza.
'The theory of social comparison has been used in various research studies to explain how using very attractive models in advertising can affect consumers', says Apaolaza.
The scientists carried out personal surveys on 355 women aged between 18 and 50, who were selected in a random sample.
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