How Much Do You Need to Stand Out?
Why some people drop a thing the moment everyone else has it
Everyone wants to be somewhat like other people and somewhat not. Researchers who studied how that plays out in what we buy, wear and own found three different routes to feeling distinct: choosing well, choosing against the grain, and running from whatever has become common. They rarely come in equal measure, and which one you lean on says a lot about how much other people's taste shapes yours.
Before you start There are no right answers. Pick what is usually true for you, not what sounds best.
Think about clothes, music, objects, places and the things you choose to own - not about your opinions or your work.
What it measures
The three factors of the consumer need-for-uniqueness scale: creative choice (standing out in ways others still approve of), unpopular choice (accepting disapproval to be different) and avoidance of similarity (dropping what has become common). It is not self-monitoring, which is about adjusting to other people, and not creativity, which is about producing ideas.
Based on: Consumers' Need for Uniqueness scale (Tian, Bearden & Hunter, 2001)
Possible results
Creative choice
Expressing who you are through things others still find appealing.
Unpopular choice
Being willing to choose what others disapprove of.
Avoiding the common
Losing interest in things once too many people have them.
Common questions
Is need for uniqueness the same as being a nonconformist?
Not quite. Nonconformity describes behaviour; need for uniqueness is the motive behind wanting to feel different. The original theory by Snyder and Fromkin held that people are most comfortable at moderate similarity to others - too similar and they feel interchangeable, too different and they feel isolated - so most people mix fitting in with standing out.
Does avoiding popular things mean I care what others think?
In a sense, yes, and that is the quiet paradox of this trait. Dropping something because it became common only works if you keep track of what everyone else is choosing. People who score high on avoiding the common are, in practice, paying close attention to the crowd - they just move in the opposite direction.
Can your need for uniqueness change over time?
The underlying motive is treated as a fairly stable trait, but the way it shows up changes a lot with age, money and surroundings. Someone who expressed difference through clothes at twenty may do it through a career choice or a home at forty. Moving to a new place can also shift the bars, because what counts as common changes around you.
Sources
- Tian, K. T., Bearden, W. O., & Hunter, G. L. (2001). Consumers' need for uniqueness: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research. doi:10.1086/321947
- Snyder, C. R., & Fromkin, H. L. (1977). Abnormality as a positive characteristic: The development and validation of a scale measuring need for uniqueness. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.86.5.518
- Ruvio, A., Shoham, A., & Makovec Brenčič, M. (2008). Consumers' need for uniqueness: Short-form scale development and cross-cultural validation. International Marketing Review. doi:10.1108/02651330810851872
An honest note The items are Quinthea's own wording adapted from the Consumers' Need for Uniqueness scale, so your scores are not comparable to its published norms. The scale was built in the United States around shopping and possessions, so it captures uniqueness shown through things, not through ideas or work. Short-form versions have been tested in a few other countries, but what counts as an unpopular choice varies enormously between cultures, ages and social circles.