Is the Unconscious Mind in Charge of Decision-Making? : A Cognitive Study Explaining the Impact of Perceived Fashion Attributes on Sustainable Fashion Acquisition: Evidence from Multidimensional Implicit Association Tests

Sammanfattning

Background: While consumers often express pro-sustainability attitudes, their actual purchasing behaviour often contradicts these attitudes, observed in the rapid growth of the fast fashion industry. Existing research of sustainable fashion typically relies on self-reported data, while behavioural economics suggests that implicit associations play a role in decision-making. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the impact of consumers’ implicit self-associations with perceived fashion attributes on sustainable fashion acquisition. Methodology: The study employed a quantitative and deductive research approach. Data were collected using three Multidimensional Implicit Association Tests (md-IATs), designed to measure automatic associations between the self and fashion-related attributes, complimented by a self-reported questionnaire. The survey link was sent out via email and published on social media platforms, primarily on Facebook groups. The study employed convenience sampling, and resulted in 120 valid responses. The dataset was subsequently cleaned, coded, and analysed through univariate analysis, bivariate analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Findings: The conducted md-IATs revealed a weak association between the self and Price (H1) and Social Value (H3), as well as non-significant relationships to sustainable fashion acquisition (β = -0.138 for Price and β = -0.110 for Social Value). Therefore, these hypotheses were rejected. However, the findings for Quality (H2) demonstrated a comparatively stronger association between the self and Quality-related attributes, and a statistically significant relationship to sustainable fashion acquisition (β = 0.261**). The hypothesis was therefore accepted. Finally, an additional and unanticipated finding for this study emerged during the analysis: explicit Sustainability Concern proved to be a significant predictor of sustainable fashion acquisition (β = 0.288***). Conclusion: The most central conclusion is that Quality serves a strong implicit driver for sustainable fashion acquisition. Simultaneously, consumer decision-making appears to be shaped by an interplay of conscious values and unconscious associations rather than by either factor alone.