Symbolic Self-Completion Theory

The theory of symbolic self-completion is a psychological theory holding that individuals seek to acquire and display symbols that are strongly associated with what they perceive as their ideal self. Its own example is a relatively effeminate boy who wants to appear macho adopting products associated with manliness, such as a strong cologne or a silver watch, in hopes of symbolically fulfilling that self-definition and thereby becoming more manly in his own eyes; cases of this kind of symbolic self-completion appear across internet communication, marketing and advertising, and consumer behavior more broadly.