Abstract

This research studies possession attachment and focuses on bonds with brands acquired during childhood. The study concentrates on millennial girls growing up in Indian culture and investigates their possession attachment towards Barbie dolls and its impact on their mindsets. The Barbie brand is a prominent cultural icon from the industrialized world. The influence of possession attachment manifests itself when adults use comfort objects such as dolls, blankets, or photographs during childhood. Authors observed that attachment behaviour towards inanimate objects differs depending on the culture in which an infant was raised. This research identifies and validates multiple outcomes of possession attachment such as memories, nostalgia, identity congruity and transnational imagined community. The role of Barbie dolls within the product category of girls toys allows to generalize the results achieved here to broader setting of possession attachment acquired during childhood towards global brands, especially in crafting branding strategies for high involvement goods.

摘要

这项研究研究占有依恋，并侧重于与童年时期获得的品牌的联系。该研究专注于在印度文化中长大的千禧一代女孩，并调查她们对芭比娃娃的占有欲及其对她们心态的影响。芭比娃娃品牌是工业化世界的杰出文化标志。当成年人在童年时期使用诸如洋娃娃、毯子或照片之类的舒适物品时，占有依恋的影响就会显现出来。作者观察到，对无生命物体的依恋行为因婴儿成长的文化而异。这项研究确定并验证了占有依恋的多种结果，例如记忆、怀旧、身份一致性和跨国想象社区。