Sexual and age-related characteristics of demonstrative consumption in adolescence and youth

The article is devoted to the study of conspicuous consumption as a socio-psychological phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. An empirical study conducted on a sample of adolescent (14–16 years old) and young adult (18–20 years old) girls and boys (N = 150) using the methods “Conspicuous Consumption” (N.K. Radina, N.V. Shaidakova, 2013) and “Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire” (R. Ryan and J. Connell, 1989, as adapted by T.O. Gordeeva, V.A. Baranova, 2020) revealed a relationship between conspicuous consumption and academic motivation. It was found that with a general similarity in the level of conspicuous consumption in different age and gender groups, qualitative differences were found in the nature of its relationship with academic motivation. In boys, a behaviorally oriented relationship was found between the practice of conspicuous consumption and introjected academic motivation (r = 0.218, p < 0.03), while in girls, stronger Cognitive-value relationships were found—both between the overall severity of conspicuous consumption and introjected motivation (r = 0.319, p < 0.022), and between the ability to recognize it and academic motivation (r = 0.302, p < 0.031). The results obtained reveal the specific regulatory mechanisms of young people's consumer and academic behavior based on a focus on social approval and can be used in the development of programs for psychological and pedagogical support of the educational process.