Minimalist lifestyle has been positively associated with psychological well-being and life satisfaction, but its effects on interpersonal perceptions remain unclear. In this research, based on the stereotype content model, six experiments and a meta-analysis were conducted to examine the mixed signals of minimalist lifestyle on social perceptions and interpersonal interactions.
In Study lA(N 120) and Study 1B(N 121), using textual descriptions to manipulate target characteristics, the perceived competence and warmth of minimalists and non-minimalists were examined. Results indicated that minimalists(vs. non-minimalists) were perceived as more competent but less warm, which indirectly increased cooperation intentions but decreased friendship intentions.
Study 2A(N 266) and Study 2B(N 235), utilizing pictorial cues of minimalist clothing and minimalist furniture respectively, showed that target gender had a moderating effect: Minimalist lifestyle had a higher enhanced effect on perceived competence of male minimalists, but a greater diminished effect on perceived warmth of female minimalists.
In Study 3A (N 240) explored how the target gender moderated the mediating effects of impression evaluation on minimalist lifestyle and interpersonal interactions from the perspective of offiine contexts. Results indicated that the facilitative indirect effect of minimalist lifestyle on cooperation intentions is more likely to occur for male minimalists, but not to a significant level; while the detrimental indirect effect of minimalist lifestyle on friendship intentions is more significant for female minimalists.
Study 3B(N 132) examined the replication of these results in online social media interactions. Results showed that people perceived minimalist influencers higher on competence but lower on warmth, and had higher intentions for cooperation but lower intentions for friendship. The moderating effect of target gender was not significant, but showed a trend consistent with Study 2A and 2B: the enhancement effect of minimalist lifestyle on perceived competence directly and cooperation intentions indirectly were greater for male(vs. female) minimalists; the reduction effect of minimalist lifestyle on perceived warmth directly and friendship intentions indirectly were greater for female(vs. male) minimalists. Furthermore, men posting minimalist lifestyle content increased viewers' sharing intentions but decreased liking behaviors, whereas women posting minimalist lifestyle content did not increase engagement intentions and decreased liking and favoriting behaviors.
Finally, single paper meta-analysis suggested that minimalist lifestyle affected participants' social perceptions of and interpersonal interactions with minimalists: higher perceived competence but lower perceived warmth, and indirectly higher cooperation intentions but lower friendship intentions. Target gender was found to have a moderating effect on perceived warmth but not on perceived competence: Participants perceived male minimalists marginally higher on competence and had higher intentions for cooperation; participants perceived female minimalists significantly lower on warmth and had lower intentions for friendship. Overall, minimalist lifestyle had a greater negative impact(backlash effect) on female minimalists. These findings broadened the scope of minimalist lifestyle research and provided insights into individual impression management strategies and personal branding.
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