Written By: Jessie X. Fan and John R. Burton

The purpose of this study was to identify an array of goods that college students believe indicate social status. Data from a survey of almost 400 students at the University of Utah were analyzed. Commodities considered status-conveying all have the feature of being either easily seen by others or easily talked about in social conversations. The exploratory logistic regression analyses show that students’ perception of what constitutes status goods vary by age, gender, race, marital status, working status, family size, living arrangement, income and student?s major. Implications are discussed for financial advisors working with clients who overspend. Key words: College students, Conspicuous consumption, Perceptions, Positional goods, Social display, Status consumption

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