“I Am” Versus “I Do”: How Using First-Person Copular Versus Verbal Identity-Referencing Phrases Affects Identity-Related Behavior

Keri L. Kettle, Americus Reed, Carter Morgan, Vanessa Tinlin and Rohan Garg

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2026, vol. 11, issue 2, 131 - 144

Abstract: Consumers reference their identities using phrases that can take either copular form (e.g., “I am a Democrat”) or verbal form (e.g., “I vote Democrat”). How might the identity-referent phrases a consumer uses affect how they seem themselves? We examine how using copular versus verbal identity-referent phrases affects the consumer’s self-concept and identity-related behavior. In seven experiments, we demonstrate that using copular (“I am”) identity-referent phrases (1) increases identity self-importance more than using verbal (“I do”) identity-referent phrases, (2) spreads to closely overlapping identities, and promotes identity-congruent behavior.

Date: 2026
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