Moderated Mediating Effect of Behavioral Psychology on Generation Z’s Selfie-Posting Behavior: A Two-Stage Analytical Approach

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating and moderating effects of body appreciation and exhibitionism on the relationships between self-esteem, narcissism, and Selfie Posting Behavior (SPB), as well as on the moderating effect of attitude towards selfies (ATS) from the Generation Z perspective. The research comprised 414 samples through convenience sampling. The empirical data were analyzed using a hybrid SEM-artificial neural network (SEM-ANN) approach. The sensitivity analysis outcomes discovered that body appreciation has the most considerable effect on the SPB, with 89.18% normalized importance, followed by narcissism (87.02%), exhibitionism (72.66%), and self-esteem (48.95%). Body appreciation and exhibitionism independently and sequentially mediated the relationships between self-esteem and SPB, as well as narcissism and SPB. In addition, attitude moderated the relationship between exhibitionism and SPB but not the relationship between body appreciation and SPB. The study results emphasize the importance of recognizing the moderating mechanisms that affect the mediated pathways between self-esteem and SPB, as well as between narcissism and SPB. Based on these findings, the study outlined several applicable ramifications for educators, professionals, service providers, designers, and developers.