via wine-econ.org/

The story is told of a sales call that Ernest Gallo made to a New York customer in the dark days of the depression. He offered sample glasses of two red wines - one costing five cents per bottle and the other ten cents. The buyer tasted both and pronounced, “I’ll take the ten-cent one.” The wine in the two glasses was exactly the same. Clearly, the customer wanted to buy an identity - the image of someone who wouldn’t drink that five-cent rotgut- even if he couldn’t actually taste the difference.

I love this story. It is in many ways verified but also superseeded by newer psychological findings. However, this quote, in a way explains a lot about the 'why' of people acting. Try to transfer this image of buying an identity onto other social acts, and you'll see, there's (still) much, oh so much, to harness.