Thinking about scolding that Hummer-owning Yank about his wasteful, planet-destroying ways? Rather than shaming him into adopting a greener way of life, you might be hardening his resolve and driving him to imagine himself a “rugged individualist” who’s defending the American way of life.

That’s the conclusion of a new study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, that finds Hummer drivers believe they are defending the USA’s “frontier lifestyle” against “anti-American” critics.

The team of researchers from the US, Canada and Austria sought to understand attitudes toward owning and driving Hummers, which to many have become symbols of American greed and wastefulness. They first investigated the sentiments of people who avoid chains like Starbucks because believe they are making a moral choice against consumerism.

The researchers found that, to these critics, Hummers represent the ills of modern society. (They even cite the extreme example of one Website devoted to photos of people giving Hummers the middle finger.)

The research team then conducted in-depth interviews with 20 US-born and raised Hummer owners, and found they framed their vehicle choice as a moral one. In fact, such car-owners view themselves as “moral protagonists” in the debate over consumer values.

“As we studied American Hummer owners and their ideological beliefs, we found that they consider Hummer driving a highly moral consumption choice,” the researchers wrote in their study. “For Hummer owners, it is possible to claim the moral high ground.”

Hummer owners, the research team concluded, employ the ideology of American foundational myths — the “rugged individual,” and the “boundless frontier” — to imagine themselves as taking the moral high ground. They often believe they represent a bastion again “anti-American” criticisms against consumption.

“Our analysis of the underlying American identity discourses revealed that being under siege by (moral) critics is an historically established feature of being an American,” write the authors. “The moralistic critique of their consumption choices readily inspired Hummer owners to adopt the role of the moral protagonist who defends American national ideals.”

• Can we transform consumer culture minus Project Mayhem?
• By the numbers: Making the case for a ‘less-stuff’ culture
• Report: Let’s leave consumerism before it leaves us