Some of it is definitely conscious. In particular, a certain class of people "trying to break in" consciously spend above their means in order to be perceived a

Some of it is definitely conscious. In particular, a certain class of people "trying to break in" consciously spend above their means in order to be perceived as having the means. I have not encountered a whole lot of evidence that this works - I only know of it from the many cases where it didn't work, or worked just long enough to allow them to fail to express other qualities the "in" crowd has. Similarly, a lot of the "new rich" commentary suggests a desire to flaunt success, Trump style, because the individual is acutely aware of how different their circumstances have become and wish to let others know they are no longer in their previous position. They are signalling that they have, in fact, "broken in". However, the qualities they are signalling are generally not signalled by the natural members of the group, who merely express them. These members may unconsciously signal other things, such as slang. In other words, those who are aware of different levels may signal a level consciously. Others will not, beyond expressing the qualities that define them as of the level. A curious person might be contrarian, while an experienced one could be simplistic. Here, the "above average" one will be expressing, while the "intelligent" one is applying and the pragmatic one would be signalling (authority). Conscious signals tend to be hollow by necessity, and targeted at a specific level.