Journal of Consumer Research
April 5, 2011



  



































































































































































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Journal of Consumer Research
Highlights from Two Years Ago

Variety, Vice, and Virtue: How Assortment Size Influences Option Choice
Aner Sela
Jonah Berger
Wendy Liu


Assortment size has been shown to influence whether consumers make a choice, but could it also influence what they choose? Five studies demonstrate that because choosing from larger assortments is often more difficult, it leads people to select options that are easier to justify. Virtues and utilitarian necessities are generally easier to justify than indulgences; consequently, choosing from larger assortments often shifts choice from vices to virtues and from hedonic to utilitarian options. These effects reverse, however, when situational factors provide accessible reasons to indulge, underscoring the role of justification. Implications for choice difficulty and justification processes are discussed.

Volume 35, Number 6, April 2009
DOI: 10.1086/593692



Selected Media Mentions

Los Angeles Times
When we have more to choose from, we may make more healthful choices


Boston Globe
The more competitors, the less competition


Entertainment Biz!
Just one tiny truffle can trigger desire for more treats


Gawker
You're One Truffle Away from Wanting All the Things You Can't Have


Med India
Longer The Menu, The Healthier You Eat (And Vice Versa)


EurekAlert!
The virtue of variety: More options can lead to healthier choices

When Brand Personality Matters: The Moderating Role of Attachment Styles
Vanitha Swaminathan
Karen M. Stilley
Rohini Ahluwalia


This research examines the moderating role of consumer's attachment style in the impact of brand personality. Findings support our hypotheses regarding the manner in which brand personality and attachment style differences systematically influence brand outcomes, including brand attachment, purchase likelihood, and brand choice. Results show that anxiously attached individuals are more likely to be differentially influenced by brand personalities. Further, the results indicate that the level of avoidance predicts the types of brand personality that are most relevant to anxious individuals. Specifically, under conditions of high avoidance and high anxiety, individuals exhibit a preference for exciting brands; however, under conditions of low avoidance and high anxiety, individuals tend to prefer sincere brands. The differential preference for sincere (vs. exciting) brand personality emerges in public (vs. private) consumption settings and in settings where interpersonal relationship expectations are high, supporting a signaling role of brand personality in these contexts

Volume 35, Number 6, April 2009
DOI: 10.1086/593948



Selected Media Mentions

The Financial Express
Your upbringing leads you to go for brands


The Hindu
Upbringing 'leads' people to go for brands


The Economic Times
Upbringing 'leads' people to go for brands


Science Daily
Filling In The Gaps: Personality Types Lead People To Choose Certain Brands


EurekAlert!
Filling in the gaps: Personality types lead people to choose certain brands

Specification Seeking: How Product Specifications Influence Consumer Preference
Christopher K. Hsee
Yang Yang
Yangjie Gu
Jie Chen


When and how do specifications (for example, megapixels of a camera and number of air bags in a massage chair) influence consumer preferences? Even when consumers can directly experience the relevant products and the specifications carry little or no new information, their preference is still influenced by specifications, including specifications that are self-generated and by definition spurious and specifications that the respondents themselves deem uninformative. Relative to choice, hedonic preference (liking) is more stable and less influenced by specifications.

Volume 35, Number 6, April 2009
DOI: 10.1086/59394


Selected Media Mentions

TIME
Swaying Shoppers: The Power of Product Specs


CBC News
At what price megapixels? Numbers spur overspending: study


Engadget
Journal finds that consumers prefer vague product specs to utter ignorance


Gizmodo
Consumers Choose Products With More Tech Specs


EurekAlert!
We've got your number: Consumers choose products with more technical specs

The Effect of Regulatory Orientation and Decision Strategy on Brand Judgments
Echo Wen Wan
Jiewen Hong
Brian Sternthal


How do consumer regulatory orientations and the decision strategies used to process message information affect their judgments? Evaluations of the chosen brand were more favorable when individuals with a prevention focus used decision strategies that enhanced the accuracy of a decision outcome than when they used strategies that facilitated progress toward a decision, whereas the opposite outcome occurred for those with a promotion focus. These findings emerged whether the decision strategies were prompted by instructions about how to make a decision or by the message presentation format, and they were mediated by a subjective experience of confidence. These observations suggest that judgments are influenced by the decision makers' feelings about how information is processed that are independent of the message content.

Volume 35, Number 6, April 2009
DOI: 10.1086/593949


Selected Media Mentions

Science Daily
You Decide: Making A Good Decision Or Avoiding A Bad One?


EurekAlert!
You decide: Making a good decision or avoiding a bad one?
Most Accessed Articles


Most Cited Articles



Please remember that the current editors' terms will be ending on June 30, 2011. Any manuscripts (new or revised) received after this date will be processed by the new editors.
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