Journal of Consumer Research
April 24, 2012
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Journal of Consumer Research
Current Issue Highlights

Super Size Me: Product Size as a Signal of Status

David Dubois
Derek D. Rucker
Adam D. Galinsky

This research proposes that consumers' preference for supersized food and drinks may have roots in the status-signaling value of larger options. An initial experiment found that consumers view larger-sized options within a set as having greater status. Because low-power consumers desire status, we manipulated power to test our core propositions. Whether induced in the lab or in the field, states of powerlessness led individuals to disproportionately choose larger food options from an assortment. Furthermore, this preference for larger-sized options was enhanced when consumption was public, reversed when the size-to-status relationship was negative (i.e., smaller was equated with greater status), and mediated by consumers' need for status. This research demonstrates that choosing a product on the basis of its relative size allows consumers to signal status, illustrates the consequences of such a choice for consumers' food consumption, and highlights the central role of a product category's size-to-status relationship in driving consumer choice.

 

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661890

  

Selected Media Mentions

 

How Supersizing Makes Us Feel More Important
TIME Business

The Huffington Post

Forbes

NPR

The Atlantic

New York Times

TIME Healthland

MSNBC

EurekAlert!

From Physical Weight to Psychological Significance: The Contribution of Semantic Activations

Meng Zhang
Xiuping Li

Past research has shown that a physical experience can influence metaphorically linked psychological judgment. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been formally tested. This article examines the role of semantic activations underlying such influences, focusing on the effects of a ubiquitous physical experience-"carrying weight"-on consumers' judgment of importance. Five experiments provide converging evidence that semantic activation is the primary underlying process for the effect. Specifically, physically carrying a load is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for processing the concept of importance. The effect is fully mediated by semantic activation of related weight concepts. Moreover, processing the concept of importance does not necessarily influence the physical experience of carrying weight. An affective state such as mental stress (psychological load), however, does have a reciprocal effect on the physical experience of carrying weight, indicating that there might be different pathways between weight experience and its metaphorically linked concepts.

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661768

 

Selected Media Mentions 

  

Why do events seem more important when consumers think about weight?

Wall Street Journal

 

Carrying Shopping Bags Could Boost Your Stress Levels

The Huffington Post

    

Heavier Bags Mean "More Stress"

The Telegraph

  

Why do events seem more important when consumers think about weight?

EurekAlert!


Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid: How Word of Mouth Influences the Storyteller

Sarah G. Moore

Consumers frequently tell stories about consumption experiences through word of mouth (WOM). These WOM stories may be told traditionally, through spoken, face-to-face conversation, or nontraditionally, through written online reviews or other electronic channels. Past research has focused on how traditional and nontraditional WOM influences listeners and firms. This research instead addresses how specific linguistic content in nontraditional WOM influences the storyteller. The current article focuses on explaining language content, through which storytellers reason about why experiences happened or why experiences were liked or disliked. Four studies examine how and why explaining language influences storytellers' evaluations of and intentions to repeat, recommend, and retell stories about their experiences. Compared to nonexplaining language, explaining language influences storytellers by increasing their understanding of consumption experiences. Understanding dampens storytellers' evaluations of and intentions toward positive and negative hedonic experiences but polarizes storytellers' evaluations of and intentions toward positive and negative utilitarian experiences.

 

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661891

  

Selected Media Mentions

 

The Complex Psychology of a Yelp Review
TIME

Science NewsLine

EurekAlert!

What to Say When: Influencing Consumer Choice by Delaying the Presentation of Favorable Information

Xin Ge
Gerald H�ubl
Terry Elrod

Delaying the presentation of some favorable information about an alternative (e.g., a product, service, brand, store, or cause) until after consumers have completed their pre-choice screening can increase that alternative's choice share. While such a delay reduces the alternative's chance of surviving the screening, it can actually increase its probability of ultimately being chosen. Evidence from five experiments demonstrates this preference-enhancing effect of the delayed presentation of favorable information, and it illustrates the underlying preference dynamics across decision stages associated with such a delay. The findings also indicate that this preference-enhancing effect is driven by a combination of two mental mechanisms-a shift in the decision weights of attribute dimensions (rendering dimensions on which a delay occurs more influential across all alternatives) and an overall preference boost for the alternative about which information is delayed.

 

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661937

  

Selected Media Mentions

 

Is It Best to Withhold Favorable Information About Products?
Science Daily

Phys.Org

EurekAlert!

All "Ahead of Print" Articles



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