|
|
|
Journal of Consumer Research
Current Issue Highlights
|
A Stranger's Touch: Effects of Accidental Interpersonal Touch on Consumer Evaluations and Shopping Time Brett A. S. Martin
This article examines an unexplored area of consumer research-the effect of accidental interpersonal touch (AIT) from a stranger on consumer evaluations and shopping times. The research presents a field experiment in a retail setting. This study shows that men and women who have been touched by another consumer when examining products report more negative brand evaluations, negative product beliefs, less willingness to pay, and spend less time in-store than their control (no-touch) counterparts.The authors' findings indicate that the AIT effect is especially negative for touch from a male stranger for both men (same-sex touch) and women (opposite-sex touch). Directions are provided for future study that highlight potential moderators and process explanations underlying the AIT effect. Volume 39, Number 1, June 2012
DOI: 10.1086/662038 Selected Media Mentions
Why we flee those crowded aisles
Today Show Science Daily
Phys.Org
EurekAlert!
|
Effects of Messiness on Preferences for Simplicity Jia (Elke) Liu
Dirk Smeesters
Debra Trampe
This research examines the effect of experiencing messiness, induced by a messy environment or by priming the concept of messiness, on consumers. The authors propose that messiness is an aversive state and that consumers are motivated to attenuate this state by seeking simplicity in their cognitions, preferences, and choices. Six experiments support the theorizing. Experiments 1A-1C (conducted in the laboratory) and experiment 2 (conducted in the field) demonstrate that when messiness is salient, consumers form simpler product categorizations, are willing to pay more for a T-shirt with a simple picture, and seek less variety in their choices. Experiment 3 brings additional evidence for the underlying role of the need for simplicity by showing that when the need for simplicity is satiated, the effects of messiness disappear. A final experiment shows a boundary condition of the messiness effect: political conservatives are more susceptible to messiness primes compared to liberals. Volume 39, Number 1, June 2012
DOI: 10.1086/662139
Selected Media Mentions Office Organization: In Defense Of Messy Desks The Huffington Post Cluttered cubicle may make you more organized
Today Show Messy desks in the office can actually lead employees to think more clearly, say researchers The Daily Mail
Messy Rooms and Simple Thinking Seem to Go Together |
Years, Months, and Days versus 1, 12, and 365: The Influence of Units versus Numbers Ashwani Monga
Rajesh Bagchi
Quantitative changes may be conveyed to consumers using small units (e.g., change in delivery time from 7 to 21 days) or large units (1-3 weeks). Numerosity research suggests that changes are magnified by small (vs. large) units because a change from 7 to 21 (vs. 1-3) seems larger. The authors introduce a reverse effect that they term unitosity: changes are magnified by large (vs. small) units because a change of weeks (vs. days) seems larger. They show that numerosity reverses to unitosity when relative salience shifts from numbers to units (study 1). Then, arguing that numbers (units) represent a low-level (high-level) construal of quantities, the authors show this reversal when mind-set shifts from concrete to abstract (studies 2-4). These results emerge for several quantities-height of buildings, time of maturity of financial instruments, weight of nutrients, and length of tables-and have significant implications for theory and practice. Volume 39, Number 1, June 2012
DOI: 10.1086/662039 Selected Media Mentions Why you buy what you buy and when: Consumer research looks for hidden motives CBC News
The consumer mindset: When is a year different than 365 days? Phys.Org The consumer mindset: When is a year different than 365 days? EurekAlert! |
From the Commercial to the Communal: Reframing Taboo Trade-offs in Religious and Pharmaceutical Marketing A. Peter McGraw
Janet A. Schwartz
Philip E. Tetlock
Although consumers typically expect organizations to profit from marketing goods and services, they also believe that certain organizations, like those that focus on religion and health, should prioritize communal obligations. Indeed, consumers may find it morally distressing when communally focused organizations use overtly commercial marketing strategies like rebranding or value-based pricing. The authors demonstrate how moral distress and consumer backlash result from such taboo trade-offs and investigate when communal-sharing rhetoric for religious and pharmaceutical marketing reduces distress. Communal justifications used by communally focused organizations are particularly effective when consumers are not closely monitoring the motives of the organization or when the product is need-based. However, communal justifications become less effective and market-pricing justifications become more effective when consumers are attuned to the persuasive intentions of the organization. Implications for consumer goals are discussed.
Volume 39, Number 1, June 2012
DOI: 10.1086/662070
Selected Media Mentions Commercial or Communal: Why Is Outsourcing Taboo for Churches and Pharmaceutical Companies?
Science Daily Commercial or communal: Why is outsourcing taboo for churches and pharmaceutical companies?
Phys.org
Commercial or communal: Why is outsourcing taboo for churches and pharmaceutical companies? EurekAlert! |
|
The Journal of Consumer Research is sponsored by:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
