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Journal of Consumer Research
Highlights from Two Years Ago
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Guiltless Gluttony: The Asymmetric Effect of Size Labels on Size Perceptions and Consumption Nil�fer Z. Aydinoğlu
Aradhna Krishna
Size labels adopted by food vendors can have a major impact on size judgments and consumption. In forming size judgments, consumers integrate the actual size information from the stimuli with the semantic cue from the size label. Size labels influence not only size perception and actual consumption, they also affect perceived consumption. Size labels can also result in relative perceived size reversals, so that consumers deem a smaller package to be bigger than a larger one. Further, consumers are more likely to believe a label that professes an item to be smaller (vs. larger) in the size range associated with that item. This asymmetric effect of size labels can result in larger consumption without the consumer even being aware of it ("guiltless gluttony").
Volume 37, Number 6, April 2011
DOI: 10.1086/657557
Selected Media Mentions
The Washington Post
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The Locus of Choice: Personal Causality and Satisfaction with Hedonic and Utilitarian Decisions Simona Botti
Ann L. McGill
Consumers may consume the same products or services with different goals -- for example, for their own pleasure (a hedonic goal) or to achieve some higher level purpose (a utilitarian goal). This article investigates whether this difference in goals influences satisfaction with an outcome that was either self-chosen or externally determined. The authors manipulate consumption goals, controlling for the outcomes, the option valence, and whether the externally made choice was determined by an expert or at random. The outcome of a self-made choice is more satisfying than the outcome of an externally made choice when the goal is hedonic but not when it is utilitarian. The authors hypothesize that this effect results from the greater perceived personal causality associated with terminally motivated activities, such as hedonic choices, relative to instrumentally motivated activities, such as utilitarian choices, and provide evidence that supports this explanation over alternative accounts.
Volume 37, Number 6, April 2011
DOI: 10.1086/656570
Selected Media Mentions Medical News Today
Science Daily
Why making our own choices is more satisfying when pleasure is the goal
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Outpacing Others: When Consumers Value Products Based on Relative Usage Frequency Rebecca W. Hamilton
Rebecca K. Ratner
Debora V. Thompson
When considering the purchase of a new product, will consumers be more likely to make the purchase if they think about using it every day or if they think about using it every week? From an economic perspective, using a durable product more frequently should increase its perceived value. However, perceived usage frequency relative to other consumers can influence product interest more than absolute usage frequency. The authors use scale labels, advertisements, and customer reviews to invoke either a high-frequency or low-frequency norm. High-frequency cues create less product interest and lower willingness to pay than low-frequency cues because consumers infer that their relative usage frequency will be lower, reducing the product's perceived fit. This effect is moderated by the consumer's perceived similarity to the standard of comparison and the consumer's own characteristics.
Volume 37, Number 6, April 2011
DOI: 10.1086/656668 Selected Media Mentions Science Daily
Phys.Org Learning how consumers value products
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