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Journal of Consumer Research
Ahead of Print Highlights
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Conditioned Superstition: Desire for Control and Consumer Brand Preferences Eric J. Hamerman
Gita V. Johar
There are many opportunities in everyday life to associate consumer products with success or failure. For example, when a basketball fan drinks a particular brand of soda while watching her favorite team win a game, she may perceive that this consumption facilitated the victory. Subsequently, the fan may continue to purchase and consume this same item during future games, in an attempt to help the team. This behavior is known as "conditioned superstition." Preference for lucky products (those associated with positive outcomes) increases with higher levels of desire for control combined with lower levels of perceived ability to control outcomes (low generalized self-efficacy). Consumers who express a preference for these lucky products form an illusion of control over future outcomes, so that they perceive superstitious behavior to be an effective strategy to achieve the desired result.
DOI: 10.1086/670762
Electronically published May 1, 2013
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Exploring the Impact of Various Shaped Seating Arrangements on Persuasion Rui (Juliet) Zhu
Jennifer J. Argo
Despite the common belief that seating arrangements matter, little research has examined how the geometrical shape of a chair arrangement can affect persuasion. The shape of seating arrangements can prime two fundamental human needs that in turn influence persuasion. When seated in a circular-shaped layout, consumers evaluate persuasive material more favorably when it contains family-oriented cues or majority endorsement information. In contrast, when seated in an angular-shaped seating arrangement, consumers evaluate persuasive material more favorably when it contains self-oriented cues or minority endorsement. These responses to persuasive material arise because circular (angular) shaped seating arrangements prime a need to belong (need to be unique). Thus, a subtle environmental cue -- the shape of a seating arrangement -- can activate fundamental human needs and consequently affect persuasion.
DOI: 10.1086/670392
Electronically published April 26, 2013 |
Getting Liberals and Conservatives to Go Green: Political Ideology and Congruent Appeals Blair Kidwell
Adam Farmer
David M. Hardesty
The authors develop a conceptual model of how the congruence of political ideology and persuasive appeals enhances sustainable behaviors. Persuasive appeals consistent with individualizing and binding moral foundations were developed to enhance liberal and conservative recycling. Individualizing and binding appeals were tested on actual recycling behavior using a longitudinal field study to demonstrate the effectiveness of messages congruent with the moral foundations of liberals and conservatives. Enhanced fluency represents the underlying psychological process that mediates the relationship between message congruence and intentions. Spillover effects resulting from increased intentions to engage in sustainable disposition behavior enhance intentions to engage in sustainable acquisition and consumption behaviors. Potential message confounds are ruled out to demonstrate the robustness of the findings. Practical implications for marketers and public policy officials interested in increasing sustainable behaviors are offered.
DOI: 10.1086/670610
Electronically published April 26, 2013 |
The Effect of Familiarity with the Response Category Labels on Item Response to Likert Scales Bert Weijters
Maggie Geuens
Hans Baumgartner
Surveys in the social sciences often employ rating scales anchored by response category labels such as "strongly (dis)agree" or "completely (dis)agree." Although these labels may exert a systematic influence on responses since they are common to all items, academic research on the effect of different labels is surprisingly scarce. In order to help researchers choose appropriate category labels, the authors contrast the intensity hypothesis (which posits that response categories are endorsed less frequently if the labels are more extreme) with the familiarity hypothesis (which states that response categories are endorsed more frequently if the labels are more common in day-to-day language). They find consistent support for the familiarity hypothesis. These results have important implications for the appropriate use of category labels in multilingual surveys, and the authors propose a procedure based on Internet search engine hits to equate labels in different languages in terms of familiarity.
DOI: 10.1086/670394
Electronically published April 24, 2013
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