Journal of Consumer Research
    
Ahead of Print Highlights
April 1, 2014

The Impact of Fear on Emotional Brand Attachment

Lea Dunn
JoAndrea Hoegg 

 

The current research investigates the role of fear in the creation of emotional attachment to a brand. Previous research examining the influence of incidental negative emotions on brand evaluations has generally found that negative emotions lead to negative evaluations. The current research suggests that for fear, the relationship may be more positive. Since consumers cope with fear through affiliation with others, in the absence of other individuals, consumers may seek affiliation with an available brand. This, in turn, will enhance emotional attachment to that brand. Consumers who experience fear in the presence of a brand feel greater emotional brand attachment than consumers who experience other emotions such as happiness, sadness, or excitement. The findings from the research advance understanding of consumer-brand relationships by demonstrating that relationships between consumers and brands are not merely metaphorical. Rather, under certain circumstances, brands can actually fulfill interpersonal psychological needs.   


DOI: 10.1086/675377
Published Online January 29, 2014 

The Maximizing Mind-Set

Jingjing Ma
Neal J. Roese 


Getting the best has been advocated as an ideal in almost every domain of life. The authors propose that maximizing constitutes a mind-set that may be situationally activated and has cross-domain consequences. Specifically, the maximizing mind-set amplifies regret and dissatisfaction, increases the likelihood of returning and switching products, and affects sensory experiences such as taste. The effect of the maximizing mind-set occurs only when consumers learn that they do not get the best but not when they do in fact get the best. The authors validate their conception of the maximizing mind-set by demonstrating its embrace of underlying processes of comparisons and goals.

 

DOI: 10.1086/674977
Published Online January 14, 2014 

Prosocial Behavior in Intergroup Relations: How Donor Self-Construal and Recipient Group-Membership Shape Generosity

Rod Duclos
Alixandra Barasch

  

This research examines the interplay of self-construal orientation and victim group-membership on prosocial behavior. Whereas consumers primed with an independent self-construal demonstrate similar propensities to help needy in-group and out-group others, an interdependent orientation fosters stronger commitments to aid in-group than out-group members. This interaction holds in both individualistic (the United States) and collectivistic (China) nations and seems driven by a belief system. For interdependents, the prospect of helping needy in-group (relative to out-group) members heightens the belief that helping others contributes to their own personal happiness, which in turn increases their propensity to act benevolently. Such in-group/out-group distinctions do not seem to operate among independents. The article concludes by discussing the theoretical implications of the findings for the cross-cultural, intergroup-relations, and prosocial literatures before deriving insights for practice.  

 

DOI: 10.1086/674976
Published Online January 14, 2014 

The Bright Side of Impulse: Depletion Heightens Self-Protective Behavior in the Face of Danger

Monika Lisjak
Angela Y. Lee 


Ample research suggests that after engaging in a self-regulatory task, people become depleted and are more likely to behave in maladaptive ways by yielding to their impulses. However, yielding to impulses may not always be maladaptive. When consumers are depleted, they feel more vulnerable when encountering potential danger and are therefore more likely to engage in self-protection. Depleted (vs. nondepleted) consumers reported being less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as having unprotected sex and more likely to engage in risk-reduction behaviors such as getting tested for kidney diseases and chlamydia. Depleted individuals also preferred products that emphasize safety. Perceived vulnerability is shown to mediate the effect of depletion on self-protective behavior. Yielding to impulses may sometimes help attain beneficial and healthful goals.    


DOI: 10.1086/674975
Published Online January 14, 2014

Decisions at a Distance

(Spring 2014)

Curator: Rebecca Hamilton

The Politics of Consumer Identity Work (Autumn 2013)

Curator: Craig J. Thompson

Curator: Rebecca Ratner

      
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