Journal of Consumer Research
    
Highlights from Two Years Ago 
April 29, 2014

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 consumer judgment of importance. The 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

Jennifer J. Argo
Baba Shiv

This research examines the implications of telling an "innocent" white lie after a negative interpersonal encounter. If a white lie falls outside an acceptable range of dishonesty, cognitive dissonance will arise and produce negative affect. Deceivers will then be motivated to reduce the dissonance and will do so by engaging in behaviors that favor the wrongdoer with potentially negative consequences for the self. The authors explore the impact of one factor that determines whether a white lie falls outside the acceptable range of dishonesty -- the salience of the norm of honesty. They also examine the role of two factors, affect certainty and source certainty, that are predicted to moderate the impact of the negative affect on deceiver downstream judgments and behaviors toward the target of the white lie.

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661640

Lenses of the Heart: How Actors' and Observers' Perspectives Influence Emotional Experiences

Iris W. Hung
Anirban Mukhopadhyay

This research examines how the visual perspectives that consumers take to appraise an event (whether they view themselves as actors in the situation or observers of it) influence the intensities of the emotions they experience. In a situation that elicits emotions, greater attention to the self (if using an observer's perspective) leads to greater intensity of self-conscious emotions such as pride, guilt, and embarrassment, whereas greater attention to the situation (if using an actor's perspective) leads to greater intensity of hedonic emotions such as joy, sorrow, and excitement. In this way, visual perspectives can act as situational antecedents that shape the use of emotion appraisals. The experiments support these propositions and demonstrate the mediating role of appraisals, across a variety of emotion-eliciting contexts, that were visualized as well as recalled.

 


The Dynamic Impact of Variety among Means on Motivation

Jordan Etkin
Rebecca K. Ratner

Consumers often have a variety of products that they may use to help them pursue their goals. These products constitute a set of means toward consumer goal attainment. How does the amount of variety (high vs. low) among a set of means affect motivation to pursue the associated goal and how does this relationship change over the course of goal pursuit as progress is made toward goal attainment? When progress toward goal attainment is low, having more variety within a set of means to goal attainment increases motivation to pursue the goal. However, when progress toward goal attainment is high, having less variety within a set of means to goal attainment increases motivation to pursue the goal. Perceived variety among means is an important determinant of motivation in goal pursuit.

 

Volume 38, Number 6, April 2012
DOI: 10.1086/661229


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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