Showing papers in "Journal of Consumer Research in 1999"

Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making

Abstract: This article examines how consumer decision making is influenced by automatically evoked task-induced affect and by cognitions that are generated in a more controlled manner on exposure to alternatives in a choice task. Across two experiments respondents chose between two alternatives: one (chocolate cake) associated with more intense positive affect but less favorable cognitions, compared to a second (fruit salad) associated with less favorable affect but more favorable cognitions. Findings from the two experiments suggest that if processing resources are limited, spontaneously evoked affective reactions rather than cognitions tend to have a greater impact on choice. As a result, the consumer is more likely to choose the alternative that is superior on the affective dimension but inferior on the cognitive dimension (e.g., chocolate cake). In contrast, when the availability of processing resources is high, cognitions related to the consequences of choosing the alternatives tend to have a bigger impact on choice compared to when the availability of these resources is low. As a result, the consumer is more likely to choose the alternative that is inferior on the affective dimension but superior on the cognitive dimension (e.g., fruit salad). The moderating roles of the mode of presentation of the alternatives and of a personality variable related to impulsivity are also reported.

Consumer Socialization of Children: A Retrospective Look at Twenty-Five Years of Research

Abstract: Twenty-five years of consumer socialization research have yielded an impressive set of findings. The purpose of our article is to review these findings and assess what we know about children's development as consumers. Our focus is on the developmental sequence characterizing the growth of consumer knowledge, skills, and values as children mature throughout childhood and adolescence. In doing so, we present a conceptual framework for understanding consumer socialization as a series of stages, with transitions between stages occurring as children grow older and mature in cognitive and social terms. We then review empirical findings illustrating these stages, including children's knowledge of products, brands, advertising, shopping, pricing, decision-making strategies, parental influence strategies, and consumption motives and values. Based on the evidence reviewed, implications are drawn for future theoretical and empirical development in the field of consumer socialization.

Visual Rhetoric in Advertising: Text-Interpretive, Experimental, and Reader-Response Analyses

Abstract: Text interpretations, two experiments, and a set of reader-response interviews examine the impact of stylistic elements in advertising that form visual rhetorical figures parallel to those found in language The visual figures examined here— rhyme, antithesis, metaphor, and pun—produced more elaboration and led to a more favorable attitude toward the ad, without being any more difficult to comprehend Interviews confirmed that several of the meanings generated by informants corresponded to those produced by an a priori text-interpretive analysis of the ads However, all of these effects diminished or disappeared for the visual tropes (metaphor and pun) in the case of individuals who lacked the cultural competency required to adequately appreciate the contemporary American ads on which the studies are based Results are discussed in terms of the power of rhetorical theory and cultural competency theory (Scott 1994a) for illuminating the role played by visual elements in advertising Overall, the project demonstrates the advantages of investigating visual persuasion via an integration of multiple research traditions

Choosing less-preferred experiences for the sake of variety.

Abstract: Data from several experiments show that, contrary to traditional models of variety seeking, individuals choose to switch to less-preferred options even though they enjoy those items less than they would have enjoyed repeating a more-preferred option Two explanations for this finding are tested Results indicate no evidence of a benefit to more-preferred options due to the contrast to less-preferred alternatives However, the results of three studies suggest that retrospective global evaluations favor varied sequences that also include less-preferred items as opposed to sequences that only include more-preferred items, even though these more varied sequences result in diminished enjoyment during consumption

Trying to Be Cosmopolitan

Abstract: Cosmopolitanism is often heralded as a cultural orientation ideally suited to the sociocultural and economic complexities emanating from the accelerating pace of globalization. In this study, we analyze the consumption stories of expatriate professionals who are trying to enact a cosmopolitan identity. For these participants, trying to be cosmopolitan precipitates a nexus of salient experiential tensions and conflicts that are negotiated through their consumption and leisure practices. Although these expatriates identify with dominant cosmopolitan ideals of nomadic mobility and cultural adaptability, their consumer stories reveal a host of countervailing tensions deriving from emotional and interpersonal ties to home, desires for communal affiliations, and enduring preferences for familiar goods and places. We trace the history of colonial and patriarchal meanings that form the ideological underpinnings to these tensions. We propose that these ideological complexities and contradictions foster a paradoxical effacement of the conventional boundaries between work and leisure and between touristic practices and everyday consumer experiences. We discuss the implications of our analysis for theoretical conceptions of postmodern consumption and for consumer research on consumption goals.

Lifestyle of the Tight and Frugal: Theory and Measurement

Abstract: Who has not known a tightwad? Yet this pervasive consumer trait—being frugal—has been ignored in the scholarly consumer behavior literature This research articulates the nature of this overlooked consumer trait and then develops, evaluates, and empirically applies a multi-item scale of frugality The results from a six-study program of empirical research are reported These studies describe (1) the psychometric properties of a frugality measure, (2) demonstrations of how frugality assists the empirical study of consumer usage and acquisition behaviors, and (3) frugality scale norms from a probability sample of the general adult population

The Social Uses of Advertising: An Ethnographic Study of Adolescent Advertising Audiences

Abstract: Advertising research has focused exclusively on the solitary subject at the expense of understanding the role that advertising plays within the social contexts of group interaction. We develop a number of explanations for this omission before describing the results of an ethnographic study of advertising’s contribution to the everyday interactions of adolescent informants at a number of English high schools. The study reveals a series of new, socially related advertisingaudience behaviors. Specifically, advertising meanings are shown to possess social uses relating to textual experience, interpretation, evaluation, ritual use, and metaphor. The theoretical and managerial implications of these social uses are then discussed.

The Effect of Time Pressure on Consumer Choice Deferral

Abstract: This article investigates the effect of time pressure on choice deferrai. Recent research suggests that the likelihood of deferral is contingent on the ease of making the selection decision (which option to choose) as well as the overali attractiveness of the selected alternative. We focus on how time pressure systematically impacts choice deferral by increasing the use of noncompensato ry decision rules in the selection decision and by increasing the relative emphasis placed on the unique features in the deferral decision (whether to choose). Consistent with the hypotheses, we find over a series of five studies that time pressure (1) decreases choice deferral when choice involves high conflict but not when conflict is low, (2) reduces the impact of shared features on choice deferral, and (3) decreases choice deferral for sets with common bad and unique good features (approach-approach conflict) but not for sets with common good and unique bad features (avoidance-avoidance conflict). We further show that greater attention to the unique features is not a general property of decision making under time pressure but rather a consequence of the primacy of the selection decision over the deferral decision. Consistent with this premise, time pressure did not decrease the relative attention paid to common features when the task was described as purely a deferral decision. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Culture Swapping: Consumption and the Ethnogenesis of Middle-Class Haitian Immigrants

Abstract: By means of an ethnographic study of a Haitian family in the midwestern United States, this article demonstrates how ethnic consumers “culture swap,” using goods to move between one cultural identity and another as they negotiate relations between home and host cultures. This interpretation of consumer behavior is grounded in a semiotics of performance, emphasizing the dynamic and mutable nature of self, social identity, and cultural identification in global consumer culture.

A Range Theory Account of Price Perception

Abstract: It is well accepted in the behavioral pricing literature that a consumer's perception of the attractiveness of a market price depends on a comparison of the market price to an internal reference price The rationale underlying this dynamic has its roots in Adaptation-Level Theory However, consistent with Range Theory, we postulate that a consumer's assessment of the attractiveness of a market price may also depend on a comparison of the market price to the endpoints of the evoked price range Four experiments provide evidence that variance in the width of the evoked price range affects price-attractiveness judgments in the absence of any variance in the internal reference price Of theoretical importance, findings from the present article suggest that pricing theory is in need of augmentation in order to account for this effect Of managerial relevance, these findings suggest that changes in context can bring about changes in the evoked price range and perceptions of the attractiveness of a market price

Popular Appeal versus Expert Judgments of Motion Pictures

Abstract: Cultural commentators addressing the differences between high art and mere entertainment have suggested that the standards of popular appeal governing the tastes of ordinary consumers differ from the criteria for excellence employed by professional critics in rendering expert judgments. These concerns appear in discussions of the cultural hierarchy (distinguishing among levels of tastes) and in claims that commercialism tends to degrade cultural objects (by catering to tastes that represent the lowest common denominator). However, such attacks make assumptions that are generally left untested and that raise at least two key research questions: (RQ1) Do the determinants of popular appeal versus expert judgments suggest differing or common standards of evaluation for consumers versus critics? (RQ2) Do discrepant (shared) tastes produce a negative (positive) correlation between popular appeal and expert judgments? The present study addresses these research questions for the case of motion pictures. The findings suggest that, at least in the case of films, ordinary consumers and professional critics do emphasize different criteria in the formation of their tastes but that we have reason to question critiques based on the implicit assumption of a negative correlation between popular appeal and expert judgments.

The Role of Direction of Comparison, Attribute-Based Processing, and Attitude-Based Processing in Consumer Preference

Abstract: Preference formation involves comparing brands on specific attributes (attribute-based processing) or in terms of overall evaluations (attitude-based processing). When consumers engage in an attribute-based comparison process, the unique attributes of the focal subject brand are weighed heavily, whereas the unique attributes of the less focal referent brand are neglected. This is because the attributes of the subject are mapped onto the attributes of the referent, rather than vice versa. This direction-of-comparison effect is reduced when consumers engage in attitude-based processing or when high involvement increases motivation to process accessible attributes more thoroughly and systematically. The present research investigates a personality variable, need for cognition, that increases the likelihood of attribute-based (i.e., high need for cognition individuals) versus attitude-based processing (i.e., low need for cognition individuals) and therefore, also affects the magnitude of the direction-of-comparison effect. The direction-of-comparison effect is observed only when attribute-based processing is likely (i.e., when need for cognition is high) and when thorough and systematic processing is unlikely (i.e., when involvement is low). Mediational analyses involving attribute recall and a useful new measure of analytic versus intuitive processing support this dual-process model.

Gift Receipt and the Reformulation of Interpersonal Relationships

Abstract: Sherry (1983) defines reformulation as the final stage of gift exchange, during which a newly presented gift can impact the relationship between giver and recipient. To date no one has examined exactly how gifts can affect relationships or what aspects of gift exchange contribute to realignment of the giver/recipient relationship. Using depth interviews and critical-incident surveys, our study explores how the recipient's perceptions of the existing relationship, the gift, the ritual context, and his or her emotional reactions converge to affect relationship realignment. We identify six relational effects of gift-receipt experiences. Further, we examine gift-receipt experiences that have a consistent impact in the short and long term, and those where the meanings and relational effects appear to change over time. Implications for future research are also discussed.

Responses to Information Incongruency in Advertising: The Role of Expectancy, Relevancy, and Humor

Abstract: Two studies examining the effects of expectancy, relevancy, and humor on attitude formation are presented. Following previous research, expectancy refers to the degree to which an item or a piece of information falls into some predetermined pattern or structure evoked by an ad. Relevancy refers to the degree to which an item or a piece of information contributes to the identification of the primary message communicated by the ad. Across two studies that examined immediate response, we found that information expectancy and relevancy interact to produce different levels of attitude favorability. Although ads with unexpected-relevant information elicited more favorable attitudes than did ads with expected-relevant information, ads with unexpected-irrelevant information yielded less favorable attitudes that did ads with expected-relevant information. Furthermore, humor and relevancy interact where a humorous execution was found to have a favorable effect in ads with unexpected-irrelevant information but not in ads with unexpected-relevant information. In addition, the second study further examined delayed responses in which the findings revealed a different pattern. Particularly noteworthy is a sleeper effect for ads with unexpected-irrelevant information where attitudes for both the ad and the brand improved over time. We conclude with implications and suggestions for future research.

When an Ad's Influence Is beyond Our Conscious Control: Perceptual and Conceptual Fluency Effects Caused by Incidental Ad Exposure

Abstract: Four studies were conducted to determine the level of processing that occurs during incidental ad exposure and the extent to which effects of such processing are driven by unconscious influences. Studies 1 and 2 indicate that the addition of semantically related product information in an ad facilitates activation of the product concept in memory. As a result, the advertised product is more likely to be included in a stimulus-based consideration set even when the perceptual features of the product under consideration do not match the features of the product depiction in the ad. These results are consistent with conceptual fluency arising from a semantic analysis that occurs during incidental ad exposure. Studies 3 and 4 indicate that when an ad is devoid of other product-related information (i.e., when it simply depicts a product by itself), processing is limited to a simple feature analysis. The effect of this analysis on consideration set judgment is found when the shape of the advertised product is unfamiliar, and the perceptual features of the product under consideration match those of the product depiction in the ad. These results are consistent with the concept of perceptual fluency. Further, all four studies provide strong evidence that the response bias caused by incidental ad exposure is due to unconscious influences—advertised products were more likely to be included in a consideration set even when subjects were explicitly trying to avoid choosing products that were depicted in the ads.

The Effects of Positive Mood on Memory

Abstract: The results of four studies examining the effect of mood on the learning of brand names show that a positive mood enhances the learning of brand names in relation to a neutral mood. Respondents' clustering of the brand names they recalled suggests that a positive mood fosters relational elaboration by prompting the classification of brands on the basis of their category membership, which then serves as an effective cue for brand name retrieval. Results also suggest that mood can affect the rehearsal of the specific brand names. These findings add to the growing evidence that mood affects the strategies used to process information and demonstrate for the first time that mood affects brand rehearsal as well as relational elaboration. These findings also question the adequacy of theoretical accounts for mood effects based on the notion that a positive mood reduces the processing of stimulus information.

Postexperience Advertising Effects on Consumer Memory

Abstract: Past research suggests that marketing communications create expectations that influence the way consumers subsequently learn from their product experiences. Since postexperience information can also be important and is widespread for established goods and services, it is appropriate to ask about the cognitive effects of these efforts. The postexperience advertising situation is conceptualized here as an instant source-forgetting problem where the language and imagery from the recently presented advertising become confused with consumers' own experiential memories. It is suggested that, through a reconstructive memory process, this advertising information affects how and what consumers remember. Consumers may come to believe that their past product experience had been as suggested by the advertising. Over time this postexperience advertising information can become incorporated into the brand schema and influence future product decisions.

The Effect of Discount Frequency and Depth on Consumer Price Judgments

Abstract: The intensity of price discounting by retailers and manufacturers raises important questions about consumer price judgments. In the extreme, discounting can take the form of frequent but shallow discounts or deep but infrequent discounts. The research reported here explores the effects of these strategies on consumer estimation of price levels for competing stores and brands. In an initial experiment in which subjects made brand choices over time, a depth effect was observed that contrasted with the frequency effect found in previous research. Subsequent experiments identified the conditions under which depth (vs. frequency) characteristics of price data dominate consumers' price-estimation judgments. Frequency information is more influential when sets of interstore or interbrand comparative prices exhibit complex and overlapping distributions (hence creating processing difficulty); in contrast, a depth bias occurs when prices have a simpler, dichotomous distribution. These results place pragmatically meaningful limitations on the influence of frequency information and illustrate the importance of context in determining consumer price judgments in a promotional environment.

Comparison Effects on Preference Construction

Abstract: Consumers frequently compare alternatives to make similarity and preference judgments. Recent research suggests that the construction of both similarity and preference judgments can be captured by a feature-matching model that allows for shifts in the relative weights assigned to the various features of the alternatives being compared. An implication of this model is that engaging in one comparative process (e.g., similarity) can influence the relative weight assigned to the features that are considered in a second comparative judgment (e.g., preference). Our main proposition that the type and direction of the initial comparison process has a systematic effect on subsequent preference judgments and choice was tested in a series of studies. One study, which focused on alternatives about which consumers have information in memory, shows that the direction of an initial comparison task that elicits differences between two options systematically alters their relative attractiveness in a subsequent preference task. In two subsequent studies, the effect of engaging in an initial comparison task on subsequent preference judgments was tested for stimulus-based choice sets. The results on choice deferral and choice satisfaction were consistent with the notion that engaging in similarity/dissimilarity comparisons altered the relative weight assigned to common and unique features for the two alternatives. Mouselab was used to support the decision mechanisms underlying the effect of the initial similarity/dissimilarity judgments. An additional study examined how the effect of adding common features on subsequent preference was also contingent on the initial comparison task. We conclude with a study involving real consequences and a discussion of the theoretical and practical goals of our findings.

Retrospection versus Anticipation: The Role of the Ad under Retrospective and Anticipatory Self-Referencing

Abstract: Through three studies we demonstrate that contextually detailed ads are facilitative in enhancing brand attitudes and intentions under anticipatory self-referencing, whereas ads stripped of contextual detail are facilitative in enhancing brand attitudes and intentions under retrospective self-referencing. We find that when minimal ad information is provided, self-related thoughts about the past contain more contextual information than self-related thoughts about the future. In study 1, we find that when consumers engage in retrospective self-referencing, providing more contextual information in the ad increases the incidence of self-related thoughts that are discordant with the advertised brand (hereafter, “self-brand discordant thoughts”), decreases self-related thoughts that are concordant with the advertised brand (hereafter, “self-brand concordant thoughts”), and decreases brand attitudes and behavioral intentions. Conversely, when consumers engage in anticipatory self-referencing, providing more contextual information in the ad increases the incidence of contextually detailed thoughts, increases the ability to form consumption visions, increases the incidence of self-brand concordant thoughts without affecting self-brand discordant thoughts, and increases ad and brand attitudes and behavioral intentions. Mediation tests suggest that the effects on brand evaluations are mediated both by the extent to which consumers form brand-related consumption visions and by the extent to which they can link themselves to the advertised brand through concordant thoughts. In study 2 we show that the demonstrated differences between retrospection and anticipation are predicated on self-referencing and are not obtained for other referencing. Together, the results indicate that it is important to account both for the presence of self-referencing and for the variations in the nature of self-referencing encouraged by the ad.

The Role of Internal Reference Points in the Category Purchase Decision

Abstract: The authors study the role that reference effects play in the category purchase decision for consumer nondurable products. Category purchase behavior is represented by a nested logit model that is estimated on purchase records of shoppers in two Universal Product Code (UPC) scanner panels. A series of hypotheses are developed, modeled, and tested regarding the effects that internal reference points for product category attractiveness are likely to have on the decision to buy in a product category on a store visit. The authors hypothesize that the difference between a shopper's reference point for category attractiveness and the current level of category attractiveness will affect the purchase decision. In particular, the extent of purchase postponement caused by a loss (i.e., a negative discrepancy) should exceed the acceleration caused by a gain (i.e., a positive discrepancy). Reference effects on the category purchase decision are also hypothesized to interact with the shopper's familiarity with the store visited on a given trip. In particular, the impact of losses is predicted to be higher in unfamiliar than in familiar stores. The authors present model estimates and test results from two product categories (saltine crackers and liquid laundry detergent) and find all hypotheses to be supported.

Temporal and associative memory in chinese and english

Abstract: This article presents a theoretical model that suggests that linguistic differences between Chinese and English have a qualitative effect on the processing of verbal information. A higher degree of phonological processing of English words was hypothesized to result in a superior encoding of temporal information. In contrast, a higher degree of contextual and visual-semantic processing of Chinese words was hypothesized to result in a superior encoding of interitem associative information. These effects were hypothesized to be absent for pictorial information. Two experiments found support for the hypotheses. In a sorting task, native English speakers demonstrated superior temporal memory for English words compared with native Chinese speakers for Chinese words. In a free recall task, native English speakers demonstrated a greater reliance on temporal order in the retrieval of English words, whereas native Chinese speakers demonstrated a greater reliance on semantic associations in the retrieval of Chinese words. In both experiments, cross-cultural differences were absent for semantically equivalent pictorial information. The implications of these memory findings are discussed with respect to the formation of memory-based judgments and the encoding of thematic information in marketing communications.

Avoidance or Vigilance? The Psychology of False-Positive Test Results

Abstract: The influence of false-positive results on consumers' decisions to get retested in high-stakes domains is examined. Findings across four laboratory experiments indicate that a false-positive outcome increases perceptions of vulnerability and test inaccuracy, even holding constant test-error base rates. Increased perceived vulnerability appears to be directly related to the testing event, as the effects are not replicated by simply asking subjects to imagine having the malady. The findings also show that a false-positive result increases planned compliance if there are poor alternatives to testing or if the value of test-initiated treatment is high but does not affect compliance if good testing alternatives are available or the treatment value is low. Using a pooled analysis across multiple studies, the results of a false-positive outcome on compliance are shown to be partially mediated by changes in perceived vulnerability and test inaccuracy. Public-policy implications regarding individual decision behavior and professional test administration are discussed.

Contextual Effects on the Revision of Evaluative Judgments: An Extension of the Omission-Detection Framework

Abstract: When consumers are presented with negative information about a brand that they have evaluated positively earlier, the extent to which they change their initial evaluation may depend on the formats in which information is presented (noncomparative vs. comparative) at the two stages. In four experiments, we manipulate the format in which information is presented at an initial and at a challenge stage and investigate their effects on the degree of revision in evaluative judgments. The results of the four experiments suggest that when consumers receive initial information in a noncomparative format, a comparative challenge causes a greater degree of revision in the evaluative judgments than does a noncomparative challenge. However, when the initial information is presented in a comparative format, this pattern reverses, and a greater degree of revision occurs under a noncomparative challenge than under a comparative challenge. We demonstrate that sensitivity to missing information in either of the two stages is the process by which these effects obtain. In a fifth experiment we examine a boundary condition for these effects.