Evaluative Conditioning of Food Technologies

Consumer attitudes play an important role in the acceptance of new technologies. The success of food innovations depends on understanding how consumers form and change attitudes toward food technologies. Earlier post hoc explanations suggest that evaluative conditioning can change consumer attitudes toward food technologies. The present study tests how evaluative conditioning can affect consumer acceptance of new food technologies. Furthermore, authors investigate whether evaluative conditioning is resistant to extinction after a two‐month period and whether the evaluative conditioning effect prevails in a product‐related context. Within an evaluative conditioning paradigm including between‐subjects control groups in addition to standard within‐subjects control conditions, participants were presented with three food technologies (conventional, enzyme, and genetic technology) paired with affectively positive, neutral, and negative pictures. Subsequent evaluative measurements revealed that evaluative conditioning can explain attitude change toward food technologies when affective pictures are used. Furthermore, results indicate that evaluative conditioning is resistant to extinction after two months and acquired evaluative conditioning effect spills over in a product‐related context.     

Age‐Related Differences in Emotion Regulation within the Context of Sad and Happy TV Programs

The marketing literature on program context includes several studies on the influence of program‐induced positive and negative emotions on the evaluation of embedded television advertisements. While the majority of these studies have been conducted with younger adults, new discoveries on the differentiated processes of emotion regulation among younger and older adults are reviving interest in this topic. The present study examined the impact of television program context on program‐induced affective reactions and on the processing of embedded television advertisements among younger and older adults. Program‐induced mood valence was manipulated by using excerpts from sad and happy films. This research shows that affective reactions elicited by sad and happy television programs, as well as attitude toward the advertisement, differ between younger and older adults. The level of sadness reported by older adults was lower than that of younger adults within a sad program context. The results also show a negative influence of a sad (versus a happy) program on attitude toward the advertisement among younger adults but not among older adults. These results confirm that in advancing age, it is possible to shape emotional responses to suit regulation goals.     

The effects of scent on consumer behaviour

This article presents a systematic review of extant research on the effects of scent on consumer behaviour for readers of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Although many articles have been published on this topic in recent years, there is a need for a comprehensive summary of up‐to‐date findings in this area of research. A systematic literature review is conducted with selected Chartered Association of Business Schools‐ranked journals in the fields of marketing and psychology, covering the period between 1980 and 2015. Thematic areas include the impact of scent on consumers’ cognitive and affective responses, attitudes and perceptions, as well as memory and behaviours. Relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of scent on these variables include affect, cognition, awareness and individual or environmental stimuli. Gaps for future research are identified and include the role of consumer awareness of scent and its influence on behaviour. Although this article provides a systematic review of the literature within the fields of psychology and marketing, it acknowledges that a large body of research regarding human responses to odours exists within other disciplinary fields such as neuroscience. The potential for, as well as the ethical caveats of, using scent stimuli for marketing purposes are also considered. This article makes a significant contribution to the consumer behaviour literature given its systematic article selection and review process, encompassing the most up‐to‐date research and focusing on all key thematic areas related to scent and consumption.     

On being happy and possessive: The interactive effects of mood and personality on consumer judgments

Evaluations of consumer items may often be based on affective reactions, and many marketing strategies rely on affective manipulations to influence a desire of ownership. Surprisingly, there has been relatively little empirical work investigating the influence of short‐term mood states on how people evaluate their material possessions. In particular, the role of individual differences in mediating these effects received little attention. In these two experiments, participants who scored high or low on the Openness to Feelings scale were induced to feel good or bad and were then asked to estimate the subjective and objective value of a variety of consumer items they already owned or wanted to own. Results showed a mood‐congruent pattern. People who were feeling good valued both actual and potential possessions more highly than did people in a negative mood. However, individual differences significantly influenced these effects. People who scored high on the Openness to Feelings scale were most influenced by their moods. In contrast, people who scored low on this measure showed the reverse pattern. The findings are discussed in terms of the psychological mechanisms responsible for producing affect infusion into thinking and judgments, and the critical role of personality variables in mediating these effects is considered. The implications of the findings for contemporary affect‐cognition theories, and for understanding of the variables influencing consumer judgments are discussed. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Illustrating a dynamic model of the mood‐updating process in consumer behavior

Previous research has examined mood as an antecedent of various consumption‐related outcomes and has explored how consumers react to their moods via attempts at self‐regulated consumption‐based mood management. However, little attention has addressed mood as an affective outcome that reflects the dynamic unfolding of consumer experiences over time. The present study explores the latter issue and proposes a model of the mood‐updating process wherein future mood depends on past mood as altered by evaluative judgments that are, in turn, influenced by consumption experiences, by predispositions, and by the previous mood itself. An empirical example illustrates this mood‐updating model in the case of listening to music. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of Mood and Elaboration on Processing and Evaluation of Goal‐Framed Appeals

Two experiments examined the influence of mood and elaboration on consumer processing and evaluation of goal‐framed appeals. Subjects displayed more favorable attitudes and purchase intent (PI) when exposed to negative goal frames than equivalent positive ones. These effects were attenuated under high‐elaboration conditions. Compared to subjects in positive moods, those in negative moods exhibited more favorable thoughts, attitudes, and PI toward negative goal frames. Finally, mood and frame valence did not affect depth of processing but had a consistent impact on style of processing, that is, positive frames and moods induced relational processing whereas negative frames and moods engendered item‐specific processing.     

The influence of consumer mood state as a contextual factor on imagery-inducing advertisements and brand attitude

An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of consumer preexisting mood as a contextual factor on consumers' response to imagery-inducing advertisements. The results showed that positive mood seemed to be the most productive context for an imagery ad. Positive mood increased consumers' positive affective state and increased their subsequent brand attitudes. In addition, the results showed that consumers' mood state can also affect the processing mode consumers actually adopt while viewing an ad, and thus indirectly affect brand attitude. Positive mood state was shown to facilitate the induction of mental imagery processing, and at the same time distract detail-oriented analytical processing. As a result, evaluation of the ad was enhanced. On the other hand, negative mood was shown to reduce the intended mental imagery processing, but it appeared to encourage a detail-oriented analytical processing. As a result, consumers remembered more accurately the specific ad claims, but were not affected as much by the imagery-inducing appeals.     

Effectiveness of promotional premiums: The moderating role of affective state in different contexts

This research explores the influence of affective state on ad and product judgments for advertising that features promotional offers of high and low price value. Consistent with expectations, Study 1 found that for happy participants, high‐price value premiums generated higher ad believability ratings, which in turn enhanced ad and brand attitudes. For sad participants, however, the positive effects of high‐price value premiums were attenuated due to message believability discounting. It is proposed that the moderating influence of affective state on responses to ads featuring premiums should be more likely to emerge when attention to premiums is high, as in situations where ads feature less important product attributes or when consumers plan to purchase a product. Study 2 found that the interaction between affective state and premium value was significant when ads featured less important product attributes, but not when they featured important product attributes. Study 3 found that the interaction was significant for participants who intended to purchase the product in the near future, but not for those who did not have purchase intentions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Thiscompanysucks.com: the use of the Internet in negative consumer‐to‐consumer articulations

The Internet has provided a forum through which consumers who are dissatisfied with various companies can vent their anger towards these corporations. A number of World Wide Web (WWW) sites have cropped up on the Internet, their specific aim being the fomenting of negative communication about companies: these are known as corporate complaint WWW sites. Little research has been conducted on negative on‐line consumer‐to‐consumer articulations and the possible impact that these might have on consumers' perceptions and attitudes. This paper attempts to foster discussion on the use of the Internet in facilitating consumer‐to‐consumer communication, particularly negative communication. First, background information on corporate complaint WWW sites is provided. Then, a survey that was conducted in order to glean information on consumer knowledge of and responses to these kinds of WWW sites is discussed. The results indicate that, among the population used in this study, the awareness of corporate complaint WWW sites was moderate. However, when respondents were aware of them, they were likely to visit them. Social influence plays a role in influencing awareness and prompting visits to corporate complaint WWW sites. In addition, an individual difference factor, attitudes towards complaining, influenced the kinds of activities in which the respondents engaged when they visit corporate complaint WWW sites. Future research directions are proposed.     

The effects of emotion and need for cognition on consumer choice involving risk

Building upon previous research, this article proposes that the effect of mood on risk-taking is moderated by the individual’s need for cognition. The hypothesized effect of mood and the need for cognition are tested with different types of consumer choices in three studies. Consistent with the hypotheses, the results indicate that the subjects in happy mood tend to be risk-aversive while the subjects in sad mood incline to take risks. Furthermore, the mood affects risk-taking behavior more for the low-NFC subjects than for the high-NFC ones. Finally, implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Affective and Cognitive Components of Attitudes in High‐Stakes Decisions: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Hormone Replacement Therapy Use

Consumers are increasingly encouraged to take charge of high‐stakes decisions such as those regarding medical treatments. However, the important inputs into overall evaluations of risky and important behaviors, such as undergoing medical therapy, are not well understood. The purpose of this research is to study the interplay of cognitive and affective factors in determining consumer attitudes and intentions toward high‐stakes decision behaviors. This is done in the context of consumer choices regarding medical treatments, and specifically, the decision to use (or not to use) hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Overall, both affective and cognitive responses are found to be independent significant predictors of attitude toward HRT use. Moreover, the results support an extended version of the theory of planned behavior model that is useful in predicting consumer's intentions to engage in high‐stakes decision behaviors, such as using HRT. These findings have implications for the design of decision support systems and behavioral change interventions.     

Like or want? Gender differences in attitudes toward online shopping in China

While previous studies indicate that female consumers display less trust for online shopping than males do, there is little research to addresses the reasons behind this difference. Our study applies a combination of both self‐report and the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to compare the cognitive and affective components of attitudes in men and women toward online shopping in China. Although female participants showed no significant difference from male participants in affective attitudes toward online shopping in the self‐report condition, females associated online shopping more frequently with unpleasant adjectives and off‐line shopping with pleasant adjectives in the indirect IAT condition. The opposite pattern was found for the male group. This finding indicates a wanting but disliking attitude toward online shopping among the female consumers in China, which provides a unique theoretical contribution to consumer behavior theory and helps to enhance e‐marketers’ market targeting and segmentation effectiveness in China.     

Means–end analysis: Does the affective state influence information processing style?

Means–end theory aims at explaining how consumers evaluate products by linking relevant attributes to perceived consequences to desired ends in a hierarchical way, based on core assumptions of cognitive psychology about human information processing. This study investigates the influence of affective states on information processing styles in a means–end measurement situation, thus taking into account an important antecedent and correlate of human decision making and behavior that has received scarce attention so far in the methodological literature on means–end chains. The results reveal that a person's affective state indeed influences the style of information processing. Respondents in a positive mood used more general knowledge structures and processed the laddering questionnaire faster than respondents in a negative or neutral mood. The laddering technique, which measures means–end chains, thus seems to be sensitive to situational effects, and this finding indicates that affective states then also might have an influence on product knowledge and the decision‐making process in a purchase situation. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer debt attitudes: The role of gender,debt knowledge and skills

The link between financial attitudes and consumer financial market behaviour is well documented. However, little is known about the role of financial knowledge and skills—the main components of the financial literacy construct—in shaping debt attitudes. This link is especially absent from the gender perspective. This study focuses on consumer debt literacy and debt attitudes. A representative sample of adult Poles (N = 1,004) was participated in a computer‐assisted telephone interview. Latent class analysis was employed to reveal their debt attitudes, and subsequently, links between debt literacy and debt attitudes were studied with multinomial regression models. The results show that respondents in Poland can be grouped into five classes exhibiting different attitude profiles. The structure of debt attitudes is complex and differs from a simple unidimensional pro‐debt/ anti‐debt construct. Although this study did not find significant gender differences either in the conceptualization of debt attitudes or in their drivers, the results showed that in all but one class, consumer attitudes are strongly linked to either debt knowledge or debt skills or to both. Debt skills were revealed to be a particularly strong predictor of consumer debt attitudes.     

Cause‐Related Marketing Persuasion Knowledge: Measuring Consumers' Knowledge and Ability to Interpret CrM Promotions

Cause‐related marketing (CrM), a partnership between a for‐profit and not‐for‐profit company, is an increasingly common promotional approach. Consumers range in awareness of and knowledge about CrM, and vary in their ability to identify and evaluate critical elements of a CrM promotion. The authors describe this knowledge and ability as “CrM persuasion knowledge (CrM‐pk),” which guides consumer response, and can inform how firms use CrM promotions to communicate with consumers. In the current work, the authors define, develop, and evaluate an instrument to measure CrM‐pk, and examine how it moderates the influence of promotional features on consumer attitudes.     

Buying a sponsor's brand: the role of affective commitment to the sponsored team

Sponsorship is increasingly important in a firm's communication mix. Research to date has focused on the impact of sponsorship on brand awareness and its subsequent consequences for image congruency and consumer attitudes towards sponsors' brands. A lesser studied area is the effect of sponsorship on consumers' purchase intentions and behaviours. We argue that existing models of sponsorship driven purchase behaviour fail to account for affective commitment, which mediates relationship between affiliation with the team and social identification with the team. We propose a modified framework describing the effect of sponsorship on purchase intentions in the context of low and high performing sports teams. The framework is tested using structural equations modelling; employing PLS estimation and data collected via online survey of AFL chat room participants. Results confirm the role of affective commitment in sport sponsorship purchase intentions and indicate that team success has a significant influence on fans' purchase behaviours.     

Consumer attitudes towards debt in an islamic country: managing a conflict between religious tradition and modernity?

Saudi Arabia is an important country in the Islamic world, and Islam prohibits the payment and receipt of interest, a key component of modern commercial bank loans. Yet the levels of commercial bank lending in the country for private non‐commercial purposes has been rising sharply for the past decade. This study seeks an explanation for this increase by examining the nature of consumer attitudes towards debt in the country, and whether the increasing levels of consumer debt can be explained by existing positive debt attitudes. Using data from a convenience sample of consumers in the major cities of the country, the study finds general debt attitudes to be surprisingly positive, though tempered by the consumption purpose for which the debt is acquired. However, the positive attitudes are unrelated to actual debt acquisition. Rather, socio‐demographic differences in attitudes are similar to those reported in the literature. Attitudes are generally more positive among young, highly educated Saudi males than other socio‐demographic groups. This suggests a possible struggle to manage a conflict between the Islamic prohibition of interest‐based borrowing and demands of the modern economy.     

Consumer responses to corporate social irresponsibility: The role of moral emotions,evaluations, and social cognitions

We investigate the mediating roles of moral emotions and attitudes between perceptions of corporate irresponsible actions, on the one hand, and consumer responses, on the other hand, and further examine their contingencies based on consumer social cognitions. Our findings show that, for corporate transgressions, multiple social cognitions (moral identity, relational and collective self‐concepts, and affective empathy) moderate the elicitation of negative moral emotions (contempt and anger) and overall evaluations (attitudes), which, in turn, lead to negative responses toward the company (negative word of mouth, complaint behaviors, and boycotting). Our study adds to extant research on corporate social irresponsibility by examining three generic reactions people have toward corporate social irresponsibility and demonstrating important boundary conditions. In addition, hypotheses are tested on a sample of adult consumers. Implications for communication by firms are considered.     

The role of affect in consumers' temporal judgments

The role of time and mood as consumer behavior constructs has seen increasing independent attention over the past several years. Two studies on the impact of transient affective states on consumers' temporal judgments are reported. In accordance with the research hypotheses, both studies demonstrated strong mood effects on subject's time perception and orientation. The findings were validated across two different mood-inducing manipulations and supported the general theoretical foundation of the mediating roles of affective states on consumers' temporal judgments. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.