Ooh,that's sour: An investigation of the role of sour taste and color saturation in consumer temptation avoidance |
| |
Authors: | Nadia Pomirleanu Brandon M. Gustafson Sheng Bi |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Marketing and International Business Department, Lee Business School, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada;2. Department of Marketing, School of Business Administration, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan;3. Department of Marketing and International Business, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington |
| |
Abstract: | This paper draws on the theory of embodied cognition to argue that sensory imagery and consumer recall of past experiences of sour tastes inspire sour taste perceptions that trigger facial muscle activation, which in turn leads to temptation avoidance. Across four experiments, we show that physical action need not be performed to elicit temptation avoidance. Moreover, our findings show that the effects of visual gustatory imagery are more pronounced when presented against a visual red background low on color saturation. Interestingly, they are not significant in the presence of a high color saturation background. We also discuss the implications of these findings for sensory marketing, alternative consumer strategies to avoid temptation, and visual brand management in the consumer experience economy. |
| |
Keywords: | embodied cognition healthy eating mental imagery sensory marketing sour taste temptation avoidance |
|
|