Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-10-09 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： As a special kind of vocabulary, the formal representation of brand name is divided into visual representation (the visual characteristics of printed letters) and auditory representation (the overall characteristics signature of a word), which can convey meaning to consumers independently of the meaning of the word. For brand names, the font style can provide visual representation through letter case (all uppercase, all lowercase and mixed case), font (structure, font, form and layout) and colour (hue, saturation and brightness); speech can provide auditory representation through phonemes (pronunciation and arrangement characteristics), syllables (spelling and number features), and accent/tone (positional/combinatorial characteristics). Brand name font style and speech appear frequently in various marketing materials, which have critical impacts on consumer psychology and behaviour, and both occur in the perceptual processing stage of vocabulary. Revealing the difference and connection between the two effects can not only provide a holistic research perspective for understanding brand name font style and speech but also provide inspiration for theoretical research and marketing practice.The consequences and mechanisms of the audiovisual representation of brand names have dissimilarities and commonalities. Although they both affect consumers' experiences, perceptions, attitudes and behavioural intentions, different dimensions of experience are influenced, with the former mainly involving aesthetic experience and legibility and the latter emotional experience and brand memory. Embodied cognitive theory and motoric fluency theory help explain this difference. The internal mechanism of brand name font style/speech affecting consumers has certain commonalities, such as perceptions of evaluation, potency and arousal (EPA) dimensions and perceptions of symbolic meaning and country-of-origin associations, but the specific types of neurobiological mechanism, processing fluency mechanism and metaphorical understanding mechanism differ. In addition, the brand name font style effect is moderated by individual characteristics, cultural values, external clues, and brand/product type, while the speech effect is moderated by personal experience, self-regulation, and brand/product type. There are also similarities and differences between the moderating factors of these two effects. In addition to vision and auditory effects, brand names also have interactive effects with other senses.In addition, there is a cross-channel connection between the audiovisual effects of brand name. There is both consensus and controversy in academia over the cross-channel connection of the audiovisual effect of brand names: the consensus is that if font style and speech bring consistent perceptions of brand personality/product attributes, the two will have an additive effect, and the brand attractiveness, popularity, perception of quality and memory level will all increase. However, there is some disagreement about the relative weight of font style and speech in the integration effect: one point of view is that brand name font style and speech have an interactive effect on consumer response, but neither of them plays a dominant role. Another view is that brand name font style plays a more important role than speech when communicating brand meaning to consumers in emerging markets.Future research should consider practical problems associated with the moderation of the psychological effect of brand name font style by other visual elements, the psychological speech effect of Chinese brand names, the weight distribution of brand name font style and speech in nonadditive effects, and the impact of brand name font style and speech variants on consumer psychology.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Ritual is so widespread that people are always involved in these activities. Ritual refers to a predefined sequence of symbolic actions often characterized by formality and repetition that lacks direct instrumental purpose. Integrating theoretical and empirical conceptualizations of rituals, the present research identifies three key criteria for rituals: a fixed sequence of behaviors, symbolic meaning, and non-functional behavior. There are two kinds of research methods of rituals: recall task and scenario task. In addition, individuals’ emotion factors and cognitive factors could predict one’s intention to participate in a ritual. Further, based on five theoretical perspectives–evolutionary theory, embodied cognition theory, interaction ritual chains theory, learning theory, and social control theory, ritual could comfort one’s emotional state, recover one’s attention and control, promote one’s social relationship, and reinforce social norms and social culture. Finally, future research on ritual should pay more attention to the operational definition, the indigenous research design, the double-edged sword effect, the experimental methodology, and the neuro mechanism.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： China has already entered an important stage of both the consumer demand sustained growth and consumption structure upgraded being speeded up, thus the question of how to make the happy consumption or how to “buy” happiness has caused wide concern in public and government. Psychologist found that people derive more happiness from experiential consumption than from material consumption. And money priming would activate “value maximization mindset”; time priming would activate “emotional mindset” on the other hand, then to influence consumer’s decision-making. Based on these findings, this project started from the perspective of dual-process theory, using both the method of behavioral science and cognitive neuroscience, to reveal essence of the phenomenon of dual cognitive processing in consumer decision, and to clarify the relationship between money, time, consumer and happiness.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Nowadays, consumers expect that brands could not only satisfy their functional needs, but also bring emotional and spiritual experiences. Thus, how to garner brand well-being, which means consumers access well-being from using and consuming a brand, has been a challenge for both theory and practice. In fact, whether a brand can create well-being could be shaped by positive interactions between a brand and its consumers. Thus, we postulate that service ritual, which is a prevalence brand-consumer interaction in practice, could create and enhance a brand’s ability to deliver well-being for consumers. Drawing from the interaction ritual chain theory, service rituals refer to a fixed sequence of behaviors that involve symbolic icons and meaningfulness, whereas brands include a series of identifying, integrating, and signaling symbols, indicating the optimal service ritual could form a well-being chain which connects a brand and its consumers. Based on this rationale, the current research draws on interaction ritual chain theory, proposes the new concept of brand well-being, defines and confirms core elements of service rituals, investigates the relationship between service ritual and brand well-being, and further examines the moderating roles of value co-creation orientation of a company and self-brand congruency. In general, the current research offers novel insights on brands and branding theories, well-being and positive psychology literature, and service management theories, while providing implications for companies how to build and manage their brands.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： Minimalism refers to a lifestyle that seeks satisfaction in a non-material world by reducing consumption. Given the increasing popularity of minimalistic consumption (i.e., voluntary simplicity), it is necessary to understand minimalism more comprehensively. First, we provide a categorization scheme related voluntary simplicity, including its conception, dimensions, and measurements. Characterized by a minimal, simple, and responsible lifestyle, minimalism can be defined as the degree to which consumers select a lifestyle to minimalize their consumption and to take control of their life. The practice of simplified living typically entails minimizing possessions, consuming less, and valuing personal growth. Then, factors that influence minimalistic consumption are presented. The reasons for individuals to adopt simplifying behaviors are manifold. That is, motivations for engaging minimalistic consumption are multifaceted and complicated, including both internal (i.e., personal, financial, lifestyle) and external (i.e., economic, social, environmental) motivations. In addition to consumers who curtail their consumption due to financial restraints, there are consumers who consciously consume, although they are financially well off. The rejection of the concept that one’s success is determined by his/her material goods (i.e., materialism) has prompted interest in minimalistic consumption. In addition, some simplifiers (i.e., minimalistic consumers) are driven by motives of environmental sustainability. That is, when consumers give greater consideration to the natural environment and ecological system, they may engage in voluntary simplicity to live both well and sustainably. Furthermore, people can lead an independent and self-determined life through minimalistic consumption; therefore, a desire to achieve an autonomous life is an important antecedent of minimalistic consumption. Moreover, philosophical motivation (i.e., religious belief) is another factor driving minimalism in consumption. Moving forward, the potential impacts of minimalistic behavior are shown. Minimalism has a positive influence on individual, societal and environmental wellbeing. Adopting low consumption helps expand mental space, resulting in a feeling of lightness, relaxation, and clarity. A minimalistic lifestyle facilitates individuals’ positive emotions while reducing their negative emotions such as depression. Consumers can also reduce their dependence on the market offerings by curtailing the overall consumption, in search of a simpler but happier life. Additionally, minimalistic practices offer several wellbeing benefits such as meaning and happiness. In addition, a minimalistic lifestyle can improve harmony in communities, as it can help build more connections with others in society. By sharing skills, donating to charities or giving back to the community, simplifiers can experience a sense of community and closeness to others, thus enhancing communal well-being. More importantly, most literature notes that this lifestyle is positively associated with environmental and ecological wellbeing. With a strong ecological awareness, consumers tend to protect the environment through a variety of practices, such as decreasing carbon emissions, avoiding excess packaging, and preserving resources and habitats. Collectively, we categorize antecedents of minimalistic consumption into four types (i.e., demographic, psychological, situational, religious factors). We also summarize the effects of minimalistic consumption in the previous research, such as enhancing happiness and sense of meaning. In order to understand voluntary simplicity, four theories (i.e., theory of basic values, self-determination theory; hierarchical theory of needs; self-regulation theory) were introduced. By combining these theories, we shed a novel light on understanding the forming process of minimalistic consumption. Specifically, in self-observation stages, individuals generate self-directed values. Based on these values, consumers make judgments whether their needs are satisfied. Lastly, in the self-reaction phase, consumers adopt the results of these judgments, and they evaluate achieve autonomy, competence and relevance from the self-determination theory. Given the important role of minimalistic consumption in the contemporary marketplace, it is essential for both marketers and scholars to know more details in simplifying practices. Several directions (e.g., developing valid measurements, taking cultural differences into account, identifying boundary conditions) for future research are discussed.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Previous research has long paid attention to how to improve persuasive effectiveness in charitable donation. Based on moral foundation theory (MFT) and stereotype content model (SCM), this paper proposes that a match between moral appeal and social perception leads higher persuasive effectiveness of individual donation. More specifically, relative to those who are exposed to a binding appeal, consumers who are exposed to an individualizing appeal are more willing to donate for warmth-oriented organizations. However, for competence- oriented organizations, a binding appeal will garner higher persuasive effectiveness than an individualizing appeal. Furthermore, two types of efficacy (i.e., self-efficacy and response efficacy) mediate the interaction effect of moral appeal and social perception on donation effectiveness. Three lab experiments were conducted to examine these hypotheses. In particular, experiment 1 employed a 3 (moral appeal: binding appeal vs. individualizing appeal vs. neutral) × 2 (social perception: warmth-oriented vs. competence-oriented) two-way between-subjects design. We found that competence-oriented (vs. warmth-oriented) organizations will obtain better donation persuasion results when consumers are exposed to binding (vs. individualizing) appeal, supporting the hypotheses H1a and H1b. Then, in experiment 2, we identified the underlying mechanism, such that the interaction effect is driven by consumers’ response efficacy and self-efficacy, verifying the hypotheses H2a and H2b. Experiment 3 further examined the mediating role of different types of efficacy using a moderation approach. Participants were randomly assigned to one of condition of 3 (moral appeal: binding appeal vs. individualizing appeal vs. neutral) × 2 (social perception: warmth- oriented vs. competence-oriented) × 2 (efficacy: self-efficacy vs. response efficacy). Experiment 3 replicated the findings of previous experiments, showing the robustness of our conclusions. We also ruled out some alternative explanations (e.g., empathy) in the study.Theoretically, this research observes for the first time the interactive effect of moral appeal and social perception, thus extending both moral foundation theory and stereotype content model. The current study also enriches existing donation literature by examining the mediating role of response efficacy and self-efficacy. Managerially, this research has rich implications to charitable organization and companies when they aim to improve persuasive effectiveness in an individual donation.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Inevitably, consumers will be exposed to death-related information in their daily lives. For example, they are informed about deaths and injuries caused by accidents, terrorism and disasters on social media. They may also encounter the experiences of deceased friends and relatives or the news of unfortunate strangers. Especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are more frequently exposed to death cues. Researches have shown that consumers' decision-makings and purchasing behaviors shift when dealing with death threats. Compared to material consumption, experiential consumption delivers greater and persistent well-being and it is emerging as an extremely important consumption pattern. It is unclear, however, whether these mortality cues will exert positive or negative effects on consumers’ preference for experiential purchases. Based on the meaning maintenance model, 4 studies were conducted to examine how mortality salience influences consumers' preference for experiential purchases.In Study 1a and Study 1b, we experimentally manipulated mortality salience and examined its effect on consumers’ preference for experiential purchases. Study 1a (N = 140) was a single factor (mortality salience) between-subjects design, participants were randomly assigned to different groups to imagine about incurable infectious disease or dental surgery. Participants in Study 1b (N = 252) were instructed to write about death or dental pain. Study 2 (N =219) was designed to test the mediating role of meaning in life. Participants were required to read a news report concerning traffic accident or dental surgery, and then finish the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Study 3 (N = 166) was a 2 (mortality salience vs. control condition) × 2 (social support: high level vs. low level) between-subjects design. Participants were provided a news report pertaining to the global fatalities under the COVID-19 pandemic in mortality salience condition, and pertaining to global tourism during the pandemic period in the control condition. Social support was manipulated by writing in detail a difficult situation “in which your family or friends accompanied you”, or “in which you had to face all by yourself”. Additionally, we used a single-paper meta-analysis (SPM) to document a robust effect across all studies. The main results of this study are as follows: (1) Exposed to mortality salience will lead to stronger preference for experiential purchases. (2) The effects seem to be driven by meaning in life, whereby exposure to mortality salience undermines consumers' meaning in life, and consumers will gravitate towards experiential consumption to enhance their impaired meaning. (3) Social support moderates the effect of mortality salience on meaning in life. Only when consumers received low level of social support, will mortality salience reduce their meaning in life. (4) Social support moderates the mediating effect of meaning in life on mortality salience and preference for experiential purchases. Specifically, meaning in life mediates the effect of mortality salience on preference for experiential purchases only when consumers received low social support. To enhance the overall validity, we performed a single-paper meta-analysis (SPM) on the four studies. The SPM showed that consumers had greater preference of experiential purchase when exposed to mortality salience (Estimate β = 0.30, SE = 0.07, z = 4.178, p < 0.001), which strengthened the robustness of our general conclusion. This research yields practical implications by demonstrating that mortality salience exerts positive effect on consumers' preference for experiential purchases, which enables us to identify the changes in consumption patterns and mindset under the pandemic, providing references for marketing and promotion strategies.
Subjects: Psychology >> Cognitive Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-13
Abstract： As a special type of vocabulary, the formal representation form of brand names is divided into visual representation (the visual characteristics of printed letters) and auditory representation (the overall acoustic characteristics of words), font style (including letter case, fonts, colors) and speech (including phonemes, syllables, tones or accents) can respectively provide a visual or auditory representation. The influence of brand name font style and speech on consumers’ psychology both occur in the perceptual processing stage of vocabulary, and the impact results and mechanisms of the two are both related to and distinct from each other. In addition, there is a cross-channel connection between the audiovisual effects of the brand name. Future research should combine practical issues to supplement the audiovisual effect of brand names.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2022-06-27
Abstract：
Inevitably, consumers will be exposed to death-related information in their daily lives. For example, they are informed about deaths and injuries caused by accidents, terrorism and disasters on social media. They may also encounter the experiences of deceased friends and relatives or the news of unfortunate strangers. Especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are more frequently exposed to death cues. Researches have shown that consumers' decision-makings and purchasing behaviors shift when dealing with death threats. Compared to material consumption, experiential consumption delivers greater and persistent well-being and it is emerging as an extremely important consumption pattern. It is unclear, however, whether these mortality cues will exert positive or negative effects on consumers’ preference for experiential purchases. Based on the meaning maintenance model, 4 studies were conducted to examine how mortality salience influences consumers' preference for experiential purchases.
In Study 1a and Study 1b, we experimentally manipulated mortality salience and examined its effect on consumers’ preference for experiential purchases. Study 1a (N = 140) was a single factor (mortality salience) between-subjects design, participants were randomly assigned to different groups to imagine about death or dental surgery. Participants in Study 1b (N = 252) were instructed to write about death or dental pain. Study 2 (N =219) was designed to test the mediating role of meaning in life. Participants were required to read a news report concerning traffic accident or dental surgery, and then finish the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. Study 3 (N = 166) was a 2 (mortality salience vs. control condition) ×2 (social support: high level vs. low level) between-subjects design. Participants were provided a news report pertaining to the global fatalities under the COVID-19 pandemic in mortality salience condition, and pertaining to global tourism during the pandemic period in the control condition. Social support was manipulated by writing in detail a difficult situation "in which your family or friends accompanied you", or "in which you had to face all by yourself". Additionally, we used a single-paper meta-analysis (SPM) to document a robust effect across all studies.
The main results of this study are as follows: (1) Exposed to mortality salience will lead to stronger preference for experiential purchases. (2) The effects seem to be driven by meaning in life, whereby exposure to mortality salience undermines consumers' meaning in life, and consumers will gravitate towards experiential consumption to enhance their impaired meaning. (3) Social support moderates the effect of mortality salience on meaning in life. Only when consumers received low level of social support, will mortality salience reduce their meaning in life. (4) Social support moderates the mediating effect of meaning in life on mortality salience and preference for experiential purchases. Specifically, meaning in life mediates the effect of mortality salience on preference for experiential purchases only when consumers received low social support. To enhance the overall validity, we performed a single-paper meta-analysis (SPM) on the four studies. The SPM showed that consumers had greater preference of experiential purchase when exposed to mortality salience (Estimate β = 0.30, SE = 0.07, z = 4.178, p < 0.001), which strengthened the robustness of our general conclusion.
This research yields practical implications by demonstrating that mortality salience exerts positive effect on consumers' preference for experiential purchases, which enables us to identify the changes in consumption patterns and mindset under the pandemic, providing references for marketing and promotion strategies.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology Subjects: Psychology >> Applied Psychology submitted time 2021-09-26
Abstract： Consumers will inevitably receive some information about death in their daily life. For example, they see news reports on social media about traffic accidents, air crashes, terrorist attacks, wars, major disasters (earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, etc.), and sudden death, which contain death information. Another example is knowing or experiencing the unfortunate news that friends, relatives and strangers passed away due to disease or accident in their lives. This is especially true in the context of the current COVID-19 epidemic, where the number of COVID-19 deaths continues to rise globally and consumers are exposed to the threat of death, either passively or actively. According to previous studies, under the influence of death threat information, consumers may have stronger desire to consume and make consumption in response to death threat. So, when consumers think about the possibility of death or are exposed to mortality salience, will they be more willing to engage in experiential consumption or material consumption? Do mortality salience have an impact on consumers' preference for experiential products? What are the mechanisms and boundary conditions? In experiment 1, participants were asked two classic death questions to conduct death reminders, and then the effect of mortality salience on the number of experiential products consumers chose was tested. In experiment 2, the effect of mortality salience on consumers' preference for experiential product selection was repeatedly verified by reading traffic accident news reports. The mediating role of meaning in life between mortality salience and consumers' choice preference of experiential products was explored. Experiment 3 was based on the background of the current COVID-19 epidemic, and mortality salience was activated by asking the subjects to read reports about COVID-19 deaths. Moreover, the boundary conditions of the effect of mortality salience on consumers' choice preference of experiential purchases were further explored from the intervention level by manipulating the level of social support in experiment 3. The main results of the study are as follows: (1) Mortality salience will improve consumers' preference of experiential purchase and increase the number of experiential products to choose. (2) Meaning in life played a mediating role in the relationship between mortality salience and the preference of experiential purchase. (3) Social support moderated the effect of mortality salience on meaning in life. When social support was low, mortality salience was negatively correlated with meaning in life. When social support was high, there was no significant correlation between mortality salience and meaning in life. (4) Social support moderated the mediating effect of meaning in life on mortality salience and consumer preference of experiential purchase . When social support was low, the mediating effect was established. When social support was high, the mediating effect did not hold. The findings suggest that death mortality salience is an antecedent variable that influencing consumers' direct choice between experiential and material consumption, enriching and expanding relevant research in the field of consumer preferences, while providing reference implications for maintaining individual physical and mental health and restoring socioeconomic development in the post-epidemic period.
Peer Review Status:Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2019-11-11
Abstract： "
Hits
YES
Hits
Downloads
Comment