Subjects: Psychology >> Management Psychology Subjects: Management Science >> Enterprise Management submitted time 2024-02-02
Abstract： Brand names serve as crucial touchpoints for establishing brand-consumer relationships and are integral components of brand assets. Linguistic studies on branding have established that the phonetic features of brand names can influence consumers’ cognition, emotions, and behavior. However, research on the impact and mechanisms of phonetic features on consumers’ ethical responses is limited. Based on the mind perception theory, this study explores the asymmetric paths through which the use of repeated two-syllable brand names influences consumers’ moral reactions in two different situations. Based on seven experiments, we determined that in the context of brands as moral agents, compared to non-repeated two-syllable brand names, repeated ones can alleviate consumers’ negative moral reactions (anger, disgust, blame, punishment intention) toward the brand by reducing the think dimension of brand mind perception (rather than the feel dimension). However, in the context of brands as moral patients, repeated two-syllable brand names enhance consumers’ positive moral reactions (sympathy, compassion, regret, and purchase intention) toward the brand by increasing the feel dimension of brand mind perception (rather than the think dimension).
Experiment 1a was designed to derive experimental evidence on the relationship between repeated two-syllable brand name and consumers’ negative moral reactions in the context of moral agent. Experiment 1a (N=200) was a single factor (repeated two-syllable: yes vs. no) between-subjects design in which participants were randomly assigned to different groups to read a news report regarding an incident of vulgar advertising with repeated or non-repeated two-syllable brand names. Participants then reported their level of anger, disgust, and blame toward the brand. Experiment 1b (N=200), which had a similar between-subjects design as Experiment 1a, verified the relationship between repeated two-syllable brand name and consumers’ positive moral reactions in the context of moral patient. The participants were randomly assigned to two groups to read a news report regarding an incident of corporate data breach. They then reported their level of sympathy, compassion, and pity for the brand. Experiment 2a (N=196) was designed to confirm the mediating role of the think dimension of the brand in the relationship between repeated two-syllable brand name and consumers’ negative moral reactions in the context of moral agent. The experimental design was the same as that of Experiment 1a. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups to read a news report regarding an incident of drug companies raising drug prices despite patients. Participants then reported their level of anger, blame, feel dimension, think dimension, brand warmth, and brand competence toward the brand. Experiment 2b (N=196) verified the mediating role in the relationship between repeated two-syllable brand name and consumers’ positive moral reactions in the context of moral patient. The experimental design and procedure were identical to that in Experiment 1b. After reading a news report regarding the incident of corporate data breach, participants reported their level of sympathy, support, feel dimension, think dimension, brand warmth, and brand competence toward the brand. Experiment 3a sought to confirm the influence of repeated two-syllable brand name on downstream behavioral intention in the context of moral agent. Experiment 3a (N=296) was a single factor (repeated two-syllable: yes vs. no vs. “little”) between-subjects design; participants were randomly assigned to three groups to read the same news report as in Experiment 2a. They then reported their level of anger, disgust, blame, feel dimension, think dimension, and punishment intention toward the brand. Experiment 3b (N=292) verified the influence of repeated two-syllable brand name on downstream behavioral intention in the context of moral patient and was a similar between-subjects design to Experiment 3a. The participants were randomly assigned to three groups and asked to read a news report on an incident of one company being coerced by another. They then reported their level of sympathy, compassion, regret, feeling, thinking, and purchase intention for the brand. Experiment 4 (N=363) used a 2 (repeated two-syllable: yes vs. no) ´ 2 (moral agent vs. moral patient) between-subjects design to more rigorously demonstrate the effect of repeated two-syllable names in the same moral situation. Participants were randomly assigned to four groups and asked to read a news report on an incident of commercial bullying. In the moral agent group, the brand was a game production company that bullies other firms, and in the moral patient group, the brand was a game operation company that is bullied by other firms. The participants reported their level of unethical judgment on the incident and the level of feel and think dimensions toward the brand.
A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in Experiments 1a and 1b suggested that repeated two-syllable brand name could decrease consumers’ negative moral reactions toward the brand when it was a moral agent, whereas such brand name could increase consumers’ positive moral reactions when the brand was a moral patient. The ANOVA results of Experiment 2a and an examination of parallel mediation revealed that the think dimension of brand mind perception mediated the influence of repeated two-syllable brand name on consumers’ negative moral reactions. Based on the ANOVA and parallel medication analysis, the results of Experiment 2b revealed that feel dimension of brand mind perception mediated the influence of repeated two-syllable brand name on consumers’ positive moral reactions. At the same time, Experiment 2a ruled out alternative explanations for the stereotype content model. On the other hand, Experiment 2b established that after controlling for the indirect effect of the stereotype content model, a significant mediating effect of the mind perception theory remained. Meanwhile, the results of the serial mediation mechanism analysis in Experiments 3a and 3b revealed that in the moral agent context, repeated two-syllable brand names ultimately influence consumers’ intentions to punish by influencing the think dimension and negative moral reactions. However, in the moral patient context, repeated two-syllable brand names ultimately influence consumers’ purchase intention by influencing the feel dimension and positive moral reactions. In addition, the ANOVA and multi-category mediation mechanism analyses of Experiments 3a and 3b documented that repeated two-syllable brand name and “little” could produce similar effects in the moral agent and moral patient context. Finally, the results of the two-way ANOVA for Experiment 4 indicated significant interactions between repeated two-syllable names and moral roles in the immoral judgment of the incident and the feel and think dimensions of the brand. In the moral agent condition, participants in the repeated two-syllable group made fewer unethical judgments about the incident and perceived a lower level of the think dimension of the brand than participants in the non-repeated two-syllable group, but no significant difference was observed in the perceived level of feel dimension. In the moral patient condition, participants in the repeated two-syllable group made more unethical judgments about the incident and perceived a higher level of the feel dimension of the brand than those in the non-repeated two-syllable group, but no significant difference was observed in the perceived level of the think dimension.
This study provides an innovative theoretical exploration of the causal relationship between sound symbolism and consumers’ reactions to business ethical crisis. Meanwhile, we reveal the mechanism by which the two dimensions (think and feel) of brand mind perception exist as asymmetric mediators. In addition, we employ the theory of mind perception to discover how people anthropomorphize non-human things, which deepens the exploration of the mechanisms of anthropomorphism-generating processes in the brand anthropomorphism literature. In a practical sense, our research not only provides reference for the design of brand names and nicknames but also directly assists in crafting public relations content for handling ethical crises and creating content for public service announcements.
Subjects: Psychology >> Developmental Psychology submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《心理科学进展》
Abstract： In this article, we reviewed the large body of research examining the impacts of social change on human psychology and culture. Our review revealed an increasing trend of individualism and, at the meantime, decreasing collectivism. This trend manifests on various societal and individual-level indicators, including relationship structures, first-person pronouns use, naming practices, value preferences, personality, sexual and religious attitudes, child-rearing goals and child development, cognitive styles and emotional experiences. Our review also demonstrated the complexities of cultural and psychological change, including the non-linearity of the change, endurance of traditional culture and emerging multi-cultural society. At the end, we pointed out some limitations of the existing research and highlighted some possible directions of future research.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-03-27 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Virtual humans are?digital characters created in computer graphics software who take a first-person view of the world and have a social media presence. But compared with real humans, how different will people attribute moral responsibility to virtual humans when they do something morally wrong? Based on Mental Perception Theory, this paper explored the influence and mechanism of cultural differences between China and the West on moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans. Specifically, whether virtual humans are powered by real humans or artificial intelligence(AI), people in Chinese (vs. Western) Culture attributed more moral responsibility to virtual humans but equal moral responsibility to real humans when they conduct immoral behaviors. Perceived mental capacities, especially, perceived experience mediated the interaction effect. Furthermore, compared with people in western culture, people in Chinese culture see immoral behaviors of virtual humans, they are more likely to punish virtual humans, like unfollowing their social accounts. Five experiments provided empirical support for these predictions. Study 1a and 1b used 2 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger) � 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects designs. 200 Chinese and 200 American Caucasian participants were recruited in Study 1a. They first read the profile of a virtual/human blogger, Rico, on Weibo (Chinese)/Twitter (American). Next, participants were told that Rico exposed the privacy behavior of a netizen, which made him suffer from?cyber violence. After that, participants rated moral responsibility of Rico with two items. Consistent with our prediction, there is a significant interaction effect between Chinese/Western culture and virtual/human blogger on moral responsibility judgment. Specifically, Chinese (vs. Western) people attributed more moral responsibility to the virtual blogger, but there is no significant difference in moral responsible judgment toward the human blogger. In Study 1b, we recruited 200 Chinese and 199 British Caucasian participants online. We used a similar study design and manipulations to that used in Study 1a. Study 1b replicated the results of Study 1 by using a new scenario (i.e., tax evasion) and new methods of measuring moral responsibility. Study 1c used a 3 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger powered by AI vs. virtual blogger powered by real humans) � 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. 300 Chinese and 300 British Caucasian participants were recruited online. The results showed that Chinese (vs. British) people attribute higher human-like moral responsibilities to virtual human powered by real humans as well as artificial intelligence. Study 2 used the same study design as used in Study 1a and 1b. 200 Chinese and 199 American Caucasian participants were recruited online. They read the similar profile of the virtual/human blogger Rico, and her unmoral behavior (i.e., tax evasion). Then, participants rated moral responsibility and mental capacities of Rico. Results revealed the mediating role of perceived mental capacities (experience, not agency) on the cultural difference of perceived moral responsibility and ruled out two possible alternative explanations. Study 3 used a 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. 100 Chinese participants and 101 American Caucasian participants were recruited online. This study utilized another scenario (i.e., plagiarism) and replicated the results in previous studies. Furthermore, we showed the downstream effect that Chinese (vs. American) people believe the virtual human should be punished more (i.e., fining, suspending the account, and unfollowing). In summary, based on Mental Perception Theory, this paper provides evidence for the cultural differences between China and the west on moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans. Perceived mental capacities (experience, not agency) mediated this interaction effect. In addition, we showed the downstream results of moral punishments and contributed to the literature on cultural differences and the theory about moral judgment on non-human entities.
submitted time 2023-03-16 Cooperative journals: 《心理学报》
Abstract： Virtual humans are?digital characters created in computer graphics software who take a first-person view of the world and have a social media presence. But compared with real humans, how different will people attribute moral responsibility to virtual humans when they do something morally wrong? Based on Mental Perception Theory, this paper explored the influence and mechanism of cultural differences between China and the West on moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans. Specifically, whether virtual humans are powered by real humans or artificial intelligence(AI), people in Chinese (vs. Western) Culture attributed more moral responsibility to virtual humans but equal moral responsibility to real humans when they conduct immoral behaviors. Perceived mental capacities, especially, perceived experience mediated the interaction effect. Furthermore, compared with people in western culture, people in Chinese culture see immoral behaviors of virtual humans, they are more likely to punish virtual humans, like unfollowing their social accounts. Five experiments provided empirical support for these predictions. Study 1a and 1b used 2 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger) � 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects designs. 200 Chinese and 200 American Caucasian participants were recruited in Study 1a. They first read the profile of a virtual/human blogger, Rico, on Weibo (Chinese)/Twitter (American). Next, participants were told that Rico exposed the privacy behavior of a netizen, which made him suffer from?cyber violence. After that, participants rated moral responsibility of Rico with two items. Consistent with our prediction, there is a significant interaction effect between Chinese/Western culture and virtual/human blogger on moral responsibility judgment. Specifically, Chinese (vs. Western) people attributed more moral responsibility to the virtual blogger, but there is no significant difference in moral responsible judgment toward the human blogger. In Study 1b, we recruited 200 Chinese and 199 British Caucasian participants online. We used a similar study design and manipulations to that used in Study 1a. Study 1b replicated the results of Study 1 by using a new scenario (i.e., tax evasion) and new methods of measuring moral responsibility. Study 1c used a 3 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger powered by AI vs. virtual blogger powered by real humans) � 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. 300 Chinese and 300 British Caucasian participants were recruited online. The results showed that Chinese (vs. British) people attribute higher human-like moral responsibilities to virtual human powered by real humans as well as artificial intelligence. Study 2 used the same study design as used in Study 1a and 1b. 200 Chinese and 199 American Caucasian participants were recruited online. They read the similar profile of the virtual/human blogger Rico, and her unmoral behavior (i.e., tax evasion). Then, participants rated moral responsibility and mental capacities of Rico. Results revealed the mediating role of perceived mental capacities (experience, not agency) on the cultural difference of perceived moral responsibility and ruled out two possible alternative explanations. Study 3 used a 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. 100 Chinese participants and 101 American Caucasian participants were recruited online. This study utilized another scenario (i.e., plagiarism) and replicated the results in previous studies. Furthermore, we showed the downstream effect that Chinese (vs. American) people believe the virtual human should be punished more (i.e., fining, suspending the account, and unfollowing). In summary, based on Mental Perception Theory, this paper provides evidence for the cultural differences between China and the west on moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans. Perceived mental capacities (experience, not agency) mediated this interaction effect. In addition, we showed the downstream results of moral punishments and contributed to the literature on cultural differences and the theory about moral judgment on non-human entities.
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2023-02-12
Abstract：
Virtual humans are digital characters created in computer graphics software that take a first-person view of the world and have a social media presence. Compared with real humans, however, are people likely to attribute moral responsibility differently to virtual humans whenthey do something morally wrong? This important empirical question remains unanswered. Therefore, we addressed this query using Mental Perception Theory. We did so through exploringthe influence and mechanism of cultural differences between China and the West on individuals’ perceptions of moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans versus real humans. Findings revealed that, when virtual humans engaged in immoral behaviors—irrespective of whether real humans or artificial intelligence (AI) controlled them—people in China (vs. the West) attributedmore moral responsibility to virtual humans but equal moral responsibility to real humans. Perceived mental capacities, especially perceived experience, mediated the interaction effect of culture. Furthermore, compared to Westerners, Chinese people were more likely to punish virtual (vs. real) humans, such as by no longer following their social accounts. Five experiments revealed the foregoing findings. Study 1a and 1b used a 2 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger) × 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. Twohundred Chinese and 200 U.S. Caucasian participants were recruited in Study 1a. They first readthe profile of a virtual/human blogger, Rico, on Weibo (i.e., Chinese)/Twitter (i.e., U.S.). Next, they were told that Rico had exposed the private behavior of a netizen, which made that individual suffer from cyber violence. After that, participants rated the moral responsibility of Rico with twoitems. Consistent with our prediction, there was a significant interaction effect between the Chinese/Western culture and the virtual/human blogger on moral responsibility judgment. Specifically, Chinese (vs. Western) people attributed more moral responsibility to the virtual blogger, but there was no significant difference in moral responsibility judgment toward the human blogger. In Study 1b, we recruited 200 Chinese and 199 British Caucasian participants online. We utilized a similar study design and manipulations to those employed in Study 1a. Study1b replicated the results of Study 1 with a new scenario (i.e., tax evasion) and newmethods of measuring moral responsibility judgment. Study 1c used a 3 (human blogger vs. virtual blogger powered by AI vs. virtual blogger powered by real humans) × 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. Three hundred Chinese and 300 British Caucasian participants were recruited online. The results showed that Chinese (vs. British) people attributed greater human-like moral responsibility toa virtual human controlled by real humans as well as by artificial intelligence. Study 2 used the same study design as employed in 1b. Two hundred Chinese and 199American Caucasian participants were recruited online. They read the same profile of the virtual/human blogger Rico and his immoral behavior (i.e., tax evasion). Then, participants rated moral responsibility judgment and mental capacities of Rico. Results revealed the mediating role of perceived mental capacities (i.e., experience, not agency) on the cultural difference of perceivedmoral responsibility judgment and ruled out two possible alternative explanations. Study 3 used a 2 (Chinese culture vs. Western culture) between-subjects design. One hundredChinese participants and 101 American Caucasian participants were recruited online. This studyutilized another scenario (i.e., plagiarism) and replicated the results of the four previous studies. Furthermore, we showed the downstream effect that Chinese (vs. U.S.) people believed that the virtual human should be punished more (i.e., fining, suspending the account, and no longer following the account). In summary, based on Mental Perception Theory, this paper provided evidence for the cultural differences between Chinese people and Westerners on moral responsibility judgment of virtual humans. Perceived mental capacities (i.e., experience, not agency) mediated this interactioneffect. In addition, we revealed the downstream results of moral punishment and contributed toliterature on cultural differences and the theory about moral judgment on non-human entities.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Psychology >> Social Psychology submitted time 2020-04-17
Abstract： Honest behavior is a fundamental aspect of economic and social life. Although many countries have been committed to promoting civil honesty, there are still many dishonest behaviors that act as barriers to the development of society, such as broken promises, unenforced contracts and corrupt governments. In recent years, much research has been performed on the factors influencing people’s honest behaviors, such as social norms and emotions; however, these factors do not exist every time. The purpose of the current research was to explore how weather and air pollution influence honest behavior. We hypothesized that sunny weather would increase people’s honest behavior. In contrast, we hypothesized that air pollution would promote dishonest behavior. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. In Study 1, we used second-hand experimental data published online. Cohn, Marécha, Tannenbaum and Zünd conducted field experiments to test the relationship between civil honesty and money worldwide, and the research was published in Science in 2019. They measured whether recipients contacted owners to return wallets. Weather and air pollution data, however, were not analyzed in their research. Considering the availability and different standards of many countries’ air pollution data, we used Chinese and American experimental data (N=1400) and corresponding weather and air quality indexes to test the hypotheses. In Study 2, we used a quasi experiment to test the influence of weather and air pollution on honest behavior. We randomly left campus cards and money in classrooms before class and recorded the weather and air pollution conditions at three Chinese universities (N=407). In addition, we used whether recipients took the campus card or money as an indicator of honest behavior. Moreover, different kinds of classes were included in this study since previous research indicated that different classes might affect students’ honest behavior. The results of Study 1 indicated that participants were more likely to contact the owner to return the wallet during sunny weather than during cloudy weather. In addition, air pollution also affected the participants’ honest behavior. The results indicated that the more serious the air pollution was, the less likely it was that people would voluntarily return the wallets. Study 2 further replicated this result and suggested that participants were more likely to take the campus card or money under cloudy weather and air pollution conditions. There was no significant difference among the classes in terms of honest behavior in this study. In conclusion, sunny weather promotes honest behavior, but air pollution reduces honest behavior.
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