Journal of Consumer Psychology最新文献

Social platforms facilitate the daily interactions of billions of people globally. Prior research generally concludes that social platforms negatively affect people's welfare. This research reopens this debate by using a robust methodology to examine the time series effects of social platform use on users' subjective well-being, psychological well-being, physical health, and financial security. We report a 6-month longitudinal study of 1029 adults. Participants' daily time using social platforms on their mobile device was unobtrusively tracked and their well-being was measured every 2 weeks. The findings suggest a small, positive effect of time spent using social platforms on both subjective well-being and psychological well-being (but no significant effects on physical health or financial security). Further, it is time spent using social platforms that facilitate interactions with intimate/close ties, that is correlated with positive subjective and psychological well-being.

Shteynberg's (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2024) work on collective consciousness offers unique and meaningful insights into consumer behavior by emphasizing a “we-representation” that is comprised not of a self-aware “I” and an external “you” but rather complete immersion as a unified “we”. In this commentary, we situate collective consciousness within existing social presence research in consumer behavior and discuss its potential to expand the scope of social presence research. Specifically, we utilize a social presence framework that highlights the type of co-presence (in-person vs. virtual) and the extent of interactivity (interactive vs. passive) discussing the psychological mechanisms and linkage to collective consciousness. In addition to discussing shared consumption and shared decision-making, we assess the implications of collective consciousness for consumer contexts facilitated by virtual technologies: fake news, live streaming, virtual reality, cryptocurrencies, and crowdfunding. We conclude by highlighting future avenues for integrating collective consciousness into consumer psychology research.

We build on the construct of collective consciousness, which reflects a view that a person can see the self as the subject that is attending, experiencing, or acting as a unitary collective agent, that is, from the perspective of “we” as opposed to “I.” Shteynberg (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2024) proposes that collective consciousness can foster mutual trust and cooperation, thus having positive implications for both individuals and society. In this commentary, we discuss what the construct of collective consciousness might have to offer consumer researchers by considering when collective consciousness could be relevant in consumer contexts, its key psychological consequences, and how this theory could potentially build upon and interact with existing frameworks in consumer psychology. In addition, we consider some potential negative consequences of collective consciousness and point to potentially fruitful directions for future consumer research.

The use of influencer marketing campaigns has increased exponentially in recent years as brands have embraced such campaigns in order to capitalize on the relationships that social media influencers (SMIs) have built with their followers as a means of increasing brand awareness and sales. Although influencer marketing is extensively utilized in practice, much is still unknown about the effects of these campaigns, including potential downsides and audience-level variables that could moderate their success. In the current research, we find that partnering with SMIs is perceived as a norm violation for consumers with a high brand attachment, negatively impacting consumption intentions. Across five studies, we show that social media posts originating from an SMI, as opposed to the brand, lead to lower purchase intentions and willingness to pay for consumers with a high brand attachment. Additionally, we consider several moderators to this effect, including the salience of the sponsorship and consumers' attachment to the SMI. We also provide process evidence by documenting that perceptions of a norm violation mediate these effects.

Collective consciousness is “baked into” the architecture of the human mind—it is at the foundation of a uniquely human psychology, wherein homo sapiens have the intent and the capacity to cooperate with beings that are living and dead, human and otherwise. I discuss the psychological contours of collective consciousness and its effects on human cognition, affect, motivation, and behavior. Integrating across three major theoretical papers and dozens of empirical papers, I argue that the psychological structure and function of collective consciousness are intertwined; the former giving rise to the latter. I also discuss two varieties of collective consciousness—collective reality and collective psychology—that enable individual and group success in human society. I will end by describing how the psychology of collective consciousness can enhance our understanding of mutual trust and cooperation.

The present research demonstrates a novel driver of the growing demand for counterfeit luxury goods: perceptions of income inequality. Across five studies, using different samples and counterfeit luxury goods, we find that as perceptions of income inequality increase, consumers value counterfeit luxury products for their “egalitarian value”—a value associated with counterfeits' perceived ability to restore equality in society. Consumers perceive both public and private counterfeit luxury goods to have egalitarian value, suggesting that their value manifests itself beyond consumers' attempts to signal status via consumption. Moreover, the egalitarian value increases consumers' motivation to purchase counterfeit luxury goods beyond their hedonic, utilitarian, economic, or status signaling value. Finally, the positive effect of the egalitarian value of counterfeit luxury goods on purchase preference is greater among consumers who think equality is more desirable and attainable (i.e., those low in social dominance orientation). Our results outline one psychological mechanism underlying consumers' interests in counterfeit luxury goods, explaining how egalitarian value may link two important societal issues: growing income inequality and increased demand for counterfeits.

Although researchers have considered the role of morality in consumer psychology over the years, such investigations often fail to (a) recognize the different values that consumers might hold, and (b) provide proper context for why different moral considerations emerge. Moral Foundations Theory (MFT; Graham et al., Advances in experimental social psychology, 2013, Academic Press; Haidt & Joseph, Daedalus, 2004, 133, 55) provides just such a conceptual framework for understanding the diversity of moral thought that exists across cultures and demographic groups. MFT describes morality not as a monolithic entity, but as a pluralistic set of intuitive values that were shaped by evolutionary pressures and edited by distinct cultures. We review the central claims of MFT and describe how the theory can offer new insights when applied to consumer psychology, providing examples from existing research on persuasion, emotion, and prosocial behavior.

In a provocative and insightful analysis, Ramos et al. (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2024) propose the introduction of Moral Foundations Theory (hereafter MFT)—as a useful framework to (1) explain moral consumer decision-making more granularly and (2) set forth unique, testable future hypotheses in the field of marketing and consumer psychology. I discuss and build on their analysis to expand (1) but also narrow (2). I couch their conceptualization in the context of a multiple-identity framework (Consumer Psychology Review, 2021, 4, 100) and move slightly away from their useful but perhaps more taxonomic approach. I try to buttress their work by situating MFT in the context of how the process of moral identity (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2002, 83, 1423) competes with other identities (cf. Journal of Marketing Research, 2020, 57, 375; Current Opinion in Psychology 2016, 10, 94) to help determine when and how the building blocks of moral foundations may become critical drivers of consumption in the areas of persuasion, emotions, and prosocial charitable consumer behavior.

The present work investigates a commonly used but heretofore unexamined donation appeal: a misfortune-involving appeal. Misfortune-involving appeals (e.g., dunk tanks, pie tosses) invite consumers to donate to inflict misfortune on others. The process via which such appeals operate remains unknown and guidelines for their effective design are nonexistent. We propose that misfortune-involving appeals that invite consumers to inflict mild misfortune on deserving targets enable consumers to deliver interpersonal justice, thus eliciting schadenfreude. In turn, schadenfreude increases donation amounts. Six studies demonstrate such increases, establishing the mediating role of schadenfreude, addressing alternative explanations (e.g., licensing and sadism), and identifying boundary conditions. Theoretically, our work is the first to question a common prior assumption: that schadenfreude only occurs when consumers passively observe misfortune. Instead, we show that schadenfreude also emerges when consumers actively inflict misfortune. This finding refines the distinction between schadenfreude and sadism; we show that this distinction relies not on consumers' active/passive role, but on misfortune severity. Our findings expand the understanding of schadenfreude's role in the marketplace, opening the door for future research.

When managing joint finances, couples need to have candid conversations about money. But what happens when one partner is feeling financially stressed? Our research investigates this question, exploring how an individual's perception of their current financial situation impacts their willingness to discuss money with their partner. Across eight studies (N = 8474), we found that when individuals experience high (vs. low) financial stress, they are less likely to communicate with their partner about finances due to greater anticipated conflict. The effect of financial stress on communication is attenuated when individuals do not anticipate conflict. Further, we demonstrate that viewing conflicts as solvable rather than perpetual increases the likelihood of engaging in financial communication with one's partner. These findings have notable implications for both individuals' financial well-being and couples' relationship satisfaction.