Can which products are next to each other on a store shelf influence what you buy?
is research demonstrates the strong influence of disgust in a consumer context. Specifically, it shows how consumer evaluations may change in response to physical contact with products that elicit only moderate levels of disgust. Using evidence from six studies, the authors develop a theory of product contagion, in which disgusting products are believed to transfer offensive properties through physical contact to other products they touch, thus influencing evaluations. Source: "Product Contagion: Changing Consumer Evaluations Through Physical Contact with “Disgusting” Products"…
1 min read
Is a cheeseburger an effective persuasion tool?
e purpose of this experiment was to follow up on previous findings of a gain in opinion change produced by eating-while-reading (Razran, 1940; Janis, Kaye, and Kirschner, 1965) by testing predictions from a “conditioning” theory and from an alternative explanation in terms of greater receptivity to any communication endorsed by E, the donor of the food. A factorial design was used to determine the extent to which the opinion changes induced by two persuasive communications were influenced by (1) E's giving…
2 minutes
Does name-dropping work?
ior research on impression management has focused more on the kinds of tactics that people use to be perceived by others as likeable and competent than on the effects. Do these tactics actually affect the way others see us? Name-dropping is an indirect self-presentational tactic that asserts social closeness between a person who employs the tactic and the individual who is mentioned. In our study an individual mentioned his or her association with tennis champion Roger Federer during a get-acquainted…
1 min read
An Easy Way To Get More People To Vote, Backed By Research
nd them a text message: Current explanations of effective voter mobilization strategies maintain that turnout increases only when a potential voter is persuaded to participate through increased social connectedness. The connectedness explanation does not take into account, however, that registered voters, by registering, have already signaled their interest in voting. The theory presented in this article predicts that impersonal, noticeable messages can succeed in increasing the likelihood that a registered voter will turn out by reminding the recipient that Election Day…
1 min read
When should you use self-deprecating humor?
en you're powerful: This study explores the adaptive functions and design features of self- and other-deprecating humor. Sixty-four female and 32 male college students participated in a two-part study. In the first part, we examined the relationships among participant demographics, personality traits, and preferences for producing different types of humor. Men report using more other-deprecating humor than women do, and the use of other-deprecating humor decreases with age for both sexes. In the second part of the study, each participant…
1 min read
This Is How Long It Takes You To Make Up Your Mind About Someone
0 milliseconds. People often draw trait inferences from the facial appearance of other people. We investigated the minimal conditions under which people make such inferences. In five experiments, each focusing on a specific trait judgment, we manipulated the exposure time of unfamiliar faces. Judgments made after a 100-ms exposure correlated highly with judgments made in the absence of time constraints, suggesting that this exposure time was sufficient for participants to form an impression. In fact, for all judgments—attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness,…
1 min read
What can you do to someone to make their lies easier to detect?
ntally exhaust them: We present two lie detection approaches based on cognitive theory. The first approach, 'measuring cognitive load', assumes that the mere act of lying generates observable signs of cognitive load. This is the traditional cognitive lie detection approach formulated by Zuckerman, DePaulo, & Rosenthal (1981). The second approach, 'imposing cognitive load', was developed by us (Vrij, Fisher, Mann, & Leal, 2006) and goes one step further. Here, the lie detector attempts to actively increase the differences between lying…
1 min read
If your neighbor gets a new car, do you buy a new car?
ch week, the Dutch Postcode Lottery (PCL) randomly selects a postal code, and distributes cash and a new BMW to lottery participants in that code. We study the effects of these shocks on lottery winners and their neighbors. Consistent with the life-cycle hypothesis, the effects on winners’ consumption are largely confined to cars and other durables. Consistent with the theory of in-kind transfers, the vast majority of BMW winners liquidate their BMWs. We do, however, detect substantial social effects of…
1 min read
