Packaged perishable foods often display one of two date label formats: a freshness date (e.g. “Best before,” “Best if used by”) or a safety date (e.g. “Use by”). Many consumers misinterpret a freshness date as a safety date and infer that the food is unsafe, leading to the premature disposal of edible food. This article offers a viable solution to this form of consumer food waste. We suggest that displaying both freshness and safety dates (i.e. a combined date label) can reduce premature food disposal. Across four studies, we investigate the impact of date-label formats on consumers’ food-disposal decisions after the freshness date has passed. The results show that a combined date label, relative to a freshness date label, reduces date-label confusion and, in turn, premature food disposal. We discuss the implications of these findings for date-label policy and contemporary retail packaging.

This article presents the first systematic empirical investigation into a longstanding question in retail: is it better to display prices upfront or reveal them later in the purchase process? Two large-scale field studies demonstrate that delayed price disclosure can either increase or decrease sales. Supporting laboratory studies reveal that one plausible explanation is that a price delay allows price beliefs to shift consumers' internal reference prices upward or downward, creating either positive or negative price expectation disconfirmations when prices are revealed. When consumers anticipate prices should be expensive (e.g., from premium brands or upscale stores), a price delay allows price beliefs to shift price expectations upward, making purchases more likely when prices are revealed. Conversely, when consumers anticipate prices should be inexpensive (e.g., sales events or discount stores), a price delay allows price beliefs to shift price expectations downward, making purchases less likely when prices are revealed. Our findings offer retailers actionable insights on when to reveal prices to customers. In doing so, the authors contribute to the literature on price obfuscation and challenge the conventional wisdom that shopping experiences should always minimize friction.

There is increasing acknowledgment that the environmental impact of the current global food supply system is unsustainable. Entomophagy—the consumption of insects as food—is gaining attention as a viable, sustainable food alternative. Yet, despite shifting positive attitudes towards entomophagy and supportive regulatory guidelines, few Westerners integrate insect-based food into their diet. A major reason underlying the focal attitude-behavior gap is that insect-based food elicits strong negative emotions. Two studies assess strategies for emotion regulation and, consequently, the increased trial and consumption of insect-based food. Study 1 demonstrates that distraction (but not reappraisal) enhances people’s willingness to sample insect-based food. Study 2 shows that humor—an operationalization of the distraction strategy—reduces negative emotional responses to communications about consuming insect-based food. Our findings offer valuable insights into how to facilitate people’s adoption of insect-based food.

Psychology has made great strides in how researchers collect, analyze, and report data, but there has been less attention to improving hypothesis generation. Some researchers still rely on intuition, serendipitous observations, or a limited reading of the literature to come up with a single idea about a relationship between constructs. Although this approach has led to valuable insights, it can constrain thinking and often fails to generate a full picture of what is going on. New approaches, however, allow researchers to cast a wider net. Specifically, by reducing the cost and effort of examining a broader set of potential variables, automated content analysis (i.e., computer-assisted methods for extracting features from unstructured data) can uncover new insights and help develop new theories. We describe how these techniques can be applied to various research questions and outline methods and criteria that can be used to gain a wider perspective. In sum, automated content analysis is a powerful tool for identifying new and important phenomena, building (and sharpening) theory, and increasing impact.

Agents help consumers make decisions. While agents have traditionally been human (e.g., sales associate, real estate agent, financial advisor), artificial intelligence (AI) agents are becoming more prevalent. We find that the type of agent, AI versus human, has an influence on intertemporal judgment. Specifically, when an agent is identified as AI, the concept of fast processing becomes more accessible, which makes time delays seem subjectively longer and encourages impatient behavior. These results have implications for how to conceptualize the influence of AI agents on judgment, the impact of time perception on intertemporal choices, and the sources of impatient behavior.

Consumers frequently make the same decision repeatedly, by either choosing the products they like more or rejecting the products they like less. Holding everything else constant, does the mere act of choosing versus rejecting influence the extent to which consumers seek variety? Eight studies (N = 2,814) identify a robust effect: Consumers tend to seek less variety across repeated decisions if they make each decision by rejecting than if they make each decision by choosing. This effect occurs because an initial rejection (vs. choice) reduces the liking of the unselected option(s) and thus widens the liking gap between the selected and unselected options. An increased liking gap, in turn, decreases the consumer's likelihood of selecting a previously unselected option(s) in subsequent decisions. The findings also show that the enlarged liking gap is driven by increased negative inferences about the unselected option(s). Theoretically, this research extends the literatures on variety seeking and choosing versus rejecting. Practically, it offers implications for consumer welfare: The rejection task can improve (worsen) the decision quality in situations in which consumers typically seek too much (too little) variety.

This research identifies a surprising downside to using crowdsourcing to generate new product ideas: participants who do not win an idea generation contest temporarily disengage from the contest-hosting brand. When people lose a crowdsourcing contest, the experience of losing negatively affects the participants' word-of-mouth and short-term purchase behaviors. Reframing the contest as a community activity (e.g., "Join the crowd and help us find a name for our new restaurant") rather than a competition (e.g., "Compete with the crowd to be the one who names our new restaurant") is found to positively affect a losing customer's subsequent engagement with the contest-hosting brand. Community framing shifts attention away from losing the contest (i.e., it reduces negative affect) and toward collectively creating a superior outcome (i.e., it increases one's perceived contribution), without changing the nature of the contest itself (i.e., participants continue to submit ideas). Community framing positively affects subsequent participant engagement, but it does not influence the effort the participant invests in the contest or the quality of the idea the participant submits. The evidence consists of lab experiments, field experiments, and a large-scale field study that measured actual purchase behavior.

Economic theory assumes that an improvement in the financial benefit of a promotional offer should increase the appeal of the offer (e.g., $25 incentive >$20 incentive). Four studies show that this assumption does not always hold. A two-period promotion (e.g., $20 off a purchase today plus $5 off a purchase made next month) is valued less than a one-period promotion (e.g., $20 off a purchase today), with an identical first-period incentive, when the second-period incentive has a limited benefit relative to the first-period incentive. Second-period incentives negatively impact the perceived value of a two-period promotion when consumers anticipate a low likelihood of redeeming the second-period incentive. The negative impact of the second-period incentive can be remedied by making the second-period incentive financially larger or by reducing the perceived restrictiveness of redeeming the second-period incentive.

There are three views of cognitive representation: the amodal, strong-embodiment, and weak-embodiment views of cognition. The present research provides support for the weak-embodiment view by demonstrating that two representational systems, one conceptual and one perceptual, underlie the cognitive processing of sensory experiences. We find that an initial sensory experience can exert two independent influences on judgments about a subsequent sensory experience. Specifically, we show that the conceptual representation of an initial sensory experience creates an expectation that biases judgments of the subsequent experience toward the initial experience (i.e., an assimilation bias), while the perceptual representation of an initial sensory experience creates a comparison standard that biases judgments of the subsequent experience away from the initial experience (i.e., a contrast bias). Documenting concurrent assimilation and contrast biases supports the claim of a dual representational system espoused by the weak-embodiment view. In so doing, we update the classic literature on context effects and contribute to the debate on representational systems in cognition.

This research investigates how a price promotion on a fast-moving consumer good influences the sales of substitute products in a retail shelf or online display. An analysis of supermarket yogurt data finds that when nonpromoted products are strong substitutes for the promoted product, a 1% decrease in the price of the promoted product results in a .25% decrease in the sales of proximal products but no change in the sales of distal products—a negative promotion-proximity effect. However, when nonpromoted products are weak substitutes for the promoted product, a 1% decrease in the price of the promoted product results in a .10% increase in the sales of proximal products but no change in sales for distal products—a positive promotion-proximity effect. Subsequent studies show that these effects occur because a proximal strong substitute is more likely to enter a consideration set with the promoted product (negative promotion-proximity effect) and a proximal weak substitute is more likely to be seen and considered by a consumer who is not interested in the promoted product (positive promotion-proximity effect).

AbstractThe cognitivist paradigm has dominated the past 50 years of consumer research. Cognitivist theories have provided extensive insights into pre‐consumption behaviors (i.e., information gathering, attitude formation, product choice, and product purchase) and the processes that support these behaviors (i.e., attitudes, persuasion, information processing, memory, knowledge, and choice processes). Yet, the cognitivist paradigm has limitations, especially when it comes to addressing detrimental consumption, over‐consumption, and perverse incentives in consumption systems. To address these issues, we discuss how a behaviorist paradigm can be used to identify more efficient and effective interventions for societal ills. The behaviorist perspective emphasizes that an alteration of the consumption environment can influence the ease of expressing a behavior and the rewards/punishments associated with this expression. Hence, behaviorism is useful in identifying and implementing intelligent nudges.

AbstractThere is value in blending behaviorism and cognitivism when investigating consumer behavior. Traditionally, the blend has consisted of a serving of cognitivism with a dash of behaviorism. Behaviorism might inform the focus (e.g., predictive learning) or assumptions about the process (e.g., Bayesian updating), but cognitivism comprises the theoretical foundation. We propose there is value in an alternative blend—a serving of behaviorism with a dash of cognitivism. Cognitivism might inform the selection of stimulus cues (e.g., predictive learning) or assumptions about the process (e.g., association strengths), but behaviorism informs the manipulations of causal factors (e.g., stimulus properties, reward schedules, and learning history). Embracing alternative approaches to blending behaviorism and cognitivism creates opportunities for novel insights into consumer behavior.

Attitudes, particularly negative attitudes toward experiential goods, are difficult to change. As a result, people tend to choose and consume experiential goods from their preferred subcategory (e.g., prefer impressionist art so primarily choose to view impressionist paintings) while disregarding options from less preferred subcategories (e.g., ignore cubist or surrealist paintings). This research investigates the consequences of reflection while consuming experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Namely, an initial, negative reflexive response can be overridden by a reflective appraisal which increases appreciation for experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Six studies show how a reflective appraisal differs from a reflexive response (i.e., a reflective appraisal has more cognitive and affective thoughts than evaluative thoughts, respectively), that reflective appraisals can supplant reflexive responses to experiential goods in less preferred subcategories, and that reflective appreciation training encourages reflective appraisal. A reflective appraisal improves the intent to consume, enhances appreciation of the consumption, and increases the consumption of novel experiential goods in less preferred subcategories.

Stressors (e.g., a dangerous environment) that create a need (e.g., a need for safety) can also elicit negative emotions (e.g., fear, distress, and sadness) and different strategies for coping with them. Subsequently, the types of coping strategies a person can employ either address (1) the source of the negative emotions (i.e., the need) or (2) the consequences of the negative emotions (i.e., the negative affective state). We hypothesized that the temporal efficacy of need-based actions determines when each type of coping strategy is pursued. Negative emotions encourage a person to address the need when the available need-based actions are efficacious (i.e., they meet the need) in the present (i.e., they meet the need soon after acquisition or usage). Negative emotions encourage a person to prioritize the negative affective state when the available need-based actions are efficacious in the future or have delayed availability.

Visual marketing communications consist of two components: (1) semantic content (e.g., headings, images, copy) that communicates a brand's positioning, benefits, and personality and (2) visual design (e.g., font selection, image size, the organization of the content) that encourages inferences about brand claims. The authors investigate how visual design can be used to encourage inferences that support brand claims and improve brand performance. They find that brands with a utilitarian positioning perform better when the visual design of their marketing communications encourages structured perceptions, whereas brands with a hedonic positioning perform better when the visual design of their marketing communications encourages unstructured perceptions. In both cases, (un)structured perceptions encourage inferences that reinforce brand claims and, consequently, improve brand performance. This research offers actionable insights into how marketing communication specialists can coordinate logo design, product design, package design, visual merchandising, and retail environments to reinforce brand claims.

One of the most cost-effective strategies for fighting the spread of COVID-19 is the use of facial masks. Despite health officials' strong efforts to communicate the importance or wearing a mask, compliance has been low in many countries. In the present paper we propose a novel behavior-intervention strategy to encourage people to wear facial masks. Three studies show that the personalization of a mask, as a form of identity expression, increases mask wearing intentions and, by extension, the percentage of individuals who wear facial masks. Given that mask wearing remains a necessity after deployment of the first vaccines, novel approaches to encouraging mask wearing are essential. Linking facial mask wearing to an individual's identity is a promising strategy.

Prior research suggests that the influence of marketing cues on consumers’ behavior can occur as a result of either system 1 processes (i.e., associative, intuitive, impulsive processes) or system 2 processes (i.e., rule‐based, analytic, reflective processes). We demonstrate that how people express a behavior can influence whether the behavior reflects predominantly system 1 or system 2 processing. Specifically, we propose a process—mode of expression congruence effect, whereby less deliberate behaviors (e.g., physically grabbing something) are relatively more sensitive to system 1 processing, while more deliberate behaviors (e.g., writing down one’s preference) are relatively more sensitive to system 2 processing. Six studies provide support for process—mode of expression congruence, showing that the magnitude and direction in which an environmental cue influences a consumer’s behavior can depend on the deliberateness of the mode of expression.

Do nudges disparities? Choice architecture compensates for low Choice architecture interventions, commonly known as nudges, are powerful tools that impact decision making and can improve welfare. Yet it is unclear who is most impacted by such interventions. If nudge effects are moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), such differential effects could increase or decrease disparities in wealth, health, and social welfare. We hypothesize and demonstrate that people with lower socioeconomic status, domain knowledge, and numerical ability are more affected by a wide class of nudges. As a result, “good nudges” designed to increase selection of the best option reduced choice disparities, improving choices more among people with lower SES, financial literacy, and numeracy than among people with higher levels of these variables. Compared to good nudges, “bad nudges” (designed to facilitate selection of inferior options) exacerbated choice disparities. These results generalized across real world retirement decisions, three different nudges, and four different decision domains. Across studies, we tested different explanations of why SES, domain knowledge, and numeracy moderate nudge effects, revealing that uncertainty partially accounts for these effects in mediation models. Our results suggest that nudges are a useful tool for those who wish to reduce disparities. most vulnerable