In 1987 we described the cognitive dimensions that compose consumer expertise and how experts and novices differ along those dimensions. The cognitive apparatus that underlies these dimensions is fixed within any practical timeframe, and therefore the dimensions endure. In contrast, the world to which our cognitive abilities are applied has changed spectacularly. We revisit consumer expertise with spotlights on advances in the domains of consumer expertise that have appeared in the literature since 1987, advances in other fields that inform consumer behavior, and changes in the environment that alter consumption habits. The latter emphasizes technological developments, which beg the question of whether technology will support or supplant consumer cognition. To no one’s surprise, we cannot divine a simple answer to this question. For marketing researchers, the territory is as wide open as ever and comes with a salutary shift in perspective toward the real world, especially with regards to consumer welfare.

Physicalism is the belief that everything is physical or ensues from the physical. Lay consumers resist this view, preferring instead accounts that combine the physical with the nonphysical. Inasmuch as physicalism is foundational to science and many science‐based welfare‐enhancing applications, departures from physicalism often result in resistance to such applications, with vital consequences. We review prior research that uses physicalism to explain consumer behavior, but we argue that even larger returns to welfare would arise from examining consumer response to physicalist characterizations of the world. To do so, we document gaps between lay beliefs and the physicalist beliefs that underlie science and technology and describe how increased lay acceptance of physicalism would result in a more just, habitable, and adaptable world.

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.

Contemporary developments in material duplication promise product alternatives that are physically and sensorially indistinguishable from incumbent offerings. When fully realized, such duplicate offerings should obsolete the incumbents as a consequence of wider availability and lower monetary and social costs. Disruption will be impeded, however, if consumers favor incumbent products on the basis of non-material qualities. The authors show that the influence of such qualities depends on both the product category and characteristics of the consumer. In particular, when a creator is central to the product and when the consumer is inclined toward extraordinary beliefs, the influence of origin looms especially large. By contrasting origin and substance, the present research exposes dualistic thinking in consumers’ product evaluations, enriches prior research on authenticity and extraordinary beliefs, and contributes to the stubborn problem of technology adoption.

In contrast to extensive research examining intrinsic motivation in educational and professional settings, the present research investigates the origin, and the development, of the intrinsic motivation to participate in a novel leisure activity. One survey and three experiments show that the enjoyment of a novel leisure activity, and the desire to reengage in the activity, are a function of the alignment between the goal associated with participation and a person’s implicit theory about the skills needed to participate. A mastery goal promotes the development of intrinsic motivation when two conditions are met: (1) people believe their skills are malleable, and (2) first-time participation in the activity results in perceptions of improved mastery. A performance goal promotes the development of intrinsic motivation when two conditions are met: (1) people believe their skills are fixed, and (2) first-time participation in the activity results in perceptions of successful performance. The motivational benefits aligning participation goals and implicit theories are reversed when the execution of a first-time leisure activity is exceedingly difficult.

Many tasks in everyday life (e.g., making an accurate decision, completing job tasks, and searching for product information) are extrinsically motivated (i.e., the task is performed to gain a benefit) and require mental effort. Prior research shows that the cognitive resources needed to perform an extrinsically motivated task are allocated pre-task. The pre-task allocation of mental resources tends to be conservative, because mental effort is costly. Consequently, there are mental energy deficits when the use of mental resources exceeds the allocated amount. This research provides evidence for post-task mental energy replenishment. The amount of resource replenishment is a function of the size of the mental energy deficit and the favorability of the cost-benefit trade-off experienced at the completion of the task (i.e., the value of the reward given the energy investment). The findings have implications for how cognitive resources management influences the availability of mental energy on a moment-to-moment basis.

The authors argue that appreciation of the biological underpinnings of human behavior can alter the beliefs and actions of multiple marketing stakeholders in ways that have immense welfare implications. However, a biological perspective often deviates from the lay perspective. The realization of improved welfare depends in part on narrowing this gap. The authors review biological evidence on self-control and report ten empirical studies that examine lay response to biological characterizations of self-control. The authors contrast lay response with scientific understanding and then offer implications of biology-as well as the gap between the scientific and lay perspectives-for policy makers, firms, consumers, marketing educators, and scholars. The authors also identify opportunities for future research. They conclude that marketing scholars can and should play an active role in narrowing the gap between the scientific and lay perspectives in the service of both theory development and human welfare.

We propose that autonomy is a crucial aspect of consumer choice. We offer a definition that situates autonomy among related constructs in philosophy and psychology, contrast actual with perceived autonomy in consumer contexts, examine the resilience of perceived autonomy, and sketch out an agenda for research into the role of perceived autonomy in an evolving marketplace increasingly characterized by automation.

The bundling literature largely holds that a person's reaction to a given product bundle depends only on the characteristics of the products contained in the bundle. This paper, instead, proposes that people evaluate bundles in reference to other bundles that they have seen. Prior research indicates that people are sensitive to a bundle's "attribute inventory" or the aggregate level of comparable attributes possessed by its constituent products. We show that when people evaluate a bundle, they compare the attribute inventories that it offers to those offered by other bundles that they have seen. The resulting compositional comparisons can occur without changes to the products that comprise the target and contextual bundles, vary by attribute comparability and attentional focus, and coexist with (and at times reverse the effects of) well-established product-specific context effects, which are determined solely by the products and their attributes.

Product aesthetics can enhance consumer welfare in numerous ways. Aside from simply making products more pleasurable, product aesthetics can also influence the inferences that consumers make about functional attributes. In some instances, an attractive design can accurately provide information regarding utility. In other instances, however, an attractive design can be a misleading signal that prompts consumers to assume more utility than justified. Across five studies, the present research examines whether aesthetics can exert an unwarranted influence on the estimation of missing attribute information in favor of an aesthetically superior product. We show that aesthetics can bias consumers’ inferences about functionality, sometimes overriding other more diagnostic information. Boundaries to this effect are also identified that may serve to correct the bias and preserve consumer welfare.

This article examines the relationship between food technology acceptance and the public's food literacy, defined in terms of consumers' scientific understanding of food technology. The research investigates four food technologies-food irradiation, genetic modification, biofabrication, and bug-based food-that have immense implications for consumer and societal well-being. The findings reveal complex relationships between consumer understanding of these technologies and acceptance that arise from the multi-dimensional nature of resistance. Using these results, the authors develop a framework for predicting and addressing consumer resistance to food technology. In addition, they explore the effectiveness of knowledge-based interventions that illustrate how marketing can enhance food literacy, reduce technology resistance, and enhance well-being. Finally, they describe how their findings also speak to the food policy, food marketing, food socialization, and food availability dimensions of the "food = well-being" paradigm.

The conviction one holds about free will serves as a foundation for the views one holds about the consumption activities of other consumers, the nature of social support systems, and the constraints that should or should not be placed on industry. Across multiple paradigms and contexts, the authors assess people's beliefs about the control consumers have over consumption activities in the face of various constraints on agency. They find that beliefs regarding personal discretion are robust and resilient, consistent with their finding that free will is viewed as noncorporeal. Nonetheless, they also find that these beliefs are not monolithic but vary as a function of identifiable differences across individuals and the perceived cause of behavior, particularly with regard to physical causation. Taken together, the results support the general wisdom of libertarian paternalism as a framework for public policy and highlight current and emerging situations in which policy makers might be granted greater latitude.