This research examines the effect of experiencing messiness, induced by a messy environment or by priming the concept of messiness, on consumers. We propose that messiness is an aversive state and that consumers are motivated to attenuate this state by seeking simplicity in their cognitions,...

When consumers are reminded of money, do they conform, shrug off, or react against others’ attempts to influence them? Prior research on reminders of money suggests that either of the last two outcomes is probable. The current research proposed that the self-sufficient motivation induced by...

This study examines how advertisements containing thin or heavy models influence the self-esteem of overweight, normal, and underweight consumers. Previous research has mainly examined the influences of variations of the comparison standard on self-evaluative outcomes, whereas we examine how the...

We examine several factors that determine whether exposure to thin (or heavy) media images positively or negatively affects consumers' appearance self-esteem. We find that the effects of exposure to models in advertisements depend on two moderating factors: (1) the extremity of the model's...

This research demonstrates that exposure to death-related stimuli can increase consumers' amounts of purchasing and consumption. We demonstrate that consumers who have been recently reminded of their own impending mortality wish to purchase higher quantities of food products (and actually eat...

This research examines the conditions under which consumers experience an increased preference for nostalgic products, such as previously popular movies, television programs, foods, or automobiles. Specifically, participants for whom the need to belong is an active goal experience a...

Because of the transient nature of some emotions stimulated during TV commercials, measurement of emotional reactions at various points during an ad requires process tracing. This research discusses the analysis of process-tracing data using the Warmth Monitor as an illustration. We show that...

Many buying decisions require predictions of another person's product attitudes. Yet, consumers are often inaccurate predictors, even for familiar others. We provide strong evidence that target familiarity can even hurt accuracy in the presence of attitude feedback. Although overprojection and...

Markman and Brendl have demonstrated that individuals tend to regard as more valuable those objects that are able to satisfy an active desire. Building on their framework, we predicted that desire would enlarge the consideration set and, hence, affect variety-seeking tendencies in a product...

Neuroscientific studies demonstrate that erotic stimuli activate the reward circuitry processing monetary and drug rewards. Theoretically, a general reward system may give rise to nonspecific effects: exposure to "hot stimuli" from one domain may thus affect decisions in a different domain. We...