Three studies investigate the influence of empathy and the level of fictionality of short stories on consumers' evaluations of emotional melodramatic entertainment. We find that high empathizers' evaluations are more favorable when the story is low in fictionality (i.e., real) versus high. In...

The present research establishes that the innocuous behavior of coupon redemption is capable of eliciting stigma by association. The general finding across four studies shows that the coupon redemption behavior of one consumer results in a second non-coupon-redeeming shopper being stigmatized by...

Across a series of studies conducted in both the field and the laboratory, the authors demonstrate that the presence of others (i.e., an entourage) alters a VIP’s personal feelings of status. Specifically, the authors show that VIPs feel higher levels of status when they are able to experience...

Despite the common belief that seating arrangements matter, little research has examined how the geometrical shape of a chair arrangement can affect persuasion. Across three studies, this research demonstrates that the shape of seating arrangements can prime two fundamental human needs that in...

Norm violations disrupt social order, and according to prior research, social order can be restored through the punishment of norm violators. Based on this conceptual framework, the current research examines a prevalent yet overlooked behavior in the consumer literature by showing that consumers...

This research focuses on understanding when low body esteem consumers are most likely to engage in negative social comparisons and examines how this process influences product evaluations. In a series of three studies, we find that two pieces of social information are needed for negative...