This paper examines the interplay of social and temporal distance on consumers’ responses to others’ recommendations. Drawing on research on psychological distance and the “fit” literature, the authors hypothesize that others’ recommendation is more persuasive when the construal levels...

Purchasing products that consumers have not used before (e.g., baby stroller for first time parents or a new product like an iPad) can be a challenge for consumers. In this article, the authors examine how mentally simulating two specific aspects of a product - the product usage process vs. the...

Prior research has established that categorization plays a central role in new product learning (Sujan, 1985). Very little is known, however, about the operation of this commonly studied category-based learning process under conditions of categorization ambiguity. Categorization ambiguity exists...

Prior research on intertemporal choice has demonstrated that people’s preferences can be impacted by the temporal distance. Specifically, Trope and Liberman (2003) shows that when we make a choice for the future, we tend to think much more about how desirable a certain option is. However, when...

In this research, we examine the impact of imagination-focused visualization on the evaluation of really new products (RNPs). We compare imagination-focused visualization with memory-focused visualization and demonstrate that focusing on the imaginative aspects of an RNP leads to higher...

In this research we examine the role of process vs. outcome-focused mental simulation in new product evaluation. We first show that consumers naturally focus on product benefits when they evaluate incrementally new products (INPs), but have a more balanced focus on both the benefits and process...

In this research, we examine the impact of visualization aids on new product evaluation under retrospective and anticipatory visualization. We demonstrate that when visualization encourages retrospection (which naturally evokes concrete thoughts), providing concrete visualization aids leads to...

In this research, we examine how manipulating the type of information processing mode (cognitive vs. affective) at a different point of time elicits the unique effects of process and outcome simulation on the evaluation of RNPs. Our findings indicate that in an instant evaluation scenario,...

Research on choice over time has found that people tend to focus on concrete aspects of near-future events and abstract aspects of distantfuture events. Furthermore, a focus on concrete aspects heightens the feasibility-related components, whereas a focus on abstract aspects heightens the...

The goal of this report is to add to and complement other nudging resources by: 1. Providing an organizational framework that identifies dimensions along which nudging approaches could be categorized. 2. Presenting a number of short case studies. 3. Giving the practitioner (the choice architect)...