Consumer Behavior Quiz 2

Why is bad stronger than good?

• Negative stimuli elicit faster physiological reactions and linger longer in memory.

• One bad act outweighs many good ones; a single negative event can “contaminate” positives.

• Losses hurt more than equivalent gains feel good.

• There are more unique negative emotions than positive ones.

Example of bad being stronger than good

One rude employee can ruin brand perception; one negative review deters more than many positives.

What is an attitude?

• A favorable or unfavorable evaluative reaction to something, exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior

• Typically answers: Do I like it? How much? What do I believe about it? What will I do?

What are the functions of attitudes and why do they matter?

• Utilitarian function

• Ego-Defensive Function

• Value-Expressive Function

• Knowledge Function

• Knowing a function helps markets predict how to change or reinforce the attitude

Utilitarian Function

Guides approach/avoidance based on pleasure or pain (e.g., food tastes, ad appeal)

Ego-Defensive Function

Protects self-esteem or self-concept (e.g., ads reassuring self-image)

Value-Expressive Function

Expresses core values or identity (e.g., political views, school spirit)

Knowledge Function

Organizes and interprets the world; almost all attitudes serve this because they help people make sense of information (e.g., halo effect)

Why attitudes don’t always predict behavior

• Measurement mismatch: attitude and behavior measured at different specificity levels.

• Time lapse: attitudes shift between measurement and action.

• Social norms: behavior constrained by situational expectations.

• Nonexistent/weak attitudes: sometimes people have no clear opinion

Pique Technique

Using unusually specific requests (e.g., “$4.73” instead of “$5”) to spark curiosity and interrupt mindless refusal

Two routes of persuasion (Elaboration Likelihood Model)

• Central Route

• Peripheral Route

Central Route

Careful evaluation of strong arguments → lasting change

Example jewelry brand talking about the quality of the jewelry

Peripheral Route

Reliance on surface cues (celebrity, attractiveness, length) → temporary change

Example jewelry brand showing jewelry with only celebrity

What are the two factors for determining persuasion routes?

• Motivation: involvement, accountability, need for cognition

• Ability: expertise, distraction level, message complexity

• Both are necessary for the central route—without one, people default to peripheral cues

Why peripheral cues work?

They mimic real diagnostic signals (they “seem like good cues”) and trigger automatic judgments when motivation/ability are low

Which route creates stronger attitudes?

Central-route attitudes last longer, predict behavior better, and are more resistant to later persuasion

Humor and benign violations

• Humor = a benign (kind/safe) violation of norms.

• A violation is funny only if it feels safe (benign) — via alternative norms, low commitment, or psychological distance.

• Backfires when threat is too strong, targeted at a group, or makes the product unappealing

Reciprocity and Reciprocal Concession

• Doing someone a favor increases compliance (Ex. Joe buys soda → more raffle tickets are bought by those who he bought sodas for).

• Works even for uninvited favors and produces unequal exchanges.

• Door-in-the-face technique: start with a large request, then retreat to a smaller one → target reciprocates the “concession.”

Door in the Face Technique

Start with a large request, then retreat to a smaller one → target reciprocates the “concession.” or smaller request

Foot in the door technique

Small request → larger request later.
Works best when initial commitment is:

• Active (done explicitly)

• Public (visible to others)

• Effortful (requires investment)

• Internally motivated (chosen freely)

Unity and Ways to Increase It

We comply more with those sharing our identity.

Increase unity by:

1. Using shared jargon

2. Being exclusive (“small club”)

3. Invoking family ties/language

4. Defining out-groups (“we’re not like them”)

5. Using location ties (shared place/region)

6. Getting advice/help (from someone to bond them)

Avoid fake unity (Granfalloon) — it must feel authentic.

Milgram’s Experiment and the Slippery Slop

• Participants believed they were shocking others as part of a learning study.

• Not blind obedience → ineffective disobedience (they objected but still complied when blocked).

• Gradual voltage increases = slippery slope (an idea or course of action that will lead to something unacceptable, wrong, or disastrous)

• Real-world analogue: employees following harmful orders step-by-step.

What is conformity?

changing behavior to match group norms

What are the two reasons for conformity?

• Normative – avoid disapproval, fit in.

• Informational – assume others know better.

“IN”

How can norms be changed?

• Institutional systems (laws, rewards, punishments)

• Summary information (group statistics, announcements)

• Public behavior (observing others, gossip)

“SIP”

Pluralistic ignorance and how to reduce it

• People privately reject a norm but think others accept it.

• Example: college binge-drinking (Prentice & Miller 1993): students believed peers were more comfortable drinking → drank more.

• Reduction: Peer sessions educating about pluralistic ignorance → lowered average drinks (3 vs 4.9 per week)

What is an emotion and four traits?

• An episodic, short-term, biologically based pattern of perception, experience, physiology, action, and communication in response to specific challenges/opportunities

• Traits:

  • Brief - on the order of a few seconds to a few minutes

  • Specific - they are directed at particular events, people, products

  • Goal-Oriented - they are motivation to achieve certain objectives

  • Social - we express emotions more when others are around

  • “BSGS”

Ekman’s five universal emotions and why universal

• Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Fear.

  • Think inside out lowkey

• They’re universal because they are biologically based and recognized across cultures via facial expressions.

• Some add Surprise or Love but their status is debated.

Feelings-as-information hypothesis

• People use current feelings as cues in judgments—even if irrelevant.

• Emotional reactions toward a brand predict purchase intent more strongly than knowledge about it

Happiness – signal, benefits, drawbacks

• Signals that “all is well” → frees attention for big-picture thinking.

• Benefits: creativity, broader perception, positive social spread.

• Drawbacks: superficial thinking, reliance on heuristics and stereotypes.

Anger – characteristics and effects

• Triggered by intentional frustration or wrongdoing.

• Leads to certainty, risk-seeking, optimism, and blame.

• Bad for firms because angry customers seek revenge and spread word-of-mouth; companies should apologize quickly.

• Example: Product arrived broken, or the item is missing

Fear – situations and appeals

• Arises from specific, uncertain threats (future-focused).

• Good: motivates protection and attention.

• Two fear appeal components: Threat (what could happen) and Efficacy (how to fix it).

• Most effective appeal: High threat + High efficacy → people address the threat instead of just their fear.

• Example: PSAs