Value
Partisan Consumerism: Experimental Tests of Consumer Reactions to Corporate Political Activity
Costas Panagopoulos et al.
Journal of Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
To what extent do consumers’ preferences change when they learn about firms’ partisan allegiances? We address this question by conducting a series of experiments in which Democrats and Republicans were presented with factual information about corporate political donations. Outcomes were measured through expressed shopping intentions as well as a revealed consumer preference. Respondents became significantly more (less) likely to patronize chains that support (oppose) their party. The effects are found for both convenience samples and representative national samples, and when information is conveyed in the context of a survey or unobtrusively via direct mail. Effects are especially large among those with strong partisan attachments. We conclude by arguing that the potential for partisan consumerism has risen with the advent of social media but may be undermined by a campaign finance system that increasingly allows for undisclosed corporate donations.
Critical Condition: People Don’t Dislike a Corporate Experiment More Than They Dislike Its Worst Condition
Robert Mislavsky, Berkeley Dietvorst & Uri Simonsohn
Marketing Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Why have companies faced a backlash for running experiments? Academics and pundits have argued that people find corporate experimentation intrinsically objectionable. Here we investigate “experiment aversion,” finding evidence that, if anything, experiments are more acceptable than the worst policies they contain. In six studies, participants evaluated the acceptability of either corporate policy changes or of experiments testing them. When all policy changes were deemed acceptable, so was the experiment even when it involved deception, unequal outcomes, and lack of consent. When a policy change was deemed unacceptable, so was the experiment but less so. The acceptability of an experiment hinges on its critical condition — its least acceptable policy. Experiments are not unpopular; unpopular policies are unpopular.
In the dark cube: Movie theater context enhances the valuation and aesthetic experience of watching films
Kerstin Fröber & Roland Thomaschke
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, forthcoming
Abstract:
There is a worldwide increase in feature film releases each year. While a theatrical release is still the primary release form, more and more films are watched via online streaming in home cinemas. Watching films at home is unquestionably high in convenience, but an understudied question is, how this shift in context — from the movie theater to the home cinema — affects the cinematic experience while watching a feature film. To test this, aesthetic emotions and the overall judgment of the cinematic experience were compared between watching a film in a movie theater or home cinema. In line with cognitive models of art appreciation, it was found that a movie theater context leads to a stronger emotional experience and a more favorable judgment. Only boredom was felt stronger in the home cinema. This movie theater effect persisted during a second viewing, regardless of context. These results have theoretical and practical implications for empirical aesthetics, movie fans, and the movie industry.
If your device could smile: People trust happy-sounding artificial agents more
Ilaria Torre, Jeremy Goslin & Laurence White
Computers in Human Behavior, forthcoming
Abstract:
While it is clear that artificial agents that are able to express emotions increase trust in Human-Machine Interaction, most studies looking at this effect concentrated on the expression of emotions through the visual channel, e.g. facial expressions. However, emotions can be expressed in the vocal channel too, yet the relationship between trust and vocally expressive agents has not yet been investigated. We use a game theory paradigm to examine the influence of smiling in the voice on trusting behavior towards a virtual agent, who responds either trustworthily or untrustworthily in an investment game. We found that a smiling voice increases trust, and that this effect persists over time, despite the accumulation of clear evidence regarding the agent’s level of trustworthiness in a negotiated interaction. Smiling voices maintain this benefit even in the face of behavioral evidence of untrustworthiness.