Bob M. Fennis

Stay tuned: We will be back right after these messages: Need to evaluate moderates the transfer of irritation in advertising

Abstract Studies on irritation in advertising have primarily focused on commercial attributes that produce negative reactions to that commercial and the brand advertised. The present study extends this line of research by examining the carryover effects of irritation previously elicited by either disliked ads or a large number of ads (embedded in a documentary) to an unrelated, neutral ad (at the end of the documentary). We hypothesize that people with a high need to evaluate (NE) will show such a transfer of irritation more clearly than will low NE individuals. The results confirm this hypothesis; high NE individuals were (1) more irritated after exposure to disliked or many ads and, consequently, (2) more negatively affected in their evaluations of the neutral ad and brand. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Health on Impulse : When Low Self-Control Promotes Healthy Food Choices

OBJECTIVE Food choices are often made mindlessly, when individuals are not able or willing to exert self-control. Under low self-control, individuals have difficulties to resist palatable but unhealthy food products. In contrast to previous research aiming to foster healthy choices by promoting high self-control, this study exploits situations of low self-control, by strategically using the tendency under these conditions to rely on heuristics (simple decision rules) as quick guides to action. More specifically, the authors associated healthy food products with the social proof heuristic (i.e., normative cues that convey majority endorsement for those products). METHOD One hundred seventy-seven students (119 men), with an average age of 20.47 years (SD = 2.25) participated in the experiment. This study used a 2 (low vs. high self-control) × 2 (social proof vs. no heuristic) × 2 (trade-off vs. control choice) design, with the latter as within-subjects factor. The dependent variable was the number of healthy food choices in a food-choice task. RESULTS In line with previous studies, people made fewer healthy food choices under low self-control. However, this negative effect of low self-control on food choice was reversed when the healthy option was associated with the social proof heuristic. In that case, people made more healthy choices under conditions of low self-control. CONCLUSION Low self-control may be even more beneficial for healthy food choices than high self-control in the presence of a heuristic. Exploiting situations of low self-control is a new and promising method to promote health on impulse.

The Role of the Need for Cognitive Closure in the Effectiveness of the Disrupt-Then-Reframe Influence Technique

The disrupt-then-reframe (DTR) influence technique involves confusing consumers with a disruptive message and then reducing ambiguity by reframing the message. Experiment 1 shows that the DTR technique increases retail sales in a supermarket setting. Experiment 2 shows that the DTR technique increases the willingness to pay to join a student interest group. Experiment 3 shows that the DTR technique increases student support for a tuition increase. The results also show that the DTR effect increases as the need for closure increases and that disruption motivates consumers to embrace a reframed message that facilitates closure by reducing ambiguity.

Identifying the ‘if’ for ‘if-then’ plans: Combining implementation intentions with cue-monitoring targeting unhealthy snacking behaviour

Implementation intentions aimed at changing unwanted habits require the identification of personally relevant cues triggering the habitual response in order to be effective. To facilitate successful implementation intention formation, in the present study, planning was combined with cue-monitoring, a novel way to gain insight into triggers for unhealthy snacking. It was tested whether keeping a cue-monitoring diary and tailoring implementation intentions accordingly improves plan effectiveness. A 2 Monitoring (cue-monitoring, control) × 2 Planning (implementation intention, goal intention) between subjects design was adopted. Participants (N = 161) monitored their unhealthy snacking behaviour for a week using either a cue-monitoring or a control diary. Participants then formulated a goal intention or an implementation intention tailored to their personal cue. Snacking frequency and caloric intake from unhealthy snacks were examined using a seven-day snack diary. The results did not indicate an interaction but yielded a main effect of Monitoring. Cue-monitoring either or not combined with implementation intentions reduced unhealthy snacking behaviour compared with control. Findings emphasise the effectiveness of cue-monitoring, suggesting that on the short term, cue-monitoring suffices to decrease unhealthy snacking, without additional benefit from planning. Future research should examine whether supplementing cue-monitoring with implementation intentions is required to establish long-term behaviour change maintenance.

When the going gets tough, who keeps going?: Depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect

Self-control relies on a limited resource that can get depleted, a phenomenon that has been labeled ego-depletion. We argue that individuals may differ in their sensitivity to depleting tasks, and that consequently some people deplete their self-control resource at a faster rate than others. In three studies, we assessed individual differences in depletion sensitivity, and demonstrate that depletion sensitivity moderates ego-depletion effects. The Depletion Sensitivity Scale (DSS) was employed to assess depletion sensitivity. Study 1 employs the DSS to demonstrate that individual differences in sensitivity to ego-depletion exist. Study 2 shows moderate correlations of depletion sensitivity with related self-control concepts, indicating that these scales measure conceptually distinct constructs. Study 3 demonstrates that depletion sensitivity moderates the ego-depletion effect. Specifically, participants who are sensitive to depletion performed worse on a second self-control task, indicating a stronger ego-depletion effect, compared to participants less sensitive to depletion.

Interpersonal Communication and Compliance The Disrupt-Then-Reframe Technique in Dyadic Influence Settings

Two field experiments examined the impact of the Disrupt-Then-Reframe (DTR) technique on compliance. This recently identified technique consists of a subtle, odd element in a typical scripted request (the disruption) followed by a persuasive phrase (the reframing). The authors argued that its impact is generalizable across interpersonal influence situations. In addition, based on the thought-disruption hypothesis, the authors expected that disrupting the sales script not only increases the impact of the new reframing but also increases the effectiveness of other persuasive elements embedded in the influence setting. Study 1 showed that the DTR technique fostered compliance with both commercial and nonprofit sales scripts. The results of Study 2 replicated this finding and were in line with the thought-disruption hypothesis: A familiar brand embedded in a DTR context resulted in more compliance (higher purchase rates) than when paired with a regular sales script.

It's my party and I eat if I want to. Reasons for unhealthy snacking

Investigating the reasons that people give for unhealthy snacking behavior is important for developing effective health interventions. Little research, however, has identified reasons that apply to a large audience and most studies do not integrate multiple factors, precluding any conclusions regarding their relative importance. The present study explored reasons for unhealthy snacking among a representative community sample. Participants (N = 1544) filled out the newly developed Reasons to Snack inventory assessing an elaborate range of motives at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Exploratory and replication factor analyses identified six categories: opportunity induced eating, coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion, rewarding oneself, social pressure, and gaining energy. The highest mean scores were obtained for enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating. Regression analyses with participant characteristics as independent variables and each category of reasons as dependent variables showed differences for age. For all reasons except to enjoy a special occasion, younger people reported a higher score. Women indicated a higher score than men on coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion and gaining energy. People who diet to a stronger extent reported a higher score for snacking because of social pressure, to reward oneself and to cope with negative emotions, with the latter also being related to a higher BMI. Finally, a higher education was associated with enjoying a special occasion. Future health interventions could allocate more attention to diminishing unhealthy snacking with regard to the six identified categories, specifically focusing on enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating.

Mindlessness revisited: Sequential request techniques foster compliance by draining self-control resources

The present research extends previous findings suggesting that sequential request techniques, such as the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) or Door-in-the-Face (DITF) technique, are primarily effective under conditions conducive of mindlessness. We forward that this mindlessness may be the product of the influence technique itself. More specifically, based on the notion of self-control as a limited resource, we hypothesize that actively responding to the initial request-phase of a FITD-compliance gaining procedure drains the target of his/her self-regulatory resources, thus creating the mindlessness so often observed in social influence settings. This resource depletion opens the door for compliance with the target request. The results were in line with these expectations. More specifically, we observed that active responding to an initial request of a FITD technique reduced the availability of self-regulatory resources. This state of resource depletion mediated the effect of the technique on behavioral compliance. In addition, the results of this study ruled out the alternate explanation that the effects were attributable to mood or a general tendency for acquiescence.

Strategic sequences in police interviews and the importance of order and cultural fit

This study introduces the concept of strategic sequences to police interviews and concentrates on the impact of active listening behavior and rational arguments. To test the authors’ central assumption that the effectiveness of strategic sequences is dependent on cultural fit (i.e., the match with the cultural background of suspects), young people participated in virtual police interviews. Study 1 demonstrated that contrast sequences accentuating rational rather than relational behavior were found to be effective in eliciting information and admissions from suspects originating from cultures that tend to use more direct and content-oriented communication (i.e., low-context cultures), whereas for suspects from cultures that use more indirect and context-oriented communication (i.e., high-context cultures) a nonsignificant trend in reversed order was found. Study 2 added the investigation of the joint impact of active listening and rational arguments. In line with predictions, the results showed that an active listening—rational arguments sequence is most effective when active listening behavior precedes— rather than follows—rational arguments.

Depletion sensitivity predicts unhealthy snack purchases

The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between depletion sensitivity - a novel construct referring to the speed or ease by which ones self-control resources are drained - and snack purchase behavior. In addition, interactions between depletion sensitivity and the goal to lose weight on snack purchase behavior were explored. Participants included in the study were instructed to report every snack they bought over the course of one week. The dependent variables were the number of healthy and unhealthy snacks purchased. The results of the present study demonstrate that depletion sensitivity predicts the amount of unhealthy (but not healthy) snacks bought. The more sensitive people are to depletion, the more unhealthy snacks they buy. Moreover, there was some tentative evidence that this relation is more pronounced for people with a weak as opposed to a strong goal to lose weight, suggesting that a strong goal to lose weight may function as a motivational buffer against self-control failures. All in all, these findings provide evidence for the external validity of depletion sensitivity and the relevance of this construct in the domain of eating behavior.