Brent McFerran

I’ll Have What She’s Having: Effects of Social Influence and Body Type on the Food Choices of Others

This research examines how the body type of consumers affects the food consumption of other consumers around them. We find that consumers anchor on the quantities others around them select but that these portions are adjusted according to the body type of the other consumer. We find that people choose a larger portion following another consumer who first selects a large quantity but that this portion is significantly smaller if the other is obese than if she is thin. We also find that the adjustment is more pronounced for consumers who are low in appearance self-esteem and that it is attenuated under cognitive load.

Moral Identity and the Experience of Moral Elevation in Response to Acts of Uncommon Goodness

Four studies using survey and experimental designs examined whether people whose moral identity is highly self-defining are more susceptible to experiencing a state of moral elevation after being exposed to acts of uncommon moral goodness. Moral elevation consists of a suite of responses that motivate prosocial action tendencies. Study 1 showed that people higher (vs. lower) in moral identity centrality reported experiencing more intense elevating emotions, had more positive views of humanity, and were more desirous of becoming a better person after reading about an act of uncommon goodness than about a merely positive situation or an act of common benevolence. Study 2 showed that those high in moral identity centrality were more likely to recall acts of moral goodness and experience moral elevation in response to such events more strongly. These experiences were positively related to self-reported prosocial behavior. Study 3 showed a direct effect on behavior using manipulated, rather than measured, moral identity centrality. Study 4 replicated the effect of moral identity on the states of elevation as well as on self-reported physical sensations and showed that the elevation mediates the relationship between moral identity, witnessing uncommon goodness, and prosocial behavior.

Lay Theories of Obesity Predict Actual Body Mass

Obesity is a major public health problem, but despite much research into its causes, scientists have largely neglected to examine laypeople’s personal beliefs about it. Such naive beliefs are important because they guide actual goal-directed behaviors. In a series of studies across five countries on three continents, we found that people mainly believed either that obesity is caused by a lack of exercise or that it is caused by a poor diet. Moreover, laypeople who indicted a lack of exercise were more likely to actually be overweight than were those who implicated a poor diet. This effect held even after controlling for several known correlates of body mass index (BMI), thereby explaining previously unexplained variance. We also experimentally demonstrated the mechanism underlying this effect: People who implicated insufficient exercise tended to consume more food than did those who indicted a poor diet. These results suggest that obesity has an important, pervasive, and hitherto overlooked psychological antecedent.

The Entourage Effect

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 VIPs personal feelings of status. Specifically, the authors show that VIPs feel higher levels of status when they are able to experience preferential treatment with an entourage, even if this results in the rewards associated with the treatment becoming less scarce. We show that the effect is driven by an increase in feelings of connection with ones guests. Several alternative explanations for the entourage effect are ruled out, and implications for practice are discussed.

Rejecting Responsibility: Low Physical Involvement in Obtaining Food Promotes Unhealthy Eating

Five experiments show that less physical involvement in obtaining food leads to less healthy food choices. The authors find that when participants are given the choice of whether to consume snacks that they perceive as relatively unhealthy, they have a greater inclination to consume them when less (vs. more) physical involvement is required to help themselves to the food; this is not the case for snacks that they perceive as relatively healthy. Further, when participants are given the opportunity to choose their portion size, they select larger portions of unhealthy foods when less (vs. more) physical involvement is required to help themselves to the food; again, this is not the case for healthy foods. The authors suggest that this behavior occurs because being less physically involved in serving ones food allows participants to reject responsibility for unhealthy eating and thus to feel better about themselves after indulgent consumption. These findings add to the research on consumers’ self-serving attributions and to the growing literature on factors that nudge consumers toward healthier eating decisions.

The (Ironic) Dove Effect: Use of Acceptance Cues for Larger Body Types Increases Unhealthy Behaviors

The average weight of the population has risen rapidly in much of the world. Concurrently, in recent years, advertisers have begun using larger models in their campaigns, and many of these advertisements claim that their larger models (vs. the thin models commonly used) possess “realistic” body types. Many groups have lauded these moves as beneficial for promoting a healthy body image in society. However, in five studies, the authors find that cues suggesting the acceptance of larger body types result in greater intended or actual consumption of food and a reduced motivation to engage in a healthier lifestyle. The authors suggest that the reason being larger bodied appears to be contagious is that, because it is considered more socially permissible, people exhibit lower motivation to engage in healthy behaviors and consume greater portions of unhealthy food. The authors also contrast acceptance with communications stigmatizing various body types and identify limitations of both approaches. They conclude with implications for public policy.

She Said, She Said: Differential Interpersonal Similarities Predict Unique Linguistic Mimicry in Online Word of Mouth

This research examines the antecedents, causes, and consequences of linguistic mimicry, which assesses how closely individuals match others’ word use. We examine mimicry of linguistic style (how things are said) and content (what is said) in online word of mouth (WOM). To our knowledge, this research provides the first demonstration of unique linguistic mimicry, where consumers engaging in online WOM differentially mimic other posters’ word use. Two experiments and one study using field data show that when consumers are personally similar to an individual who has previously posted (e.g., same gender), they mimic this individual’s positive emotion and social word use. When consumers are similar in status to an individual who has previously posted (e.g., same forum ranking), they mimic this individual’s cognitive and descriptive word use. This differential mimicry is driven by affiliation versus achievement goals, respectively, and affects consumers’ engagement in online WOM in terms of posting incidence and volume.

The Obesity Crisis as Market Failure: An Analysis of Systemic Causes and Corrective Mechanisms

Obesity has high personal, social, and economic costs. Since medical research demonstrates that the primary cause of obesity is caloric intake, and food is bought and sold in the consumer marketplace, we begin with the argument that obesity represents a case of market failure. Integrating empirical research in consumer behavior with theories from public economics and business strategy, we examine the four possible corrective mechanisms to address market failures: government intervention, corporate social responsibility, industry self-regulation, and social activism. Taking the same lens, we examine how market-level conditions can be applied to correct market failures in the context of obesity, making a critical evaluation of various extant suggestions on how best to address the problem of obesity.

(I’m) Happy to Help (You): The Impact of Personal Pronoun Use in Customer–Firm Interactions

In responding to customer questions or complaints, should marketing agents linguistically “put the customer first” by using certain personal pronouns? Customer orientation theory, managerial literature, and surveys of managers, customer service representatives, and consumers suggest that firm agents should emphasize how “we” (the firm) serve “you” (the customer), while de-emphasizing “I” (the agent) in these customer–firm interactions. The authors find evidence of this language pattern in use at over 40 firms. However, they theorize and demonstrate that these personal pronoun emphases are often suboptimal. Five studies using lab experiments and field data reveal that firm agents who refer to themselves using “I” rather than “we” pronouns increase customers’ perceptions that the agent feels and acts on their behalf. In turn, these positive perceptions of empathy and agency lead to increased customer satisfaction, purchase intentions, and purchase behavior. Furthermore, the authors find that customer-referencing “you” pronouns have little impact on these outcomes and can sometimes have negative consequences. These findings enhance understanding of how, when, and why language use affects social perception and behavior and provide valuable insights for marketers.

Pride of Ownership: An Identity-Based Model

Pride of ownership is explored in a series of depth interviews utilizing a new “surfacing” methodology. Pride of ownership is linked to a brand’s or product’s ability to help consumers construct five major aspects of identity: cultivating personal taste, achieving nondependence and adulthood, achieving social status, building close relationships, and connecting to groups. These five implicit identity goals are ordered based on the extent to which each aspect of identity is part of the independent self (i.e., personal taste) or the interdependent self (i.e., social roles and connecting to groups). We introduce the terms independent pride and interdependent pride to refer to pride that helps construct the independent and interdependent aspects of the self, respectively. In addition, this research uncovers several ways that consumer’s pride of ownership changes over time. Conclusions are drawn for further theory-building and for managers.