Chris T. Allen

How Is a Possession "Me" or "Not Me"? Characterizing Types and an Antecedent of Material Possession Attachment

Material possession attachment, a property of the relationship between a specific person and a specific object of possession, reflects the extent of “me-ness” associated with that possession. The two Q-methodological studies reported here investigated the nature of this me-ness (and “not me-ness”). Study 1 explores different types of attachment and how these types portray various facets of a persons life story (i.e., identity). It shows how strong versus weak attachment, affiliation and/or autonomy seeking, and past, present, or future temporal orientation combine to form qualitatively distinct types of psychological significance. Study 2 begins development of a nomological network encompassing attachment by showing how mode of gift receipt (self-gift vs. interpersonal gift), as an antecedent, influences attachment type. Study 2 also examines aspects of successful and unsuccessful gifts. Both studies demonstrate that unidimensional affect fails to adequately describe or explain attachment. Together, the two studies suggest a more parsimonious way to represent person-possession relationships than has been offered in previous studies. Moreover, the findings help delineate the boundaries of attachment (e.g., What does it mean to say a possession is “not me”?).

A Closer Look at Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning has become a focus of growing interest as a basic framework for interpreting advertising effects. This article argues that a more precisely specified, affective-conditioning hypothesis merits close attention from consumer researchers, in part because little unequivocal evidence is available to uphold its viability. A study that extends Gorns (1982) recent investigation of affective conditioning is reported. The new data furnish little support for the affective-conditioning hypothesis and implicate an alternative theoretical explanation.

Wife's Occupational Status as a Consumer Behavior Construct

As a summary construct, wifes occupational status is likely to capture the effects of a number of underlying forces that influence lifestyle and consumption patterns. Significant differences across wifes occupational-status groups were found for food, beverage and alcohol consumption, makeup usage, clothing purchases, shopping behavior and deal proneness, media usage, and major and minor appliance ownership.

A place for emotion in attitude models

Abstract Finding ways and means to incorporate emotional experience into consumer and market research has been an ongoing challenge. We frame this challenge in the context of the information that is and is not normally collected in multiattribute attitude models. Our data show that retrospective reports about emotional experiences can be useful predictors of attitude when compared to traditional measures of cognitive structure, and that prior experience with a behavior can play a major role in moderating these relationships. The appeal of multiattribute attitude models has always been their value for predicting and diagnosing motives and preferences. Integrating emotive information into these models appears to be a way to build on this appeal.

Self-Perception Based Strategies for Stimulating Energy Conservation

This study recommends self-perception based influence techniques for stimulating socially conscious consumption. One such technique - an attribution/labelling message - is tested for influencing consumers perceptions of effectiveness along with their propensities to consume in an energy-efficient fashion; messages were delivered through specially prepared television commercials. Results suggest that self-perception based strategies merit further examination as tools for stimulating conservation. 20 references, 1 figure, 2 tables.

The Impact of Negative Marketing Communications: The Consumers Union/Chrysler Controversy

Abstract Negative publicity about products and companies has become increasingly problematic for many firms. This study took the Chrysler/Consumers Union controversy concerning the alleged handling problems of the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni automobiles into the laboratory to examine its effects. Original videotapes of the negative news story, the companys reply, and product advertisements were obtained and edited to form experimental conditions reflecting the actual news story and potential company response strategies. Measurements obtained immediately and two weeks after exposure indicate that the detrimental effects of the news story suggested by depressed market shares can be replicated in the laboratory. The use of public relations replies and product advertising are assessed as possible response strategies.

A THEORY-BASED APPROACH FOR IMPROVING DEMAND ARTIFACT ASSESSMENT IN ADVERTISING EXPERIMENTS

Although demand artifacts are a widely acknowledged concern among experimental researchers, no substantive research directed expressly at this problem has evolved in the advertising literature. In the present study, Rosenthal and Rosnows theorizing about demand artifacts is used to identify two key mediators of demand bias in the laboratory setting: receptivity and motivation. A pilot study and two experiments are reported in operationalizing these mediators and in testing their utility in the detection of demand bias. The empirical findings support Rosenthal and Rosnows theorizing about the two mediators of demand bias, suggesting that both must be explicitly considered for controlling the problem. Implications for applying appropriate postexperimental inquiries in advertising research are discussed.

How Presidential Media Use Affects Individuals' Beliefs about Conservation.

b It is taken for granted today that when a President desires Congressional backing for his policies, he will attempt to shape public opinion through the mass media. President Carter, for example, utilized this approach to win support in diverse areas like ratification of the Panama Canal treaties, and establishment of a windfall profits tax.1 Indeed, it has been argued that the presidency was more honorific and ornamental than an active policy making office until presidents began to utilize mass media to their advantage,2 and that affecting opinion through skillful media use played a major role in the effectiveness of presidents like Woodrow Wilson3 and Franklin Roosevelt.4 Yet because of the complexities of some societal problems, active or passive presidential shaping of public sentiments may have multi-faceted repercussions. This is certainly a possibility with energy conservation. Enerev is an area where individu-