Durairaj Maheswaran

The influence of message framing and issue involvement.

Studies examining message framing effects on persuasion have produced mixed results. Some studies show positively framed messages, which specify attributes or benefits gained by using a product, to...

Country of Origin as a Stereotype: Effects of Consumer Expertise and Attribute Strength on Product Evaluations

This research identifies consumer expertise and the type of attribute information as moderating the effects of country of origin on product evaluations. When attribute information was unambiguous, experts based their evaluations on attribute strength, whereas novices relied on country of origin. When attribute information was ambiguous, both experts and novices used country of origin in evaluations. Also, experts and novices used county of origin differently in evaluations. Experts used country of origin to selectively process and recall attribute information, whereas novices used it to differentially interpret subsequent attribute information. The findings are discussed within the framework of stereotyping. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.

Promoting systematic processing in low-motivation settings: effect of incongruent information on processing and judgment.

Ss received consensus information that was either congruent or incongruent with the valence of persuasive message content. In Experiment 1 Ss believed that their processing task was either important or unimportant whereas in Experiment 2 all Ss believed that their task was unimportant. In accord with the heuristic-systematic models sufficiency principle, high-task-importance Ss exhibited a great deal of systematic processing regardless of congruency, whereas low-importance Ss processed systematically only when they received incongruent messages; in the congruent conditions heuristic processing dominated. Attitude data generally reflected these processing differences and confirmed the additivity and attenuation assumptions of the model. The utility of the sufficiency principle for understanding motivation for elaborative processing and the relevance of the findings to understanding the processing and judgmental effects of expectancy disconfirmation are discussed.

Cultural Variations in Country of Origin Effects

The authors examine the extent to which cultural orientation influences country of origin effects on product evaluations in two countries (Japan and the United States). Subjects were given attribute information about a mountain bike made in either Japan or the United States. The target product was described as either superior or inferior to competition. Respondents in Japan evaluated the product that originated in the home country (versus foreign country) more favorably regardless of product superiority. In contrast, respondents in the United States evaluated the product that originated in the home country more favorably only when the product was superior to competition. The authors explain these findings on the basis of the cultural psychological principles of individualism and collectivism. Specifically, the authors show that the vertical dimension of individualism and collectivism explains country of origin effects. The authors also discuss implications for global marketing strategies featuring country of origin.

Determinants of Country-of-Origin Evaluations

Two experiments examined the factors that influence and the psychological processes that underlie country-of-origin evaluations. Subjects received attribute information that was either condensed in a single product or dispersed across several products manufactured in a country with relatively unfavorable associations. When consumers use country of origin as a basis for judgment under low motivation, or when the processing goal is to evaluate the country of origin, they focus on the country-of-origin information. Under such conditions, relevant evidence about the country of origin provided by dispersed information is likely to affect country-of-origin evaluations. In contrast, if consumers do not focus on the country of origin, such as under high motivation, or if their processing goal directs their attention away from country-of-origin information, any evidence about the country of origin is less likely to be utilized in their judgments. Findings from two experiments are consistent with this theorizing and highlight the central role of motivational intensity and direction in moderating the effect of information type on country-of-origin evaluations. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.

Issues and New Directions in Global Consumer Psychology

Although there is growing interest in cultural differences in consumer behavior, focused and systematic consumer research on the topic is still in its infancy. The conceptual and methodological issues that are central to conducting cross-cultural research, including selecting or blending emic and etic research approaches, achieving measurement equivalence, expanding the cultural constructs and geographical regions under investigation, and understanding mediating processes, are addressed. In the process, the progress that has been made in addressing these issues in consumer psychology is reviewed and a number of priorities for future research in this important domain are suggested.

Motivated Reasoning: A Depth-of-Processing Perspective

We show how motivation affects reasoning through reliance on a biased set of cognitive processes. We manipulate the level of brand preference experimentally and expose subjects to a message that is either consistent or inconsistent with their manipulated preference. Further, the message contains either strong or weak arguments. In two experiments, we find that preference-inconsistent information is processed more systematically and is counter argued more than preference-consistent information. In addition, experiment 2 shows that strong arguments are more persuasive than weak arguments in the preference-inconsistent condition. We employ the heuristic-systematic model of persuasion and its sufficiency principle as a framework to understand the psychological mechanism that underlies the biased processing of preference-inconsistent information. Copyright 2000 by the University of Chicago.

MAPping the Frontiers: Theoretical Advances in Consumer Research on Memory, Affect, and Persuasion

Information processing research published in the Journal of Consumer Research has produced theoretical advances in our understanding of consumer behavior. This article highlights two themes that have emerged in consumer research over the past 15 years. These are the interplay between motivation and cognition and the impact of implicit processes on consumer behavior. We examine these themes in three core areas of information processing research-memory, affect, and persuasion. We also discuss methodological innovations that have enabled theory building and conclude with suggestions for future theoretical work in consumer research. (c) 2006 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

When Timing Matters: The Influence of Temporal Distance on Consumers' Affective and Persuasive Responses

Existing theorizing suggests that consumers should experience more intense affective reactions when a positive outcome is missed (short temporal distance) than when its occurrence is relatively remote (long temporal distance). Two studies are reported that explore why and when these effects occur and whether they also occur for persuasion responses. The findings indicate that this effect is likely to occur and influence persuasion only when peoples involvement with the message issue is low rather than high. This observation together with findings obtained on a thought-listing task provide evidence that variations in temporal distance seem to operate by altering peoples motivation to scrutinize a situation and evoke thoughts about alternative outcomes that might have been. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.

Motivated reasoning in outcome-bias effects

In this research, we examine the conditions under which outcomes bias judgments, and we provide insights on the processes underlying such bias effects. A series of three studies identified motivated reasoning as a major determinant of when outcomes would bias judgments. The processes underlying outcome bias effects also varied depending on the motivational goal. Accuracy goals minimized outcome bias based on objective elaboration. Defense goals enhanced outcome bias by promoting selective processing of the outcome when it was preference consistent. Finally, impression goals increased the perceived diagnosticity of outcomes and biased the subsequent systematic processing resulting in outcome-biased judgments.