Eric R. Spangenberg

Measuring the Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Consumer Attitude

This article reports the development and validation of a parsimonious, generalizable scale that measures the hedonic and utilitarian dimensions of consumer attitudes toward product categories and different brands within categories. The hedonic/utilitarian (HED/UT) scale includes ten semantic differential response items, five of which refer to the hedonic dimension and five of which refer to the utilitarian dimension of consumer attitudes. The authors conducted six studies to establish the unidimensionality, reliability, and validity of the two HED/UT subscales. In reaching the final scale, the authors also develop and implement a unique process of paring down a psychometrically sound but otherwise too large set of items. Nomological validity is established by replacing a typical, one-dimensional attitude toward the brand measure with the hedonic and utilitarian dimensions in a central route processing model. Results suggest that the hedonic and utilitarian constructs are two distinct dimensions of brand attitude and are reliably and validly measured by the HED/UT scale.

The Effects of Music in a Retail Setting on Real and Perceived Shopping Times

Abstract This article extends research linking shopping behavior to environmental factors through changes in emotional states. With time fixed or variable during a simulated shopping experiment, shoppers were exposed to music varying by degree of familiarity. Afterward, subjects reported their perceptions of shopping duration, their emotional states, and their merchandise evaluations. Analyses revealed that individuals reported themselves as shopping longer when exposed to familiar music but actually shopped longer when exposed to unfamiliar music. Shorter actual shopping times in the familiar music condition were related to increased arousal. Longer perceived shopping times in the familiar music condition appear related to unmeasured cognitive factors. Although emotional states affected product evaluations, these effects were not directly related to the music manipulations.

Effects of Store Music on Shopping Behavior

Describes an experiment conducted comparing the effects of background and foreground music on clothing store shoppers. Concludes that choosing to play store music solely to satisfy customers′ preferences may not be the optimal approach; instead music should be varied across areas of a store that appeal to different‐aged customers.

AD SKEPTICISM: The Consequences of Disbelief

Three studies investigated the effects of consumer skepticism toward advertising on responses to ads. Consumer skepticism, defined as the tendency toward disbelief of advertising claims (Obermiller and Spangenberg 1998), is measured in each study and then related to various measures of advertising response, including brand beliefs, ad attitudes, responses to informational and emotional appeals, efforts to avoid advertising, attention to ads, and reliance on ads versus other information sources. The results generally support the hypotheses that more skeptical consumers like advertising less, rely on it less, attend to it less, and respond more positively to emotional appeals than to informational appeals.

Measuring the Hedonic and Utilitarian Dimensions of Attitudes Toward Product Categories

A bidimensional (hedonic/utilitarian) approach to understanding consumer attitudes was recently introduced by Batra and Ahtola (1991); they reported three construct validation studies and proposed a set of items to measure the construct(s). In the present paper, the Batra and Ahtola (1991) scales are applied to a wide variety of product categories. Results of the present series of measure validation studies suggest that there are hedonic and utilitarian elements comprising attitudes toward product categories and that, although problematic, the Batra and Ahtola (1991) scale items are a useful first step in measuring these components.

On the Origin and Distinctness of Skepticism toward Advertising

Two studies were conducted to investigate the origin and distinctness of consumer skepticism toward advertising, defined as a tendency to disbelieve advertising claims by Obermiller and Spangenberg (1998). The first study examined the role of socialization in the family by comparing levels of ad skepticism across generations. Significant associations were strongest for female children with their fathers; less strong but apparent for male children with their mothers. Further, the associations diminished with age, which was considered a surrogate for time away from home. The second study explored the relationship between skepticism toward advertising and skepticism toward other sources of product information. The results indicated some overlap between skeptical beliefs about advertising and salespeople, but, otherwise, ad skepticism appeared to be a separate construct from skepticism toward other sources of product information. Moreover, advertising was viewed as the least believable of the five sources of product information that were considered.

The question–behavior effect: What we know and where we go from here.

Researchers have consistently shown that questioning people about a future behavior influences the subsequent performance of that behavior. Since its first demonstration by Sherman (1980), two groups of researchers have built parallel streams of research investigating the self‐prophecy and mere‐measurement phenomenon. Both sets of scholars have clearly demonstrated the importance of questioning as a social influence technique and have shed light on at least two of the theoretical processes underlying observed effects. In the current paper, these researchers formally adopt a common label—the question–behavior effect—for these and similar effects. After providing a review of prior work in the area, the authors detail directions for future researchers interested in joining the investigation of this unique and persuasive form of social influence.

Mass-Communicated Prediction Requests: Practical Application and a Cognitive Dissonance Explanation for Self-Prophecy

Marketers often promote socially beneficial actions or discourage antisocial behaviors to the benefit of their firms, target markets, and society as a whole. One means by which marketers accomplish such influence is a technique referred to as the “self-prophecy effect,” or the behavioral influence of a person making a self-prediction. Researchers have yet to establish the efficacy of self-prophecy in influencing large target markets. In addition, the theoretical mechanism underlying the effect remains in question. The authors report two field studies that demonstrate successful application of self-prophecy through mass-communicated prediction requests. Furthermore, in three laboratory experiments, the authors provide theoretical support for a dissonance-based explanation for self-prophecy, and they discuss practical implications for marketers interested in influencing socially normative behavior.

The Importance of Normative Beliefs to the Self-Prophecy Effect

Asking people to predict whether they will undertake a target behavior increases their probability of performing that behavior. Now referred to as the self-prophecy effect, this phenomenon has been demonstrated across several contexts. Although theoretical explanations for the effect have been offered, empirical evidence for proposed accounts is sparse. The current research tests the theoretically relevant precondition for the effect that normative beliefs--evaluations of what is socially desirable or appropriate--underlie manifestation of the self-prophecy effect. Results of 2 experiments for different behaviors indicate that the act of making a prediction is most effective when normative beliefs are strong. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theoretical explanations for the effect and successful use of self-prophecy to promote socially desirable behaviors.

Increasing Health Club Attendance Through Self-Prophecy

Prior research has shown that asking people to anonymously predict whether they will perform a socially desirable behavior increases their probability of performing the action (Sherman, 1980). This article extends the empirical base of the phenomenon in a consumer service context demonstrating that an anonymous prediction request can increase likelihood of performing a socially desirable real-world behavior (working out at a health club). The effect was also observed for the first time over an extended time period (six months). The article concludes with tentative theory-relevant generalizations regarding the phenomenon and directions for further research.