Sharron J. Lennon

Television Shopping for Apparel in the United States: Effects of Perceived Amount of Information on Perceived Risks and Purchase Intentions

In a two-part study, the amount and types of information available in television-shopping segments selling apparel were examined. In Phase 1, a content analysis of 60 segments selling apparel was conducted. In Phase 2, using an experimental format, a convenience sample of 128 middle-aged women (M = 46 years) viewed a 6-minute television-shopping segment selling apparel and assessed perceived risk, perceived amount of information available in the segment, and purchase intentions, and they answered some open-ended questions about their information-searching activities. Taken together, results of Phases 1 and 2 revealed that when making apparel purchases, participants needed product and customer service information; however, in some segments, that information was never available or was available in less than half the segments coded. Results also revealed that the amount of information perceived from a television-shopping segment selling apparel was negatively related to perceived risk and positively related to purchase intent.

Psychological and environmental antecedents of impulse buying tendency in the multichannel shopping context

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of psychological traits and shopping environmental factors on impulse buying tendency via television shopping programs and to reflect the inherent nature of the impulsive television shopping environment in the USA as well as the traditional retail channel.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 154 questionnaires were returned from multichannel customers who purchased apparel from television shopping programs and traditional retail stores.Findings – Five causal relationships among impulse buying and interaction tendencies in both television and retail settings and TV shopping program browsing duration proposed in this study were confirmed through structural equation modeling.Research limitations/implications – This study adds valuable empirical findings to the literature on the distribution channel relationship by examining buying behavior of multichannel customers as well as some theoretical implications for impulse buying‐related theories.Ori...

Mass Media and Self-Esteem, Body Image, and Eating Disorder Tendencies

This study examines whether the level of exposure to mass media is related to self-esteem, body image, and eating disorder tendencies in a nonexperimental setting based on Festingers social comparison theory. A convenience sample of 114 female college students participated in this study. Significant positive relationships between exposure to fashion or beauty magazines and (a) overall appearance dissatisfaction and (b) eating disorder tendencies were found. No relationship resulted from television exposure. In addition, risk of eating disorder tendencies was associated with (a) low self-esteem, (b) body dissatisfaction, and (c) overall appearance dissatisfaction.

Body Image: Linking Aesthetics and Social Psychology of Appearance

Body image is the mental picture we have of our bodies, has both perceptual and affective components, affects how we interact with clothes, and affects how that clothed appearance is presented publicly. The purpose of this article is to theoretically justify the inclusion of body image in textiles and clothing subject matter in institutions of higher education. Although pioneering efforts have addressed the body from aesthetic and social psychological standpoints, no theoretical justification integrates both aesthetic theory and social psychological concepts as applied to body image. We present discussions of both aesthetic and social psychological theories and concepts related to body image, make suggestions for curricular strategies at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and provide links to various stakeholders. We argue that textiles and clothing educators have a significant role to play in research, education, and outreach efforts related to body image and appearance-related behaviors and can address important quality of life issues.

Compulsive Consumption Tendencies Among Television Shoppers

Compulsive buying and binge eating are consumption behaviors that are similarly related to low self-esteem and poor impulse control, occurring more frequently in women. Using a national random sample, the authors examined the extent to which compulsive buying and binge eating were related in a nonclinical population of known television shoppers. Mailed questionnaires were completed by 334 women. Multiple regression analyses revealed that (a) binge-eating and compulsive-buying scores were positively related, and (b) both compulsive-buying and bingeeating scores were positively related to television shopping channel exposure. About 10% of the television shoppers in this study were found to have compulsive-buying tendencies. Strategies for coping with unwise compulsive consumption are offered.

Linkages between Attitudes toward Gender Roles, Body Satisfaction, Self‐Esteem, and Appearance Management Behaviors in Women

The purpose of this research was to examine possible linkages between attitudes toward gender roles, body satisfaction, self-esteem, and appearance management behaviors. Results of a survey of 194 undergraduate women indicated that women holding nontraditional attitudes toward gender roles had higher self-esteem (p < .01), but not body satisfaction, than women holding traditional attitudes toward gender roles. A post hoc analysis indicated that body satisfaction and a nontraditional attitude toward gender roles predicted high levels of self-esteem (p < .0001 and p < .01, respectively), whereas the likelihood of using painful appearance management procedures predicted low levels of self-esteem (p < .05). Suggestions are offered for adult education andfor socially responsible marketing practices for appearance-related products.

Attitudes Toward Gender Roles, Self-esteem, and Body Image: Application of a Model:

The Rudd and Lennon (1994) model of body aesthetics is used in this research to guide research investigating relationships among body image, attitudes toward gender roles, and self-esteem. Questionnaires were completed by 202 Korean college women, 52 Singaporean college women, 171 African-American college women, and 109 Caucasian-American college women. Significant differences were found among the groups on gender ideology, self-esteem, and the body image variables. African-American college women had the highest self-esteem and appearance evaluation scores. More importantly, however, across all groups high self-esteem was associated with positive body images and non-traditional attitudes toward gender roles. Additionally, social group membership and individualism were related to body image. Results are explained within the context of the Rudd and Lennon (1994) model of body aesthetics and suggestions are offered for future research within that context.

Self-Schema or Self-Discrepancy? Which Best Explains Body Image?

We investigated the discrepancy between womens actual and ideal appearance and its relationship to body image, mood, and self-esteem. In a two-part experimental design, 88 college women completed measures of appearance self-discrepancy and appearance self-schema. Two weeks later they were exposed to 16 photos of attractive media images and subsequently completed measures of mood, body image, and self esteem. One-way between subjects multivariate and univariate analyses of variance revealed that appearance self-discrepancy was related to all the body image variables and self-esteem, but not to the mood variables. Appearance self-schema may better explain body image than appearance self-discrepancy. Results are discussed in light of self-discrepancy theory, schema theory, and the Rudd and Lennon (1994) model of body aesthetics.

Online visual merchandising (VMD) of apparel web sites

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to examine visual merchandising (VMD) elements of apparel retail web sites, to describe the state of apparel online VMD and to develop a taxonomy of online VMD cues whose effects can be studied empirically.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 50 US and 50 Korean web sites were content analyzed in terms of environment, manner of presentation, and path finding.Findings – Results of the study revealed that many VMD features of offline stores have been implemented online. In addition, some VMD features of online apparel stores do not have a direct offline parallel. The taxonomy of VMD cues can be used by researchers to systematically study the effects of the cues following the SOR Model.Research limitations/implications – Because of the descriptive nature of the study important discussions about possible effects of various VMD elements on consumer behaviors cannot be addressed. Future research needs to investigate the effects of different VMD features introduced in ...

E‐atmosphere, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses

Purpose – This research is designed to investigate the effects of the apparel online shopping environment on emotions and cognitive and behavioral responses based on Mehrabian and Russells model, which utilizes the stimulus‐organism‐response (S‐O‐R) paradigm.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 230 female undergraduate students participated in an experiment after browsing a stimulus website. The effects of the use of a model, color swapping on clothing, and enlargement (2 × 2 × 2 between‐subjects factorial design) on emotions and the relationships among pleasure, arousal, perceived amount of information, perceived risk, and purchase intention were tested using SEM.Findings – The results showed an effect of enlargement on pleasure (H1c), a positive relationship between pleasure and perceived amount of information (H2a), and negative relationships between perceived amount of information and product quality and online transaction risk (H3a) and consequential risk (H3b), and between product quality and o...