| Much research has established that an individual's preferences are contingent on elements of the decision environment, such as the response mode or framing of choices (Payne, Bettman & Johnson, 1992). In addition, it is well established that activating a product category (Herr, 1989) or product feature (Yi, 1990) in a consumer's memory can influence subsequent judgments. However, this dissertation takes a subtler route, by priming higher level concepts that are seemingly unrelated to consumption preferences. Three separate essays establish that the activation of these subtler concepts, such as an individual's self-conception or feelings about mortality, can also influence purchase decisions.; The first essay, entitled, “Constructing Preferences Online,” shows that a variable as subtle as the background design of a web page can also change preferences. An individual examining a web page can be primed by the background pictures or colors, which then affect attribute weights and ultimately product choice. A series of experiments found that these background stimuli influenced both the order of external information search and the participants' choice of products.; The second essay, entitled, “Terror Management and Marketing,” demonstrates that exposure to death-related material activates one's desire to be an exemplary member of society, thereby increasing interest in high-status products. Individuals who were subtly reminded of their own impending mortality evaluated high-status items more favorably than did control subjects. In contrast, mortality salient subjects rated low-status and non-status products slightly less favorably than did their control counterparts.; The third essay, entitled, “Shifting Selves and Decision Making,” illustrates how priming different self-construals can impact consumers' decision making. Experiment I showed that individuals whose interdependent selves were activated were more risk-seeking in their choices of gambles, and more likely to choose products that conformed to social norms, than were those whose independent selves were activated. Follow-up experiments further examined the conditions under which self-construal priming can influence choice, and used implicit memory measures to explain the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon. |
