Priming thoughts about extravagance: implications for consumer decisions about luxury products
Jongwon Park1, Kyeongheui Kim2, Junsik Kwak3
1Department of Business Administration, Korea University.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Applied
|October 9, 2013
Summary
Priming extravagance influences luxury product choice by affecting cognitive processing. When people can deeply evaluate, they avoid luxury; when distracted or recommending, they favor it based on feelings.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Consumer Behavior
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Semantic concepts in memory guide attention to exemplifying attributes.
- Cognitive effort influences how individuals weigh affective vs. utilitarian implications of product features.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how priming the concept of extravagance affects attention to luxury product features and subsequent consumer choices.
- To examine the role of cognitive ability and motivation in moderating these effects.
Main Methods:
- Six experiments were conducted.
- Participants were primed with the concept of extravagance.
- Attention to luxury product features and product choice were measured under varying cognitive load and recommendation tasks.
Main Results:
- Priming extravagance decreased luxury product choice when participants were motivated and able to process utilitarian implications.
- When distracted or recommending products, participants relied on affective responses, increasing luxury product choice.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive capacity and motivation determine whether affective or utilitarian evaluations dominate when considering luxury products.
- The concept of extravagance can shift consumer decision-making based on the depth of cognitive processing available.
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