Study Guide with article summaries for Economic and Consumer Psychology at Leiden University

What is brand placement?

Brand placement can be defined as the paid inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers, through audio and/or visual means, within mass media programming. It is mostly used to familiarize people with brands and motivate them to buy the products. Brand placement is perceived as an effective mechanism for reaching audiences and can be seen in for example movies, primetime TV programs, video games, and novels. The role of brand placement has shifted from being a background prop to being an intrinsic part of the movie.

What are the advantages of brand placement?

• It overcomes the problem of zapping. People are unlikely to change the channel or leave the room when a brand appears in a movie, whereas in a commercial it is very likely that they do.
• It involves an implicit endorsement by the celebrity that is using the brand, which may have a slight influence on people´s attitude towards the brand.
• It has a longer life span than normal advertisements.
• Audiences like brand placements, because they improve the realism of the movies and TV series.
• It allows advertisers to target very specific audiences, as the characteristics of the public that views the movie are well understood.

What does research say about the effectiveness of brand placement?

Generally research has shown that memory is improved for a brand that is placed within a movie, compared with the same brand that is not placed within a movie. However, some of the results varied, and researchers also started looking at the factors that moderate the effect of brand placement on brand memory.

What is the difference between high plot placement and low plot placement?

High plot placement refers to the brand placement that plays a major role in the story line or contributes to a character. Low plot placement refers to background placement. The recognition rate for products with high plot visual placement is higher than recognition for products of low plot visual placement.

What is a situation model?

What viewers do cognitively with brand placement depends among other things on the implications of the information for comprehending the movie. Comprehension involves the construction of situation models. A situation model is a dynamic mental representation of a specific story or episode that has specific temporal and spatial constraints.

What is the landscape model?

The landscape model is a specific model of how situation models are constructed during comprehension. It focuses on how the audience processes the different levels of brand placement. Greater levels of semantic activation of a particular concept result in greater explicit memory for that concept. It assumes that not all the information that is activated in memory is activated at the same level. Because of limited attentional resources, information that is central to the scene is activated at the highest level. Concepts that are necessary for the scene to make sense (such as enablers) are at the next level of activation. Then follow other objects that are visually salient (such as objects used by the character, but not central to the story), and finally other information within the scene and background information. The greater the activation of the brand while viewing the movie, the greater the likelihood that it will be part of the situation model and will be remembered.

What is the importance of implicit memory?

Most previous research has used explicit measures of memory, such as recall or recognition. Explicit memory happens when people intentionally and consciously try to remember. Implicit memory effects occur without intentional conscious recollection. Brands are often part of the background in a scene and do not receive the same level of processing as brands in the foreground. Research has indicated that implicit memory seems to survive longer than explicit memory and may influence purchase decisions.

What does the current research conclude about the landscape model?

• Participants recognized the brand more when the brand was used by the main character or when the brand was integral to the story, more so than when the brand was featured in the background. There was however no difference in recognition memory between where the brand was used by the character and the condition in which it was related to the unfolding of the story.
• The mere presence of the brand in the movie improved participants´ implicit memory for the products. Implicit memory is not influenced by how the memory items are originally processed, unlike explicit memory that is driven by semantic processing. It shows that explicit and implicit measures of memory are sensitive to different influences of brand placements on memory.
• Participants who saw the target brand in the movie were more likely to choose that brand compared to the participants who did not see the brand in the movie. The levels of brand placements within the movie did not influence participants´ implicit choice behavior. Brand placement influenced the choice behavior also after controlling for participants´ brand evaluation.
• If the purpose of brand placement is to gain recognition of the brand, the best method is to have the brand be used by the main character or play a role in the unfolding story. Placing the brand in the movie is adequate for increasing viewers´ familiarity with the brand, regardless of the level of placement.

What is self-efficacy?

Self-efficacy is very similar to perceived consumer effectiveness. It comprises beliefs in one´s capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to produce given attainments. The focus is on the individual´s ability to perform a relevant task, rather than necessarily influencing the underlying outcome. The difference between self-efficacy and PCE is the feeling of empowerment associated with PCE and the stable beliefs about the effectiveness of consumer choices in general.

How do self-conscious emotions regulate sustainable consumption?

Self-conscious emotions are those affected by how we see ourselves and how we think others perceive us. Self-conscious emotions, like guilt and pride, play an important part in self-regulation. They impact individuals´ ability to control personal decisions in support of long-term goals. Pride is a positive emotion associated with a sense of self-worth and achievement. Authentic pride is associated with a sense of purpose and the attainment of cherished goals. It motivates people to behave responsibly by promoting charitable donations, volunteering, and cause-related marketing campaigns. Guilt also promotes ethical consumer behavior and pro-social action by leading consumers to make choices that avoid them feeling guilty, for example by regulating over-eating, effectively using anti-drinking campaigns, and supporting fairer negotiation strategies.

Why do guilt and pride increase consumers´ sense of agency?

Guilt and pride are associated with causal attributions that lead consumers to perceive themselves as the cause of the event appraised. They activate psychological processes that increase consumers’ sense of agency. There are three areas of research that support this statement:

• Guilt and pride are underpinned by specific cognitive appraisal processes. Guilt and pride are triggered by the evaluation of events or outcomes that are perceived as being caused by the self.
• Pride is a form of positive reinforcement that facilitates self-regulation. The motivational effects of pride are based upon a realization that the self can control and influence positive outcomes.
• Guilt is a negative feeling experiences by consumers when they reflect on previous behavior and realize that their behavior doesn´t match their personal goals, norms, or standards. It activates a desire to cope with this stress by repairing the wrongdoing and correcting previous behavior. This also implies a sense of effectiveness, where the consumer acknowledges that he has control over the outcome that has been caused.

How can consumers be convinced of the effectiveness of their behavior?

Research shows that information alone does not increase perceived consumer effectiveness. Ideally, after every instance of behavior, direct feedback is required. This is however not always possible, but indirect feedback through experience is possible. Consumers can learn from previous experiences of pride and guilt that follow their consumption choices. Relevant in this context are neutralization techniques. People who experience guilt or pride may be less likely to use neutralization techniques the next time they are confronted with a consumer choice.

What are neutralization techniques?

Neutralization techniques are used to deflect blame for deviant or undesirable behavior. It explains how consumers act in ways that contradict their pro-social beliefs while still preserving a positive self-image. People use five arguments to justify their bad behaviors, namely denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of the victim, condemnation of the condemners, and appeal to higher loyalties. This research shows however that people´s ability to use neutralization techniques can be counterbalanced by emotional reactions that enhance people´s sense of agency.

What regulatory process identifies the role of PCE as mediator of the impact of emotions on consumers’ choices?

After a single consumption episode people tend to feel either feelings of guilt or pride about their consumption. This consequential experience of emotion associated with the consumption, influences future consumer intentions to purchase sustainable products. Guilt and pride do not influence behavior directly, but provide feedback on past behavior that convinces consumers of their behavior effectiveness. Consumers´ sense of agency is reinforced and they then find it more difficult to neutralize their sense of personal responsibility. In this way these emotions activate a learning process that leads to an increase in PCE.

How can these findings promote sustainable consumption?

Providing factual information about consumers´ choices does not seem to have much effect. But by eliciting emotions of guilt or pride, consumers´ perception of effectiveness can be enhanced. It is recommended that marketers first try to promote responsible behavior by eliciting positive emotions (not guilt), as they are much less likely to generate unexpected negative consequences. It is more ethical to focus on eliciting feelings of pride after responsible consumer choices.

What is the endowment effect?

The endowment effect refers to the finding that people expect more compensation to give up a product or a service that they own, than they would be willing to pay to acquire the same product or service if they did not own it. Some factors can be identified that contribute to the endowment effect, namely high involvement goods, high quality good, and attractive goods. To visualize the endowment effect a distinction is made between the selling-price and the buying-price. The selling-price is the price that the person who owns the good would want to be willing to sell it. The buying-price is the price that the person who does not own the good is willing to pay in order to acquire it.

What problems does previous research have when investigating the endowment effect?

Previous studies have problems with the ecological validity. Some of the studies used goods that were not particularly meaningful to the participants. Other studies used within-participant designs, meaning that participants were both buyer and seller. These issues are addressed by using a between-participant design and by using a meaningful good (student housing). The current study looks at whether there is an endowment effect immediately after housing selection (comparing students who were given their first choice with students who were denied their first choice), and what the effect is of experience and knowledge on the endowment effect. 

What is the effect of ownership on the endowment effect?

Previous research indicates that experience enhances the endowment effect. The valuation of goods increased with the duration of the ownership. The endowment effect was mediated by participants´ feelings of ownership. The feelings of ownership were enhanced by physical possession of the good. With regards to the current experiment and student housing, the expectation is that experiencing the first choice for a while will increase the value that the sellers place on the good and that the price will rise compared to the price that they initially wanted. With regards to the buyers, it is expected that if they have a negative experience in their second-choice student housing, they will be willing to pay more for the first-choice housing, whereas if they have a positive experience in their second-choice housing, they will reduce the price they are willing to pay for the first-choice housing.

What are the main conclusions in the research of Nash and Rosenthal?

The results show a significant endowment effect at both times (right after the housing lottery, and again after two months of living in the assigned housing). The selling-price exceeded the buying-price at both times. Also, the selling-price increased over time, whereas the buying-price did not change. This can be explained by loss aversion and how it induces a reluctance to sell something (especially after having owned the good). The experience of owning the good and the familiarity it creates, impacts the aversion to loss. It creates a tendency to increase its value over the initial valuation. Contributing to the variability of possession attachment in individuals are individual attachment styles.

In what way does the type of good/service cause differences in the endowment effect?

Some goods, like the student housing, do not have a real market and a real value. When students are then asked to assign value with no limitation, they tend to overstate their selling-price and understate the buying-price, increasing the disparity. The endowment effect should thus be bigger for non-market goods. On the other hand, when the product being sold/bought has many affordable substitutes, the values of the selling-price and the buying-price are closer to each other. A final distinction can be made between hedonic goods and utilitarian goods. Hedonic goods are those whose consumption is focused on gratification. Utilitarian goods are those with a consumption focused on function. The endowment effect appears to be greater when it concerns hedonic goods.

What is nostalgia?

The word nostalgia is based on two Greek words, namely ‘nostos’ (“return to one´s native land”) and ´algos´ (“pain, suffering, grief”). Only during the twentieth century the term began to take on both its positive and negative associations. It is now defined as a preference towards objects that were more common when one was younger. In the current research nostalgia is limited to the preference for things, instead of people and places as well. The preferences are often shaped by objects that were popular in one´s youth and they persist throughout one´s life.

How does nostalgia relate to product production?

Many consumers are interested in products that generate favorable childhood memories. Early experiences help shape preferences and consumption decisions throughout an individual´s life. There has been a resurgence of toys and characters that used to be popular years ago. Marketers count on the strong pull of nostalgia from parents to sell their products.

How does the need to belong drive human behavior?

Human beings are very social and experience a social drive to feel socially connected. Forming and maintaining emotional bonds with others drive a variety of human behaviors. Individuals are constantly monitoring how others respond to their actions and make judgements about their rejection or exclusion. When they experience rejection or exclusion, they experience lower levels of belongingness and self-esteem. That often leads to behaviors that are aimed at restoring those feelings of belongingness.

What is the sociometer hypothesis?

The sociometer theory is a theory of self-esteem from an evolutionary psychological perspective which proposes that self-esteem is a sociometer (or gauge) of interpersonal relationships. Self-esteem is a measure of effectiveness in social relations and interactions that monitors acceptance and/or rejection from others. Alarming the sociometer causes behavior that restores the balance by restoring belongingness and an individual’s selfworth.

How can the goal to belong be activated?

The goal to belong can be activated in several threatening and nonthreatening ways. Research indicates that especially negative affect increases feelings of nostalgia (think of loneliness, threat of mortality, and ostracism). When people feel that they have been rejected, they experience a drop in feelings of belongingness, which results in a need to reconnect and restore adequate levels of belonging. The need to belong can also be activated in non-threatening manners, for example through the activation of the interdependent self.

Why does the independent self not activate the goal to belong?

The independent self refers to aspects of the self that make a person stand out from others. It is more concerned with individual self-efficacy and the need to feel connected is not a primary focus. When the independent self is active, we would not expect the social connection provided by nostalgic products to provide any additional value to consumers.

Why does the interdependent self activate the goal to belong?

The interdependent self refers to aspects of the self in connection with others (such as significant others and social groups). The interdependent self is more concerned with belonging and fitting in, and this is where the need to connect to others becomes most relevant. When the interdependent self is activated, consumers will feel a heightened need to belong, which will lead them to seek out means to enhance their sense of social belonging. Nostalgic products offer a means by which people can achieve this sense of belonging.

How is the need to belong related to nostalgia?

The need to belong is a basic driver of human behavior. It is possible that people can satisfy the need to belong through the consumption of nostalgic products. When the goal of belonging is activated, individuals consistently show an increased preference for nostalgic products. Nostalgic recollections often involve interactions with close others. Consuming formerly popular brands can help people feel reconnected with important people from their past with whom they consumed those brands.

How does the need to belong relate to product consumption?

People have a very strong drive to make and maintain lasting and positive interpersonal relationships. They may try to achieve these through nostalgic product consumption. Through consumption of music, movies, or other products, people may feel closer to their former friends, reconnect with their pasts and social communities. The nostalgic products help create a tangible link to the past by providing a point of focus for nostalgic thoughts.

What can be concluded of the results of the current research?

• Individuals who have an active goal to belong express a stronger preference for nostalgic products than individuals who do not have an active goal to belong.
• Individuals who have are socially excluded express a stronger preference for nostalgic products compared to individuals who are not socially excluded.
• The need to belong mediates the relationship between social exclusion and preference for nostalgic products.
• Individuals express a stronger preference for nostalgic products when the interdependent, as opposed to the independent, self is activated.
• The need to belong mediates the relationship between the activated self and preference for nostalgic products.
• The consumption of nostalgic products reduces or eliminates the need to belong for individuals for whom the need to belong has been activated. Only exposure to or selection of nostalgic products is not enough to bolster feelings of belongingness. Individuals must actually consume the nostalgic products in order to satisfy the belongingness goal.

What are gender stereotypes?

Stereotypes are beliefs about a social category. They can become problematic when they lead to expectations about one social category over another, or when they restrict opportunities for one social category over another. With regards to gender, women have generally been presented in more decorative and family oriented roles, and less in professional roles. Men were generally shown as more independent, authoritarian, and professional, with little regard to their age and physical appearance.

What social changes have caused changes in gender stereotypes in advertising?

Three societal changes have led to changes in the gender stereotypes that were being used in advertising. The first is the rise of feminism in the 1960s. It challenged equal opportunities for men and women and caused a gradual change in occupational opportunities and domestic structures. The second societal change is characterized by changes in the labor force, bringing about significant variation in both male and female roles. Finally, the changing role structure in the family has created significant variations in the female role. Because of these changes in society, women were less and less portrayed in an inferior manner relative to their potential and capabilities.

What is the mirror versus de mold debate?

The mirror versus the mold debate concerns the disagreement about the role and social nature of advertising when it comes to stereotypes within advertising. The ´mirror´ point of view states that advertising reflect values that exist and are dominant in society. Advertising functions as a magnified lens simply amplifying a social phenomenon. They consider the impact of advertising as insignificant. The ´mold´ point of view believes that peoples´ perception of social reality is shaped by the media. Advertising is viewed as having a large impact. People are believed to incorporate stereotypes that are presented by the media into their own system of values, ideas, and beliefs about life. More realistic is to view this argument as existing on a continuum. Advertising is a system of visual representation that both reflects and contributes to culture.

What does the research between 2010-2016 say about gender stereotypes in advertising?

Recent research shows that:

• Gender stereotyping in advertising still exists and is prevalent in many countries around the world, especially for woman. Occupational status still showed the highest degree of stereotyping, despite the education, occupation, and status changes earned by women in the last years.
• Stereotyping seems to differ for public versus private TV channels. On public channels, stereotyping was higher for variables like role and location and occupation status. On private channels, stereotyping relates more to role behavior and physical characteristics.
• While stereotyping exists in advertising, consumer´s perceptions about it may be less serious than expected due to the use of humor. Gender role portrayals are less serious if they are used as sources of humor. Male stereotypes are more prevalent in humorous ads, whereas female stereotypes are more prevalent in non-humorous ads.
• Chinese advertising depicts males in more occupational and recreational roles, whereas women were depicted in more decorative roles. Another research interviewing Chinese advertising professionals revealed that the professionals believe they are simply reflecting Chinese culture (the ´mirror´).
• Advertising professionals are more tolerant of the stereotypical depictions of men and women than are consumers.

How is the European Union trying to reduce gender stereotypes?

The EU received more and more complaints by consumers which caused them to review how marketing and advertising affects equality between men and women. They have updated their ethical guidelines on gender portrayals and approved anti-discrimination laws in several EU countries. They are also following recommendations from a scientific study that showed that less restrictive literacy programs and awards for positive advertising are more effective at reducing gender stereotyping, as opposed to increased legislation and regulation.

How has the portrayal of men in advertising changed?

Examining perceptions of how gender portrayal impacts men and women, it became clear than men are also affected by their stereotype and that they wished for more research on the negative impact of their gender stereotype. Research into the gender stereotype of men in advertising only shows minor changes in the last few years, with an increased portrayal or men as fathers, and some male characters used to portray society´s changing views of men and women´s roles. 

What should future scientific research be focused on?

A few areas can be identified that are in need of scientific research:

• Most of the current research has been done on advertising in printed media and television advertising. Future research should find a way to examine advertising in digital formats, native advertising, and social media platforms.
• Future research should examine the stereotypes of the LGBT consumers in advertising.
• Recent advertising has focused on empowered women, also called femvertising. The goal of these messages are to celebrate women rather than objectifying them. However, the fear is that some companies are using femvertising to increase sales and lack authenticity.