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Stereotype Threat in the Marketplace: Consumer Anxiety and Purchase Intentions

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  • Kyoungmi Lee
  • Hakkyun Kim
  • Kathleen D. Vohs

Abstract

How do consumers react when they believe that a transaction partner will view them through the lens of a stereotype? We predicted and found that being aware of a negative stereotype about a group to which one belongs (e.g., gender) made consumers sensitive to whether service providers were in-group versus out-group members and lowered purchase intentions when the provider was an out-group member. We observed stereotype threat effects across diverse marketplace settings: financial services (experiment 1), automobile repairs (experiment 2), and automobile purchases (experiment 3). Furthermore, we found that reluctance to purchase from out-group (vs. in-group) members was caused by heightened anxiety. The presence of a soothing scent, as a situational factor to alleviate anxiety, mitigated stereotype threat effects on marketplace decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Kyoungmi Lee & Hakkyun Kim & Kathleen D. Vohs, 2011. "Stereotype Threat in the Marketplace: Consumer Anxiety and Purchase Intentions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 38(2), pages 343-357.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/659315
    DOI: 10.1086/659315
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    Cited by:

    1. Fennis, Bob M. & Wiebenga, Jacob H., 2017. "Me, myself, and Ikea: Qualifying generic self-referencing effects in brand judgment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 69-79.
    2. Arndt, Aaron D. & Evans, Kenneth R. & Zahedi, Ziniya & Khan, Emmyrose, 2019. "Competent or threatening? When looking like a “salesperson†is disadvantageous," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 166-176.
    3. Delis, Manthos & Galariotis, Emilios & Monne, Jerome, 2021. "Economic condition and financial cognition," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Remi Trudel & Jennifer J. Argo & Matthew D. Meng, 2016. "The Recycled Self: Consumers’ Disposal Decisions of Identity-Linked Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 43(2), pages 246-264.
    5. Gutiérrez, Angélica S. & Saint Clair, Julian K., 2018. "Do organizations' diversity signals threaten members of the majority group? The case of employee professional networks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 110-120.
    6. Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Waller, David & Thaichon, Park & Ting, Hiram & Lim, Xin-Jean, 2020. "Price image and the sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    7. Kelly Lau, 2018. "Uncovering Chinese Stereotypes and Their Influence on Adolescent Male Makeup Purchasing Behavior," Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, vol. 5(1), pages 248-262, January.
    8. Omar, Nor Asiah & Nazri, Muhamad Azrin & Ali, Mohd Helmi & Alam, Syed Shah, 2021. "The panic buying behavior of consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining the influences of uncertainty, perceptions of severity, perceptions of scarcity, and anxiety," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Zhang, Jianhong & Nijhof, André & Zaman, Syeda Sazia & Dutta, Mitul & Yesmin, Sakila, 2020. "What drives parents to consider center-based child care for their children? The case of Bangladesh," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    10. Uhrich, Sebastian & Tombs, Alastair, 2014. "Retail customers' self-awareness: The deindividuation effects of others," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1439-1446.
    11. Xiaozhi Huang & Xiaojie Zhang & Heng Zhang, 2022. "The Impact of Mixed Emotions on Consumer Improvisation Behavior in the Environment of COVID-19: The Moderating Effect of Tightness-Looseness Culture," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-21, December.
    12. Delis, Manthos & Galariotis, Emilios & Monne, Jerome, 2021. "Financial vulnerability and seeking expert advice: Evidence from a survey experiment," MPRA Paper 107095, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Fleischer, Hannes, 2020. "Stereotypes in Services - A Systematic Literature Review to Move from Scattered Insights to Generalizable Knowledge," SMR - Journal of Service Management Research, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 4(4), pages 216-236.
    14. Nora Moran, 2020. "Illusion of safety: How consumers underestimate manipulation and deception in online (vs. offline) shopping contexts," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 890-911, September.
    15. El-Bassiouny, Noha, 2014. "The one-billion-plus marginalization: Toward a scholarly understanding of Islamic consumers," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 42-49.
    16. Babin, Barry J. & Borges, Adilson & James, Kevin, 2016. "The role of retail price image in a multi-country context: France and the USA," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 1074-1081.
    17. Amin, Mohammad Sakif & Arndt, Aaron D. & Tanner, Emily C., 2023. "Impact of stereotype threat on sales anxiety," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

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