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The Influence of Disease Cues on Preference for Typical versus Atypical Products

Author

Listed:
  • Yunhui Huang
  • Jaideep Sengupta
  • Fischer Eileen
  • Leonard Lee

Abstract

This article examines how exposure to disease-related cues influences consumers’ preference for typical (vs. atypical) product options. Merging insights from evolutionary psychology with research on preference for typicality in consumer products, we predict that disease salience decreases relative preference for typical versus atypical options, because typical products are implicitly associated with many people, misaligning them with the people-avoidance motive triggered by disease cues. We further build on this conceptualization to identify situations in which this preference shift might be eliminated. Specifically, we argue that the focal effect will not manifest when the disease in question is explicitly described to be noncontagious, or when an anti-infection intervention is introduced, or when the decision context involves minimum infection. Results from six studies provide support for our predictions, advancing basic knowledge on the evolutionary strategies guiding disease avoidance, while also documenting how such strategies can affect consumer preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunhui Huang & Jaideep Sengupta & Fischer Eileen & Leonard Lee, 2020. "The Influence of Disease Cues on Preference for Typical versus Atypical Products," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 47(3), pages 393-411.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:47:y:2020:i:3:p:393-411.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jcr/ucaa029
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yuanhao Huang & Xiaoke Yang & Qian Chen, 2022. "The Negative Effects of Long Time Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent Labeling on Purchase Intention for Unhealthy Food," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Li, Yaoqi & Liu, Biqiang & Xie, Lishan, 2022. "Celebrity endorsement in international destination marketing: Evidence from eye-tracking techniques and laboratory experiments," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 553-566.
    4. Ying Ding & Sunxu Xu, 2023. "Detrimental impact of contagious disease cues on consumer preference for anthropomorphic products," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 139-153, March.
    5. Zhang, Jing & Chen, Mingliang & Xie, Zhaohan & Zhuang, Jingyi, 2022. "Don't fall into exquisite poverty: The impact of mismatch between consumers and luxury brands on happiness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 298-309.
    6. Qian, Lixian & Yin, Juelin & Huang, Youlin & Liang, Ya, 2023. "The role of values and ethics in influencing consumers’ intention to use autonomous vehicle hailing services," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    7. Kim, Jungkeun, 2020. "Impact of the perceived threat of COVID-19 on variety-seeking," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 108-116.
    8. Liying Jiao & Wen Jiang & Zhen Guo & Yue Xiao & Mengke Yu & Yan Xu, 2023. "Good Personality and Subjective Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Three-Wave Longitudinal Study in Chinese Contexts," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 589-606, February.
    9. Braut, Beatrice & Migheli, Matteo & Truant, Elisa, 2022. "Food consumption changes during 2020 lockdown in Italy," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 107-119.
    10. Hiroyuki Okamuro & Yasushi Hara & Yunosuke Iwaki, 2022. "Impact of Consumer Awareness and Behavior on Business Exits in the Hospitality, Tourism, Entertainment, and Culture Industries under the COVID-19 Pandemic," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, November.
    11. repec:oup:jconrs:v:49:y:2023:i:5:p:926-939. is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Bohan Zhang & Li Ying & Muhammad Asghar Khan & Madad Ali & Sergey Barykin & Agha Jahanzeb, 2023. "Sustainable Digital Marketing: Factors of Adoption of M-Technologies by Older Adults in the Chinese Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    13. Xiaoke Yang & Meiling Hong & Dejin Shi & Qian Chen, 2022. "The Negative Effects of Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent Labels on Consumers’ Food Brand Evaluation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, October.
    14. Xiaoke Yang & Yuanhao Huang & Xiaoying Cai & Yijing Song & Hui Jiang & Qian Chen & Qiuhua Chen, 2021. "Using Imagination to Overcome Fear: How Mental Simulation Nudges Consumers’ Purchase Intentions for Upcycled Food," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-21, January.
    15. Yujie Zhao & Xinyue Zhou, 2022. "Income and geographically constrained generosity," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 766-787, June.
    16. 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.
    17. Whelan, Jodie & Hingston, Sean T., 2022. "Pathogens, privilege, and purity: How pathogen threat and childhood socioeconomic status influence consumers’ condemnation of purity violations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 636-647.
    18. Shen, Famei & Li, Jie & Chen, Jianghang & Wang, Wangshuai, 2023. "Exploring young consumers’ intention to pay for shared express packaging: A multi-study analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    19. Chen, Liuyan & Wu, Pengkun & Dou, Yudan & Wu, Yuanyuan, 2023. "Investigating senders’ switching intention to smart lockers: An extension of push-pull-mooring model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    20. Jianan Li & Xiaotong Jin & Taiyang Zhao & Tiannv Ma, 2021. "Conformity Consumer Behavior and External Threats: An Empirical Analysis in China During the COVID-19 Pandemic," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, July.
    21. Lidia Alexa & Andreea Apetrei & Juan Sapena, 2021. "The COVID-19 Lockdown Effect on the Intention to Purchase Sustainable Brands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    22. Liu, Stephanie Q. & Wu, Laurie Luorong & Yu, Xi & Huang, Huiling, 2022. "Marketing online food images via color saturation: A sensory imagery perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 366-378.
    23. Ying, Shiyi & Huang, Youlin & Qian, Lixian & Song, Jinzhu, 2023. "Privacy paradox for location tracking in mobile social networking apps: The perspectives of behavioral reasoning and regulatory focus," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    24. Yuanyuan Zhou & Qian Li & Shiyang Gong & Daniel P. Hampson & Zhicen Liu, 2023. "Looking back is better than looking forward: visualization, temporal frames, and new product evaluation in China," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(3), pages 829-856, July.

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