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The Influence of Product Anthropomorphism on Comparative Judgment
[Is That Car Smiling at Me? Schema Congruity as a Basis for Evaluating Anthropomorphized Products]

Author

Listed:
  • Feifei Huang
  • Vincent Chi Wong
  • Echo Wen Wan
  • Pankaj Aggarwal
  • Vicki G Morwitz
  • Margaret C Campbell

Abstract

The present research proposes a new perspective to investigate the effect of product anthropomorphism on consumers’ comparative judgment strategy in comparing two anthropomorphized (vs. two nonanthropomorphized) product options in a consideration set. Six experiments show that anthropomorphism increases consumers’ use of an absolute judgment strategy (vs. a dimension-by-dimension strategy) in comparative judgment, leading to increased preference for the option with a more favorable overall evaluation over the option with a greater number of superior dimensions. The effect is mediated by consumers’ perception of each anthropomorphized product alternative as an integrated entity rather than a bundle of separate attributes. The authors find the effect to be robust by directly tracing the process of participants’ information processing using MouseLab software and eye-tracking techniques, and by self-reported preferences and real consumption choices. Moreover, the effect is moderated by the motivation to seek maximized accuracy or ease. These studies have important implications for theories about anthropomorphism and comparative judgment as well as marketing practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Feifei Huang & Vincent Chi Wong & Echo Wen Wan & Pankaj Aggarwal & Vicki G Morwitz & Margaret C Campbell, 2020. "The Influence of Product Anthropomorphism on Comparative Judgment [Is That Car Smiling at Me? Schema Congruity as a Basis for Evaluating Anthropomorphized Products]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(5), pages 936-955.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:46:y:2020:i:5:p:936-955.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jcr/ucz028
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Velasco, Franklin & Yang, Zhiyong & Janakiraman, Narayanan, 2021. "A meta-analytic investigation of consumer response to anthropomorphic appeals: The roles of product type and uncertainty avoidance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 735-746.
    2. Han, Jie & Wang, Desheng & Yang, Zhihao, 2023. "Acting like an interpersonal relationship: Cobrand anthropomorphism increases product evaluation and purchase intention," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    3. Huang, Jingya & Wang, Liangyan & Chan, Eugene, 2024. "When does anthropomorphism hurt? How tool anthropomorphism negatively affects consumers' rewards for tool users," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    4. Yang, Yikai & Zheng, Jiehui & Yu, Yining & Qiu, Yiling & Wang, Lei, 2024. "The role of recommendation sources and attribute framing in online product recommendations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    5. Hu, Peng & Gong, Yeming & Lu, Yaobin & Ding, Amy Wenxuan, 2023. "Speaking vs. listening? Balance conversation attributes of voice assistants for better voice marketing," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 109-127.
    6. Zhang, Junhui & Balaji, M.S. & Luo, Jun & Jha, Subhash, 2022. "Effectiveness of product recommendation framing on online retail platforms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 185-197.

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