Paying the Doughboy: The Effect of Time and Money Mind-sets on Preference for Anthropomorphized Products

Consumers’ motivations (e.g., the need to form social connections) can influence their desire for anthropomorphized products. However, consumers may not always be drawn to anthropomorphized products to fulfill a social need. I propose that the desirability of anthropomorphized products relies on the interaction of consumers' mind-sets and the purpose of consumption. People's sociality and functionality mind-sets can be triggered through reminders of two basic resources—namely, time and money, respectively. Across three studies I demonstrate that matching the purpose of the product (i.e., consumed for functional purposes vs. not) and the mind-set behind the interaction (i.e., functional vs. social) can influence the preference for anthropomorphized products. In particular, anthropomorphized products are more preferred by consumers with a money mind-set (compared with a time mind-set) when the functionality of the products is made salient; this effect is reversed in the absence of a functionality consumption goal.