Oral kinematics: examining the role of edibility and valence in the in-out effect

Abstract

Previous research has revealed a stable preference for words with inward consonantalarticulation patterns (from the front to the back of the mouth; e.g., BENOKA), over outwardwords (from the back to the front; e.g., KENOBA). Following the oral approach-avoidance account suggesting that the in-out effect is due to the resemblance between consonantalarticulations patterns and ingestion/expectoration, recent findings have shown that when judging inward-outward names for objects with particular oral functions, valence did not modulate the effect while the oral function did. To replicate and examine further the role of edibility and valence in shaping the in-out effect, we asked participants (N = 545) to rate inward and outward names for edible and non-edible products while controlling for valence. Results revealed that the motor-to-affect link was only observed for edible products, regardless of valence.

The “ins” and “outs” of product and services marketing: The influence of consonant wanderings in consumer decision‐making

“…In Experiment 4, inward‐wandering names combined with neutral food products, biased judgments about both affective (hedonism) and rational (utilitarianism) dimensions. Assuming that the inward‐preference results from an oral‐approach avoidance mechanism inherited from a survival instinct (Topolinski et al, 2014), it may be the case that, in the context of food products, the oral manipulation becomes highly diagnostic (see Godinho et al, 2018; Experiment 4).…”

“…Despite its modest effect sizes (e.g. d z = 0.14 when naming edible products Godinho et al, 2018; d z = 0.40 when naming brands, or d z = 0.29 for products Godinho & Garrido, 2017), the effect seems extremely robust. Indeed, the in–out effect was already replicated across several languages and language families namely Indo–European languages, such as Portuguese (Godinho & Garrido, 2016), German and English (Topolinski et al, 2014), as well as Turkish and Ukranian (Godinho, Garrido, & Horchak, 2019) the former belonging to the Turkic language family and the second with a different non‐Latin written alphabet (Cyrillic).…”

“…In a subsequent clarification of this functional explanation for the in–out effect, Godinho. et al (2018) found that participants preferred inward words more than outward for edible products (water, beer, fuzzy drink), but not for nonedible products (shampoo, detergent, bleach). Since the preference for inward‐wandering names only seems to emerge when naming edible products, it may be useless to select inward names for nonedible products.…”

“…Such affect has been proven to be independent on whether those words refer to nonsense words (e.g., Godinho & Garrido, 2019), names or usernames of ordinary persons (e.g., Garrido, Godinho, & Semin, 2019), fictitious characters (e.g., Topolinski et al, 2014), or foods (e.g., Godinho, Garrido, Zürn, & Topolinski, 2018). Particularly relevant for the marketing services domain, Silva and Topolinski (2018) tested names for online sellers in the context of an Ebay online auction to discover that sellers with inward names where rated as more trustworthy and preferred for economic transactions.…”

Front in the mouth, front in the word: The driving mechanisms of the in-out effect.

“…Controlling for valence more carefully, Godinho et al (2019) found an in-out effect for edible, but not for in-edible products, while keeping valence constant across products.…”