“So Cute I Could Eat It Up”: Priming Effects of Cute Products on Indulgent Consumption

Nenkov, Gergana Y.; Scott, Maura L.

doi:10.1086/676581

Cited by 175 publications

(210 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…These findings suggest that the word kawaii used in present-day Japan expresses positive feelings that are more generic than infant attractiveness and that are associated with a motivation to approach a preferable object. More than 70 years after Lorenz's (1943) proposal of baby schema, recent research has just begun to show that the feelings of cuteness are not directly associated with protection and nurturance (Nenkov & Scott, 2014;Sherman & Haidt, 2011). The present study suggests that the concept of kawaii (and potentially also the concept of cuteness) would be broader than the responses to baby schema.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 56%

Psychophysiological Responses to Kawaii Pictures With or Without Baby Schema

Nittono

Ihara

2017

SAGE Open

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In present-day Japan, the word kawaii prevails in every scene, including fashion, advertisements, and product designs. The word and the phenomenon have often been regarded as a representative of Japanese pop culture (Botz-Bornstein, 2011;Kinsella, 1995;Okazaki & Johnson, 2013;Yomota, 2006). Because various stimuli are expressed as kawaii, it is difficult to define what kawaii is in general. The word is often translated into English as cute. However, the two words seem to differ in nuance. Specifically, cuteness has been regarded as synonymous with infant physical attractiveness (Hildebrandt, 1983;Karraker & Stern, 1990), whereas kawaii is used more widely referring to broader categories of stimuli that do not necessarily have infantile features. Because the word and the culture of kawaii are getting known in the world and because more and more researchers are involved in the research on cuteness and use the term kawaii in their articles (e.g.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 56%

Psychophysiological Responses to Kawaii Pictures With or Without Baby Schema

Nittono

Ihara

2017

SAGE Open

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“…Given that warmth is the key predictor of helping behavior (Cuddy, Fiske, & Glick, ), elevated perceptions of money's warmth (but not competence) drove higher levels of financial donations (Zhou et al., ). Anthropomorphizing products can also make them appear more whimsically cute, fun, and playful (Nenkov & Scott, ). In turn, consumers become more reward‐focused and more likely to indulge.…”

Section: Second C Of Anthropomorphism: Comprehensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The 3 C's of anthropomorphism: Connection, comprehension, and competition

Yang

Aggarwal

McGill

2019

Consumer Psychology Review

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Anthropomorphism, or imbuing nonhuman entities with human traits, is widely prevalent in the marketplace. The last decade of consumer research demonstrates that when imbued with human characteristics, anthropomorphized brands and products become active participants in the consumption experience and are viewed and treated fundamentally differently than those viewed simply as objects. We identify three dimensions around how consumers relate to anthropomorphized entities: connection, comprehension, and competition. The first two C's highlight how anthropomorphized brands and products benefit consumers by fulfilling belongingness needs (connection) and helping consumers understand unfamiliar situations and products (comprehension). In contrast, the competition dimension highlights how anthropomorphized brands and products are perceived as adversaries or potential threats to consumers’ individual goals. By identifying competition as the third C, we illuminate self‐protection as an additional motivation that shapes consumers’ responses to anthropomorphized entities—a motivation that has not been directly accounted for in previous theorizing.

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“…It is believed that to understand Schopenhauerian doctrine is an important step towards providing consumers with more than immediate relief, after all the art that may be provided by the aesthetic is as perennial as much as the duration of the product in the lives of people. In this sense, Nenkov and Scott (2014) also demonstrated such concern and admitted that visual communication of aesthetic appeal has greater commercial appeal, but this time, according to Schopenhauer (2012), the marketing objectives and the avoidance of pain converge to nearby targets.…”

Section: Aesthetics Hedonism and Utilitarianism In Marketingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Aesthetic studies, however, are transversal and sometimes arising merely as a hedonic selling point that arouses the attention and desire of the client through a visual satisfaction (for example, Nenkov & Scott, 2014) or debunking in utilitarian functions to increase the perceived value (as, for example, in Townsend & Sood, 2012). As such, this theoretical essay seeks to shed new light on understanding the role of aesthetic products, but for this it is necessary to seek innovative reasons to justify a debate on a topic so consecrated as this.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption as a Lifestyle: A Reflection on the Schopenhauer Perspective

Lucian¹

2015

IBR

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Consuming extrapolates utilitarianism and hedonism; shopping as a purely rational activity does not complete the set of motivations that drive consumption. This theoretical essay investigates the context from the perspective of the contemporary consumer, mainly the philosophy of Schopenhauer and other authors who discuss the topic. To understand consumption, Will and Representation require one to first comprehend the theories of knowledge that elevate Science, its logic and true legitimacy and pathways that ultimately reveal the understanding of Marketing on consumer behavior. At the end of this essay, reflection leads to understanding that the metaphysics of beauty according to Schopenhauer (2012) presents pragmatic compounds still present that align marketing actions with the search for a better quality of life through aesthetics, excelling the dualistic logic of utilitarian or hedonic consumption and its recompense of mere immediate effect.

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“So Cute I Could Eat It Up”: Priming Effects of Cute Products on Indulgent Consumption

Cited by 175 publications

References 49 publications

Psychophysiological Responses to Kawaii Pictures With or Without Baby Schema

Psychophysiological Responses to Kawaii Pictures With or Without Baby Schema

The 3 C's of anthropomorphism: Connection, comprehension, and competition

Consumption as a Lifestyle: A Reflection on the Schopenhauer Perspective

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