When Temptations Come Alive: How Anthropomorphism Undermines Self-Control

Hur, Julia D.; Koo, Minjung; Hofmann, Wilhelm

doi:10.1093/jcr/ucv017

Cited by 75 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some studies have induced anthropomorphism of a brand through visual cues; for example, by making the brand's features resemble a human face (e.g., Hur, Koo, & Hofmann, 2015; Kim, Chen, & Zhang, 2016) or body (e.g., Kim & McGill, 2011; Touré‐Tillery & McGill, 2015) or by representing it as an avatar (Nowak & Rauh, 2005). Depicting a set of soda bottles as a “product family” induces greater tendencies to anthropomorphize compared to describing them as a “product line” (Aggarwal & McGill, 2007, study 2).…”

Section: The Human Versus Nonhuman Research Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropomorphized brands can even take some of the blame for the consumer's own bad behavior. For example, consumers exhibit less self‐control when a tempting dessert is anthropomorphized because they regard the anthropomorphized product as an agent that intentionally supports their indulgence (Hur et al, 2015; see also Kim et al, 2016). This diffuses responsibility for lack of self‐control, and thus, the conflict consumers feel from indulgence.…”

Section: The Human Versus Nonhuman Research Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We review a growing body of research in consumer behavior that has examined when consumers humanize brands by perceiving them as like, part of, or in a relationship with themselves. One research stream shows that sometimes consumers perceive brands as having human‐like forms, minds, and personality characteristics. A second stream identifies ways that a consumer perceives a brand as being congruent with or connected to the self. Finally, a third highlights that consumers can view brands in ways that are analogous to the types of relationships they have with people. We review research in these three areas and point out connections among these research streams. In part, we accomplish this by showing that factors associated with the SEEK model, which are designed to explain anthropomorphic tendencies, are also relevant to other ways of humanizing brands. We identify major propositions derived from this research and several areas for which additional research is needed. We conclude with recommendations for the many opportunities for expanding our conceptual and empirical understanding of this domain.

show abstract

Section: The Human Versus Nonhuman Research Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Human Versus Nonhuman Research Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Although some companies have already constructed products around a T-shaped configuration (e.g., Celine's handbags), and have occasionally included pareidolian images in their print advertisements, advertising research has not yet assessed whether such images are truly superior to other types of advertising images in terms of their attention-grabbing and processing abilities. In the past few decades, marketing research has focused on anthropomorphism-namely the attribution of human-like characteristics to nonhuman objects (e.g., Guido and Peluso, 2015)-and found that products that incorporate human features (e.g., human-face cookies) induce increased attention and deeper processing (Epley, Waytz, and Cacioppo, 2007), as well as influence consumers' attitudes and intentions towards said products (Hart and Royne, 2017;Hur, Koo, and Hofmann, 2015). Advertising research has particularly found that ads featuring anthropomorphic presentations may foster brand liking (Delbaere, McQuarrie, and Phillips, 2011) and influence consumers' intentions (Hart and Royne, 2017).…”

Section: Pareidolia and The Illusory Perception Of Facesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Face Images and Face Pareidolia on Consumers' Responses to Print Advertising

Guido

Pichierri

Pino

et al. 2018

JAR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present research investigates whether print advertisements featuring faces (i.e., "face ads") or face-like images (i.e., "pareidolian ads") are better able to capture consumer attention than ads that do not include such elements. In two studies, the research examined the effects of exposing consumers to print ads containing faces or pareidolian images for short time lapses (0.5, 1, and 3 seconds). The results show that both ad types capture viewers' attention and are more frequently recognized than advertisements that do not feature faces or face-like objects. Moreover, both face ads and pareidolian ads increase brand recognition and ad preference. The theoretical and operational implications are discussed.• Ads featuring human faces and "face-like" (i.e., pareidolian) images capture greater attention and preference than other ads in short time lapses. • With increasing time exposure, the attention-grabbing capacity of face and pareidolian ads gradually decreases. • Face and pareidolian ads lead to greater ad and brand recognition than other ads.

show abstract

“…Losing some autonomy and having an anthropomorphized entity share in the responsibility for one's actions can also influence consumers’ ability to resist temptations (Hur, Koo, & Hofmann, ). In the interpersonal domain, the mere presence of other humans can make consumers feel less responsible for their own actions and reduce self‐control (Garcia, Weaver, Moskowitz, & Darley, ; Van Dellen & Baker, ).…”

Section: Third C Of Anthropomorphism: Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the interpersonal domain, the mere presence of other humans can make consumers feel less responsible for their own actions and reduce self‐control (Garcia, Weaver, Moskowitz, & Darley, ; Van Dellen & Baker, ). When a tempting product is humanized (e.g., adding eyes and mouth to a cookie), it is imbued with agency and the ability to shoulder some of the responsibility for consumers’ actions, resulting in less feelings of conflict related to giving in to temptation (e.g., eating the cookie; Hur et al., ). When undergraduates with strong dieting goals were asked to think of Krispy Kreme coming to life as a person, they were less likely to report feeling conflicted about eating unhealthy Krispy Kreme doughnuts relative to those who did not anthropomorphize the brand.…”

Section: Third C Of Anthropomorphism: Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Yang

Aggarwal

McGill

2019

Consumer Psychology Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

When Temptations Come Alive: How Anthropomorphism Undermines Self-Control

Cited by 75 publications

References 70 publications

Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me

Humanizing brands: When brands seem to be like me, part of me, and in a relationship with me

Effects of Face Images and Face Pareidolia on Consumers' Responses to Print Advertising

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About