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Consumer behavior and marketing

• Genetically-modified foods
  There is a wide gap between the opinions of scientists (AAAS members) and the public about whether GMO foods are "safe". Science can resolve narrow forms of this question (e.g., no adverse impacts of GMO foods have been demonstrated) but not broader forms (will there be long-term, subtle effects when large populations consume certain foods; will there be changes in ecosystem processes; will monopolistic practices affect agriculture and income).
• Assorted notes about consumer behavior and marketing
• BYOB: How Bringing Your Own Shopping Bags Leads to Treating Yourself and the Environment
  Duke Fuqua press release at http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/news_events/news-releases/bollinger-shopping-bags/#.Vap4jvlF7m4 Citation: Uma R. Karmarkar and Bryan Bollinger (2015) BYOB: How Bringing Your Own Shopping Bags Leads to Treating Yourself and the Environment. Journal of Marketing: July 2015, Vol. 79, No. 4, pp. 1-15. Abstract: "As concerns about pollution and climate change become more mainstream, the belief that shopping with reusable grocery bags is an important environmental and socially conscious choice has gained prevalence. In parallel, firms have joined policy makers in using a variety of initiatives to reduce the use of disposable plastic bags. However, little is known about how these initiatives might alter other elements of consumers' in-store behavior. Using scanner panel data from a single California location of a major grocery chain, and controlling for consumer heterogeneity, the authors demonstrate that bringing one's own bags increases purchases of not only environmentally friendly organic foods but also indulgent foods. They use experimental methods to further explore the expression of these effects and to consider the effects of potential moderators, including competing goals and store policies. The findings have implications for decisions related to product pricing, placement and assortment, store layout, and the choice of strategies employed to increase the use of reusable bags."
• Firefox ad for private browsing (1 min)
  "Do you act differently when you know someone is watching you? This is why control of your online privacy matters." Firefox ad for private browsing
• Mindless Eating - Why we eat more than we think
  Brian Wansink's website, books, articles, video (5 min 40 sec) about how expectations and presentation influence how much we eat and how we enjoy it.
• Negativity Bias and Task Motivation: Testing the Effectiveness of Positively Versus Negatively Framed Incentives
  Negativity bias and task motivation: Testing the effectiveness of positively versus negatively framed incentives. By: Goldsmith, Kelly, Dhar, Ravi, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 1076898X, 20131201, Vol. 19, Issue 4 Abstract: People are frequently challenged by goals that demand effort and persistence. As a consequence, philosophers, psychologists, economist and others have studied the factors that enhance task motivation. Using a sample of undergraduate students and a sample of working adults, we demonstrate that the manner in which an incentive is framed has implications for individuals' task motivation. In both samples we find that individuals are less motivated when an incentive is framed as a means to accrue a gain (positive framing) as compared to when the same incentive is framed as a means to avoid a loss (negative framing). Further, we provide evidence for the role of the negativity bias in this effect, and highlight specific populations for whom positive framing may be least motivating. Interestingly, we find that people's intuitions about when they will be more motivated show the opposite pattern, with people predicting that positively framed incentives will be more motivating than negatively framed incentives. We identify a lay belief in the positive correlation between enjoyment and task motivation as one possible factor contributing to the disparity between predicted and actual motivation due to the framing of the incentive. We conclude with a discussion of the managerial implications for these findings.
• PBS Frontline: The Making of Cool, Generation Like
• PBS Frontline: The Persuaders (55 min)
  Douglas Rushkoff, Mark Crispin Miller, Douglas Atkin and Kevin Roberts.for PBS Frontline, November 9, 2004, Season 23, Episode 3 FRONTLINE takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar “persuasion industries” of advertising and public relations and how marketers have developed new ways of integrating their messages deeper into the fabric of our lives. Through sophisticated market research methods to better understand consumers and by turning to the little-understood techniques of public relations to make sure their messages come from sources we trust, marketers are crafting messages that resonate with an increasingly cynical public. Original website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/
• The effects of scent on consumer behaviour
  Justina Rimkute, Caroline Moraes, Carlos Ferreira. International Journal of Consumer Studies. January 2016;40(1):24-34 Abstract: This article presents a systematic review of extant research on the effects of scent on consumer behaviour for readers of the International Journal of Consumer Studies. Although many articles have been published on this topic in recent years, there is a need for a comprehensive summary of up-to-date findings in this area of research. A systematic literature review is conducted with selected Chartered Association of Business Schools-ranked journals in the fields of marketing and psychology, covering the period between 1980 and 2015. Thematic areas include the impact of scent on consumers’ cognitive and affective responses, attitudes and perceptions, as well as memory and behaviours. Relevant mediators and moderators of the effects of scent on these variables include affect, cognition, awareness and individual or environmental stimuli. Gaps for future research are identified and include the role of consumer awareness of scent and its influence on behaviour. Although this article provides a systematic review of the literature within the fields of psychology and marketing, it acknowledges that a large body of research regarding human responses to odours exists within other disciplinary fields such as neuroscience. The potential for, as well as the ethical caveats of, using scent stimuli for marketing purposes are also considered. This article makes a significant contribution to the consumer behaviour literature given its systematic article selection and review process, encompassing the most up-to-date research and focusing on all key thematic areas related to scent and consumption.
• The State of Things - Advice From Duke University Social Scientist Dan Ariely
  Advice From Duke University Social Scientist Dan Ariely By Will Michaels & Frank Stasio WUNC Radio, The State of Things, 8/19/2015
• The Unconscious Consumer: Effects of Environment on Consumer Behavior
  Ap. Dijksterhuis, Pamela K. Smith, Rick B. van Baaren, Daniël H.J. Wigboldus. Journal of Consumer Psychology 2005;15(3):193-202 Abstract: In this article, we argue that consumer behavior is often strongly influenced by subtle environmental cues. Using grocery shopping as an example (or a “leitmotif,” if you wish), we first argue that the traditional perspective on consumer choice based on conscious information processing leaves much variance to be explained. Instead, we propose that many choices are made unconsciously and are strongly affected by the environment. Our argument is based on research on the perception–behavior link and on automatic goal pursuit.
• Why Americans Seem To Be Paying Less Attention To The News
  Why Americans Seem To Be Paying Less Attention To The News
  Wednesday, Apr 1, 2015 • 10 a.m. (ET)
  
  "Americans spend more time than ever with media compared to 30 or 40 years ago, but collectively we are paying considerably less attention to news. The reasons for this are not clear. Sources have diversified, giving us many new ways to get news; some say the caliber of news being offered has dropped. But it also seems possible that people just aren’t as interested and don’t feel the same civic obligation to stay informed. We talk about trends in news consumption, and what the apparent drop means for an informed and engaged public."
  
  Guests
  
  W. Joseph Campbell professor, School of Communication, American University author of six books, most recent "1995:The Year the Future Began"
  Jesse Holcomb senior researcher, Pew Research Center
  Thomas Patterson Bradlee professor of Government and the Press at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government author of "Informing the News: The Need for Knowledge-Based Journalism"
• z-See also Marketing and Messaging