Articles Summary – Consumer Behavior
Consumers prefer “natural” more for preventatives than for curatives (Scott, Rozin &
Small, 2020)
We demonstrate that natural products are more strongly preferred when used to
prevent a problem than when used to cure a problem (the prevent/cure effect). This
organizing principle explains variation in the preference for natural across distinct product
categories (e.g., food vs. medicine), within product categories (e.g., between different types of
medicines), and for the same product depending on how it is used (to prevent or to cure
ailments). The prevent/cure effect is driven by two factors: lay beliefs about product attributes
and importance of product attributes. Specifically, (a) consumers hold lay beliefs that
natural products are safer and less potent and (b) consumers care more about safety and
less about potency when preventing as compared to when curing, which leads to a
stronger preference for natural when preventing. Consistent with this explanation, when
natural products are described as more risky and more potent, reversing the standard
inferences about naturalness, then natural products become more preferred for curing than for
preventing. This research sheds light on when the marketing of “natural” is most appealing to
consumers.
Naturalness: not had any previous human interventions and has no additives
We present seven studies, which examine when consumers prefer natural most strongly and
why this variance in preference for natural occurs. Study 1 demonstrates the prevent/cure
effect in a controlled test for both medicines and household products: natural products are
more strongly preferred for preventing than for curing an ailment or problem. Study 2 finds
consumers search for natural products more often and chose natural more often when
preventing versus curing cold symptoms, in a design with a consequential choice of a product.
Study 3 examines reports about actual health behaviors over a year and finds consumers
prioritize naturalness more for preventatives than for curatives. Studies 4–7 test the proposed
psychological mechanism in different ways. Studies 4 and 5 examine the role of lay beliefs
about natural, using moderation techniques. Study 4 shows that when the standard lay beliefs
about natural and synthetic products are reversed, the prevent/cure effect also reverses.
Specifically, when the natural product is described as the more risky and more potent product,
consumers prefer natural more for curing than for preventing. Study 5 separately manipulates
beliefs about the safety of natural versus synthetic (study 5A) and beliefs about the potency of
natural versus synthetic (study 5B) and finds that manipulating either safety or potency beliefs
moderates the prevent/cure effect. Study 6 examines the role of the importance of safety and
potency, using mediation techniques. The increased preference for natural when preventing
versus curing is mediated simultaneously by increased importance of safety and decreased
importance of potency. Finally, study 7 shows that when consumers are focused on moral
concerns, as opposed to consequence based (safety/potency) concerns, the prevent/cure effect
attenuates (weakens).
, The Greenconsumption Effect: How Using Green Products Improves Consumption
Experience (Tezer & Bodur, 2019)
In many situations, consumers use green products without a deliberate choice to
use or purchase the product. This research explores how using a green product
(e.g., a pair of headphones made from recycled materials) influences the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience (e.g., listening to music), even if consumers have not
deliberately chosen or purchased the product. Five experiments in actual consumption settings
revealed that using a green (vs. conventional) product enhances the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience, referred to as the greenconsumption effect.
Merely using a green product makes consumers perceive an increase in the extent to which
they are valued as individuals by society, which leads to warm glow feelings, and
consequently enhances the enjoyment of the accompanying consumption experience.
When consumers experience low social worth, the positive effect of using green products
on the accompanying consumption experience is amplified. The greenconsumption effect
disappears when the negative environmental impact of the green product attribute is low.
From a managerial standpoint, the current research identifies instances where brands can
benefit from going green and encourages marketers, especially service providers, to promote
green products that are instrumental in consumption experiences.
The central question posed in the current research is how using a green product influences the
enjoyment of the accompanying consumption experience compared to using a conventional
product.
H1: Using a green (vs. conventional) product will enhance the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience.
H2: Warm glow feelings that arise due to using a green (vs. conventional) product will
mediate the positive effect of using a green product on the enjoyment of the accompanying
consumption experience.
We tested our predictions in five experiments in actual consumption settings. Experiment 1
tests the main prediction that using a green (vs. conventional) product enhances the enjoyment
of the accompanying consumption experience and compares the consumption stage with the
purchase stage. Experiment 2 examines the robustness of the greenconsumption effect with
strength-related products (dinnerware sanitizer) and its downstream consequences for the
focal product. Experiment 3 investigates the process further by identifying a driver of warm
glow when using green products, and experiment 4 tests this process with a moderation
approach. Finally, experiment 5 demonstrates that the greenconsumption effect disappears
when the green product attribute is perceived to have a negligible environmental impact.
Experiment 1 found that consumers are more likely to purchase a green (vs. conventional)
product after using the product but not after examining the product without consumption. It
also reveals that using a green product enhances the enjoyment of the accompanying
consumption experience, and that warm glow feelings drive this effect.
Experiment 2 generalizes the greenconsumption effect to strength-related products and
demonstrates that when consumers are given the opportunity to use the green product, the
unintended negative impact of green attributes is reversed. Experiment 2 further documents
that warm glow felt during the use of the green product drives the greenconsumption effect.
Consumers prefer “natural” more for preventatives than for curatives (Scott, Rozin &
Small, 2020)
We demonstrate that natural products are more strongly preferred when used to
prevent a problem than when used to cure a problem (the prevent/cure effect). This
organizing principle explains variation in the preference for natural across distinct product
categories (e.g., food vs. medicine), within product categories (e.g., between different types of
medicines), and for the same product depending on how it is used (to prevent or to cure
ailments). The prevent/cure effect is driven by two factors: lay beliefs about product attributes
and importance of product attributes. Specifically, (a) consumers hold lay beliefs that
natural products are safer and less potent and (b) consumers care more about safety and
less about potency when preventing as compared to when curing, which leads to a
stronger preference for natural when preventing. Consistent with this explanation, when
natural products are described as more risky and more potent, reversing the standard
inferences about naturalness, then natural products become more preferred for curing than for
preventing. This research sheds light on when the marketing of “natural” is most appealing to
consumers.
Naturalness: not had any previous human interventions and has no additives
We present seven studies, which examine when consumers prefer natural most strongly and
why this variance in preference for natural occurs. Study 1 demonstrates the prevent/cure
effect in a controlled test for both medicines and household products: natural products are
more strongly preferred for preventing than for curing an ailment or problem. Study 2 finds
consumers search for natural products more often and chose natural more often when
preventing versus curing cold symptoms, in a design with a consequential choice of a product.
Study 3 examines reports about actual health behaviors over a year and finds consumers
prioritize naturalness more for preventatives than for curatives. Studies 4–7 test the proposed
psychological mechanism in different ways. Studies 4 and 5 examine the role of lay beliefs
about natural, using moderation techniques. Study 4 shows that when the standard lay beliefs
about natural and synthetic products are reversed, the prevent/cure effect also reverses.
Specifically, when the natural product is described as the more risky and more potent product,
consumers prefer natural more for curing than for preventing. Study 5 separately manipulates
beliefs about the safety of natural versus synthetic (study 5A) and beliefs about the potency of
natural versus synthetic (study 5B) and finds that manipulating either safety or potency beliefs
moderates the prevent/cure effect. Study 6 examines the role of the importance of safety and
potency, using mediation techniques. The increased preference for natural when preventing
versus curing is mediated simultaneously by increased importance of safety and decreased
importance of potency. Finally, study 7 shows that when consumers are focused on moral
concerns, as opposed to consequence based (safety/potency) concerns, the prevent/cure effect
attenuates (weakens).
, The Greenconsumption Effect: How Using Green Products Improves Consumption
Experience (Tezer & Bodur, 2019)
In many situations, consumers use green products without a deliberate choice to
use or purchase the product. This research explores how using a green product
(e.g., a pair of headphones made from recycled materials) influences the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience (e.g., listening to music), even if consumers have not
deliberately chosen or purchased the product. Five experiments in actual consumption settings
revealed that using a green (vs. conventional) product enhances the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience, referred to as the greenconsumption effect.
Merely using a green product makes consumers perceive an increase in the extent to which
they are valued as individuals by society, which leads to warm glow feelings, and
consequently enhances the enjoyment of the accompanying consumption experience.
When consumers experience low social worth, the positive effect of using green products
on the accompanying consumption experience is amplified. The greenconsumption effect
disappears when the negative environmental impact of the green product attribute is low.
From a managerial standpoint, the current research identifies instances where brands can
benefit from going green and encourages marketers, especially service providers, to promote
green products that are instrumental in consumption experiences.
The central question posed in the current research is how using a green product influences the
enjoyment of the accompanying consumption experience compared to using a conventional
product.
H1: Using a green (vs. conventional) product will enhance the enjoyment of the
accompanying consumption experience.
H2: Warm glow feelings that arise due to using a green (vs. conventional) product will
mediate the positive effect of using a green product on the enjoyment of the accompanying
consumption experience.
We tested our predictions in five experiments in actual consumption settings. Experiment 1
tests the main prediction that using a green (vs. conventional) product enhances the enjoyment
of the accompanying consumption experience and compares the consumption stage with the
purchase stage. Experiment 2 examines the robustness of the greenconsumption effect with
strength-related products (dinnerware sanitizer) and its downstream consequences for the
focal product. Experiment 3 investigates the process further by identifying a driver of warm
glow when using green products, and experiment 4 tests this process with a moderation
approach. Finally, experiment 5 demonstrates that the greenconsumption effect disappears
when the green product attribute is perceived to have a negligible environmental impact.
Experiment 1 found that consumers are more likely to purchase a green (vs. conventional)
product after using the product but not after examining the product without consumption. It
also reveals that using a green product enhances the enjoyment of the accompanying
consumption experience, and that warm glow feelings drive this effect.
Experiment 2 generalizes the greenconsumption effect to strength-related products and
demonstrates that when consumers are given the opportunity to use the green product, the
unintended negative impact of green attributes is reversed. Experiment 2 further documents
that warm glow felt during the use of the green product drives the greenconsumption effect.
