Berger, J. & Fitzsimmons, G. (2008). Dogs on the street, Pumas on your feet: how cues
in the environment influence product evaluation and choice. Journal of Marketing
Research, 45, 1-14.
The authors find that products are more accessible, evaluated more favorably, and chosen more
frequently when the surrounding environment contains more perceptually or conceptually related
cues. More frequent exposure to perceptually or conceptually related cues increases product
accessibility and makes the product easier to process. These results support the hypothesis that
conceptual priming effects can have a strong impact on real-world consumer judgments.
Introduction
In this article, we examine how repeated incidental exposure to features of the everyday
environment can influence product evaluation and choice. We hypothesize that exposure to
environmental cues repeatedly “prime” perceptually or conceptually related product representations
in memory. In turn, the resultant ease of processing the product representation can cause increases
in product evaluation, purchase likelihood, and choice.
First, we examine whether consumers whose environments contain more perceptually or
conceptually related cues evaluate products more positively and choose them more often.
Second, we examine the role of frequency of cue exposure in priming, hypothesizing that increased
exposure frequency leads to increases in evaluations of related products.
We also pursue several smaller objectives that contribute to the understanding of priming effects in
consumer environments. We examine whether such effects can arise through newly constructed
links between previously unrelated constructs (in addition to well-learned semantic links), whether
they occur for familiar brands (or only unfamiliar brands), and whether they can occur outside
conscious awareness.
Theoretical background
When concepts are activated through direct exposure, they are known to affect judgment and
decision making. People prefer objects they have previously encountered, but can similar effects
emerge for objects related to those that were previously encountered? Situational cues or primes
can automatically activate associated representations in memory, leading them to become more
accessible. Although most studies have focused on direct exposure, research also suggests that
product choice and evaluations can be influenced by exposure to perceptually or conceptually
related stimuli. Such findings are driven by increases in conceptual fluency that arise from exposure
to the predictive context. According to the discrepancy-attribution hypothesis, such processing ease
positively influences judgment only when the fluency is unexpected. So, indirect
exposure/conceptual priming (in contrast to direct exposure) may be especially likely to produce
positive judgments, because people are unlikely to attribute the fluency to exposure to a seemingly
irrelevant object.
Current research
The current research investigates the impact of incidental exposure to everyday environmental cues
on product evaluation and choice.
H1: Products are more accessible when consumers are frequently exposed to real-world stimuli with
perceptual or conceptual links to those products.
H2: Products are more likely to be chosen if consumers are frequently exposed to real-world stimuli
with perceptual or conceptual links to those products.
in the environment influence product evaluation and choice. Journal of Marketing
Research, 45, 1-14.
The authors find that products are more accessible, evaluated more favorably, and chosen more
frequently when the surrounding environment contains more perceptually or conceptually related
cues. More frequent exposure to perceptually or conceptually related cues increases product
accessibility and makes the product easier to process. These results support the hypothesis that
conceptual priming effects can have a strong impact on real-world consumer judgments.
Introduction
In this article, we examine how repeated incidental exposure to features of the everyday
environment can influence product evaluation and choice. We hypothesize that exposure to
environmental cues repeatedly “prime” perceptually or conceptually related product representations
in memory. In turn, the resultant ease of processing the product representation can cause increases
in product evaluation, purchase likelihood, and choice.
First, we examine whether consumers whose environments contain more perceptually or
conceptually related cues evaluate products more positively and choose them more often.
Second, we examine the role of frequency of cue exposure in priming, hypothesizing that increased
exposure frequency leads to increases in evaluations of related products.
We also pursue several smaller objectives that contribute to the understanding of priming effects in
consumer environments. We examine whether such effects can arise through newly constructed
links between previously unrelated constructs (in addition to well-learned semantic links), whether
they occur for familiar brands (or only unfamiliar brands), and whether they can occur outside
conscious awareness.
Theoretical background
When concepts are activated through direct exposure, they are known to affect judgment and
decision making. People prefer objects they have previously encountered, but can similar effects
emerge for objects related to those that were previously encountered? Situational cues or primes
can automatically activate associated representations in memory, leading them to become more
accessible. Although most studies have focused on direct exposure, research also suggests that
product choice and evaluations can be influenced by exposure to perceptually or conceptually
related stimuli. Such findings are driven by increases in conceptual fluency that arise from exposure
to the predictive context. According to the discrepancy-attribution hypothesis, such processing ease
positively influences judgment only when the fluency is unexpected. So, indirect
exposure/conceptual priming (in contrast to direct exposure) may be especially likely to produce
positive judgments, because people are unlikely to attribute the fluency to exposure to a seemingly
irrelevant object.
Current research
The current research investigates the impact of incidental exposure to everyday environmental cues
on product evaluation and choice.
H1: Products are more accessible when consumers are frequently exposed to real-world stimuli with
perceptual or conceptual links to those products.
H2: Products are more likely to be chosen if consumers are frequently exposed to real-world stimuli
with perceptual or conceptual links to those products.
