Psychology & Marketing

Noel, Hayden; Vallen, Beth

doi: 10.1002/mar.20307pmid: N/A

The spacing effect refers to the advantage in memory for information repeated at separate points in time over information repeated in massed fashion. This phenomenon has been extensively studied in psychology and has a wide scope of application. In spite of its possible applications, particularly related to advertising effectiveness, the spacing effect and its underlying theories have received limited attention in marketing. Evidence suggests that encoding variability theory, the one most frequently cited in marketing to explain the spacing effect, cannot explain existing empirical evidence as well as two other theories, reconstruction theory and study‐phase retrieval theory. This paper reviews these theories, as well as extant research, and discusses implications for advertising and directions for future research in marketing. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brumbaugh, Anne M.

doi: 10.1002/mar.20308pmid: N/A

Three quasi‐experimental studies with nonstudent samples reveal that one's ability to identify with a character shown in an ad based on shared race depends on the construction of the ad and the context in which characters are depicted. Results show that race‐based identification overshadows both gender‐ and role‐based identification for a racially targeted ad for distinctive black subjects but occurs for both black and white subjects for a culturally ambiguous ad. Further, results show that race‐based character identification is absent when black and white characters are depicted in a mainstream inclusive ad and that dominant cultural norms predominate. Theoretical and managerial implications regarding the contextuality of race‐based identification, processing of source cues, and construction of ads in a pluralistic society are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Liao, Jiangqun; Wang, Lei

doi: 10.1002/mar.20309pmid: N/A

Although the relationship between materialism and name‐brand consumption has been documented in literature, its relational mechanism is not well addressed. It can hardly explain why people buy brand products without really knowing about the brands. In this case, people may consume brand products not for material possessions but for social needs, such as a desire to have favorable social self‐worth and to be respected in relation to others and social activities, which is defined as face (Ting‐Toomey & Kurogi, 1998). The present study explored how the relationship between materialism and brand consciousness is influenced by face. The role of face was tested both as a moderator and as a mediator. The results showed that face consciousness, material values, and brand consciousness were significantly correlated but did not exhibit significant interaction. Multiple regression analyses support face not as a moderator, but as a partial mediator. The results provide new insights into the mechanisms of how materialism and face influence brand consciousness differently. The theoretical meaning and implications for marketing management are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Barrena, Ramo; Sánchez, Mercedes

doi: 10.1002/mar.20310pmid: N/A

The high level of product substitution in most consumer markets often makes it difficult to match supply with demand, especially in sectors with mature, saturated markets with intense competition and a high degree of product differentiation. The difficulty of using technical characteristics such as quality and/or price to differentiate products suggests that marketers could profit from gaining more insight into the way in which consumers' purchase decisions are influenced by their perceived emotions. This paper investigates this issue in the wine market, a highly saturated market with homogeneous supply, obtaining results that appear to support the notion that emotions do indeed play a part in consumer choice structures, which show a higher degree of abstraction in those segments that report a greater number of perceived emotions. This considerably complicates the task of creating a differentiated marketing strategy, in the sense that suppliers need to give much greater consideration to consumers' self‐awareness. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.