Course Syllabus - BA 991
Special Topics in Consumer Research
Jim Bettman – Fall 2012
Purpose:
The purpose of this seminar is to examine recent work in, or relevant to, consumer
research. We will select a set of topics to be considered over the semester, often
triggered by a new article of particular interest or student interests. For each topic
considered, a few articles will be chosen, and we will read and discuss those. Our
goals will be to gain exposure to the latest ideas in consumer research and to develop
research ideas. In particular, each week we should generate in class the
design/idea for at least one new study in the focal topic area.
Classes will be held in the DeSanctis Seminar Room of the Academic Center of the
Fuqua School on Thursdays from 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm. The first class is Thursday,
August 30. The last class is Thursday, November 29.
Student Responsibilities:
Each student should come to the seminar prepared to discuss each article in depth and
to present their ideas about the major ideas, contributions, or shortcomings of each
article if asked to do so. Students should also examine the research ideas of the other
students, as described next.
As noted above, we will also generate an idea for a study each week. Each student will
be responsible for writing up an approximately one-page (double-spaced) note for each
class focusing on an idea for a study that relates to that week’s readings, e.g., a new
study or studies designed to extend a particular paper or to build a bridge between
papers. Please specify the research question, why it is important, and a brief overview
of the proposed design (e.g., the independent and dependent variables) and
hypotheses. Everyone should plan on outlining their ideas in class. Please submit your
ideas to me no later than 5 pm on the Wednesday before each class so that I and the
other students can examine them. I will forward these ideas to each class member. I
will also send out copies of the papers for each session via email.
Finally, each student will be expected to do a research paper, which can be a critical
literature review, a design for a study, etc. I will set aside 1-2 hours at a specific time
during the semester when we will discuss preliminary ideas for the papers, and I will ask
each student to present an idea at those times. Papers are typically 20-30 pages in
length and will be due by 5 pm on December 14, the Friday of exam week. On
November 1 we will have each student present and receive feedback on their paper
idea for roughly 10-15 minutes; please prepare a brief set of overheads outlining your
idea (no more than 5-6) that you will present; try to keep your presentation to 5 minutes
or so in order to allow time for feedback from me and the others in the class.
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Papers for BA991, Fall 2012
Session 1 – Recent Research on Goal Pursuit – August 30, 2012
a. Huang, Szu-Chi and Ying Zhang (2011), “Motivational Consequences of Perceived
Velocity in Consumer Goal Pursuit,” Journal of Marketing Research, 48
(December), 1045-1056.
b. Touré-Tillery, Maferima and Ayelet Fishbach (2012), “The End Justifies the Means,
but Only in the Middle,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141
(August), 570-583.
c. Etkin, Jordan and Rebecca K. Ratner (2013), “Goal Pursuit, Now and Later:
Temporal Compatibility of Different versus Similar Means,” Journal of Consumer
Research, 39 (February).
Session 2 – Social Factors and Decision Making – September 6, 2012
a. Polman, Evan (2012), “Effects of Self-Other Decision Making on Regulatory Focus
and Choice Overload,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102 (May),
980-993.
b. Ybarra, Oscar, David Seungjae Lee, and Richard Gonzalez (forthcoming),
“Supportive Social Relationships Attenuate the Appeal of Choice,” Psychological
Science.
c. Ybarra, Oscar, Piotr Winkielman, Irene Yeh, Eugene Burnstein, and Liam Kavanagh
(2011), “Friends (and Sometimes Enemies) With Cognitive Benefits: What Types
of Social Interactions Boost Executive Functioning?” Social Psychological and
Personality Science, 2 (3), 253-261.
Session 3 – Satiation – September 13, 2012
a. Morewedge, Carey K., Young Eun Huh, and Joachim Vosgerau (2010), “Thought for
Food: Imagined Consumption Reduces Actual Consumption,” Science, 330
(December 10), 1530-1533.
b. Galak, Jeff, Justin Kruger, and George Loewenstein (2013), “Slow Down!
Insensitivity to Rate of Consumption Leads to Avoidable Satiation,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 39 (February).
c. Redden, Joseph P. and Kelly L. Haws (2013), “Healthy Satiation: The Role of
Decreasing Desire in Effective Self-Control,” Journal of Consumer Research, 39
(February).
Session 4 – Gift Giving – September 20, 2012
a. Adams, Gabrielle S., Francis J. Flynn, and Michael I. Norton (forthcoming), “The
Gifts We Keep on Giving: Documenting and Destigmatizing the Regifting Taboo,”
Psychological Science.
b. Gino, Francesca and Francis J. Flynn (2011), “Give Them What They Want: The
Benefits of Explicitness in Gift Exchange,” Journal of Experimental Social
Psychology, 47(September), 915-922.
c. Zhang, Yan and Nicholas Epley (2009), “Self-Centered Social Exchange: Differential
Use of Costs Versus Benefits in Prosocial Reciprocity,” Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 97 (November), 796-810.
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Session 5 – Self-Presentation – September 27, 2012
a. Tormala, Zakary L, Jayson S. Jia, and Michael I. Norton (forthcoming), “The
Preference for Potential,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
b. Weaver, Kimberlee, Steven M. Garcia, and Norbert Schwarz (2012), “The
Presenter’s Paradox,” Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (October).
c. Betz, Diana E. and Denise Sekquaptewa (forthcoming), “My Fair Physicist? Feminine
Math and Science Role Models Demotivate Young Girls,” Social Psychological
and Personality Science.
Session 6 – Psychological Distance and Affect – October 11, 2012
a. McGraw, A. Peter, Caleb Warren, Lawrence E. Williams, and Bridget Leonard
(forthcoming), “Too Close for Comfort, or Too Far to Care? Finding Humor in
Distant Tragedies and Close Mishaps,” Psychological Science.
b. Williams, Lawrence E. and John A. Bargh (2008), “Keeping One’s Distance: The
Influence of Spatial Distance Cues on Affect and Evaluation,” Psychological
Science, 19 (March), 302-308.
c. Van Boven, Leaf, Joanne Kane, A. Peter McGraw, and Jeannette Dale (2010),
“Feeling Close: Emotional Intensity Reduces Perceived Psychological Distance,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98 (June), 872-885.
Session 7 – Prosocial Behavior – October 18, 2012
a. Hepach, Robert, Amrisha Vaish, and Michael Tomasello (2012), “Young Children
Are Intrinsically Motivated to See Others Helped,” Psychological Science, 23
(September), 967-972.
b. Grant, Adam and Jane Dutton (2012), “Beneficiary or Benefactor: Are People More
Prosocial When They Reflect on Receiving or Giving?” Psychological Science,
23 (September), 1033-1039.
c. Mogilner, Cassie, Zoë Chance, and Michael I. Norton (forthcoming), “Giving Time
Gives You Time,” Psychological Science.
Session 8 – Self-Deception – October 25, 2012
a. Mishra, Himanshu, Arul Mishra, and Baba Shiv (2011), “In Praise of Vagueness:
Information as a Performance Booster,” Psychological Science, 22 (June), 733738.
b. Sloman, Steven A., Philip M. Fernbach, and York Hagmayer (2010), “Self-Deception
Requires Vagueness,” Cognition, 115 (May), 28-281.
c. Chance, Zoë, Michael I. Norton, Francesca Gino, and Dan Ariely (2011), “Temporal
View of the Costs and Benefits of Self-Deception,” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science, 108 (September 13, 2011), 15655-15659.
Session 9 – Student Paper Idea Presentations – November 1, 2012
Session 10 – Effects of Scarcity – November 8, 2012
a. Rodeheffer, Christopher D., Sarah E. Hill, and Charles G. Lord (2012), “Does This
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Recession Make Me Look Black? The Effect of Resource Scarcity on the
Categorization of Biracial Faces,” Psychological Science.
b. Hill, Sarah E., Christopher D. Rodeheffer, Vladas Griskevicius, Kristina Durante, and
Andrew Edward White (2012), “Boosting Beauty in an Economic Decline: Mating,
Spending, and the Lipstick Effect,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
103 (August), 275-291.
c. Roux, Caroline, Kelly Goldsmith, and Andrea Bonezzi (2012), “On the
Consequences of Scarcity: When Limited Resources Promote Agentic
Responses,” Working paper, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern.
Session 11 – Moral Potpourri – November 29, 2012
a. Cutright, Keisha M., Tülin Erdem, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, and Ron Shachar (2012),
“Finding Brands and Losing Your Religion?” Working paper, Wharton School,
Pennsylania.
b. Shu, Lisa L., Nina Mazar, Francesca Gino, Dan Ariely, and Max H. Bazerman
(2012), “Signing at the Beginning Makes Ethics Salient and Decreases Dishonest
Self-Reports in Comparison to Signing at the End,” Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science, 109 (September 18, 2012), 15197-15200.
c. Berman, Jonathan Z. and Deborah A. Small (2012), “Self-Interest Without
Selfishness: The Hedonic Benefit of Imposed Self-Interest,” Psychological
Science, 23 (October), 1193-1199.
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