Course Syllabus - BA 991
Special Topics in Consumer Research
Jim Bettman – Spring 2015
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 Tuesdays from 1:25 pm – 4 pm. The first class is Tuesday, January
9. The last class is Tuesday, April 14.
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 Monday 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 May 1, the Friday of exam week. On March 24 we
will have each student present and receive feedback on their paper idea for roughly 1015 minutes; please prepare a brief set of overheads outlining your idea (no more than 56) 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, Spring 2015
Session 1 – Technology and Experiences – January 13, 2015
a. Storm, Benjamin C. and Sean M. Stone (2015), “Saving-Enhanced Memory: The
Benefits of Saving on the Learning and Remembering of New Information,”
Psychological Science, 26.
b. Henkel, Linda A. (2014), “Point-and-Shoot Memories: The Influence of Taking
Photos on Memory for a Museum Tour,” Psychological Science, 25 (2), 396-402.
c. Barasch, Alixandra, Kristin Diehl, and Gal Zauberman (2014), “Does Taking Photos
Get in the Way? The Effect of Photo-taking on the Enjoyment of Experiences,:
working paper, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
Session 2 – Perceptions of Time – January 20, 2015
a. Etkin, Jordan, Ioannis Evangelidis, and Jennifer Aaker (2015), “Pressed for Time?
Goal Conflict Shapes How Time is Perceived, Spent, and Valued,” Journal of
Marketing Research.
b. Rudd, Melanie, Kathleen D. Vohs, and Jennifer Aaker (2012), “Awe Expands
People’s Perception of Time, Alters Decision Making, and Enhances Well-Being,”
Psychological Science, 23 (10), 1130-1136.
c. Vohs, Kathleen D. and Brandon J. Schmeichel (2003), “Self-Regulation and the
Extended Now: Controlling the Self Alters the Subjective Experience of Time,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 (2), 217-230.
Session 3 – New Approaches to Materialism – January 27, 2015
a. Richins, Marsha L. and Lan Nguyen Chaplin (2015), “Material Parenting: How the
Use of Goods in Parenting Fosters Materialism in the Next Generation,” Journal
of Consumer Research.
b. Chaplin, Lan Nguyen, Ronald Paul Hill, and Deborah Roedder John (2014), “Poverty
and Materialism: A Look at Impoverished Versus Affluent Children,” Journal of
Public Policy & Marketing, 33(1), 78-92.
c. Shrum, L. J., Nancy Wong, Farrah Arif, Sunaina K. Chugani, Alexander Gunz, Tina
M. Lowrey, Agnes Nairn, Mario Pandelaere, Spencer M. Ross, Ayalla Ruvio,
Kristin Scott, and Jill Sundie (2013), “Reconceptualizing Materialism as Identity
Goal Pursuits: Functions, Processes, and Consequences,” Journal of Business
Research, 66 (8), 1179-1185.
Session 4 – Marketing Placebo Effects – Februrary 3, 2015
a. Plassmann, Hilke and Bernd Weber (2015), “Individual Differences in Marketing
Placebo Effects: Evidence from Brain Imaging and Behavioral Experiments,”
Journal of Marketing Research.
b. Plassmann, Hilke, John O’Doherty, Baba Shiv, and Antonio Rangel (2008),
“Marketing Actions Can Modulate Neural Representations of Experienced
Pleasantness,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105 (3), 10501054.
c. Waber, Rebecca L., Baba Shiv, Ziv Carmon, and Dan Ariely (2008), “Commercial
Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy,” Journal of the American Medical
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Association, 299 (9), 1016-1017.
d. Wright, Scott A., José Mauro da Costa Hernandez, Aparna Sundar, John Dinsmore,
and Frank R. Kardes (2013), “If It Tastes Bad It Must Be Good: Consumer Naïve
Theories and the Marketing Placebo Effect,” International Journal of Research in
Marketing, 30 (2), 197-198.
Session 5 – Planning and Scarcity – February 10, 2015
a. Fernbach, Philip M., Christina Kan, and John G. Lynch Jr. (2015), “Squeezed:
Coping with Constraint through Efficiency and Prioritization,” Journal of
Consumer Research, 41 (February), 1204-1227).
b. Ein-Gar, Danit (2015), “Committing Under the Shadow of Tomorrow: Self-Control
and Commitment to Future Virtuous Behaviors,” Journal of Consumer
Psychology.
c. Shah, Anuj, Sendhil Mullainathan, and Eldar Shafir (2012), “Some Consequences of
Having too Little,” Science, 338 (November 2), 682-685.
Session 6 – Meaning and Legacy – February 24, 2015
a. Waytz, Adam, Hal E. Hershfield, and Diana I. Tamir (2015), “Mental Simulation and
Meaning in Life,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108 (2), 336-355.
b. Heintzelman, Samantha J. and Laura A. King (2014), “(The Feeling of) Meaning-asInformation,” Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18 (2), 153-167.
c. Zaval, Lisa, Ezra M. Markowitz, and Elke U. Weber (2015), “How Will I Be
Remembered? Conserving the Environment for the Sake of One’s Legacy,”
Psychological Science.
d. Newton, Nicky J., Jennifer M. Herr, Jessica I. Pollack, and Dan P. McAdams (2014),
“Selfish or Selfless? Generativity and Narcissism as Components of Legacy,”
Journal of Adult Development, 21 (1), 59-68.
Session 7 – Social Networks – March 3, 2105
a. Oishi, Shigehiro and Selin Kesebir (2012), “ Optimal Social-Networking Strategy Is a
Function of Socioeconomic Conditions,” Psychological Science, 23 (12), 15421548.
b. Oishi, Shigehiro, Selin Kesebir, Felicity F. Miao, Thomas Talhelm, Yumi Endo,
Yukiko Uchida, Yasufumi Shibanai, and Vinai Norasakkunkit (2013), “Residential
Mobility Increases Motivation to Expand Social Network: But Why?” Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 49 (2), 217-223.
c. Sandstrom, Gillian M. and Elizabeth W. Dunn (2014), “Social Interactions and WellBeing: The Surprising Power of Weak Ties,” Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin, 40 (7), 910-922.
Session 8 – Food and Culture– March 17, 2015
a. Oyserman, Daphna (2009), “Identity-Based Motivation: Implications for ActionReadiness, Procedural-Readiness, and Consumer Behavior,” Journal of
Consumer Psychology, 19(3), 250-260.
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b. Gomez, Pierre and Carlos J. Torelli (2015), “It’s Not Just Numbers: Cultural
Identities Influence How Nutrition Information Influences the Valuation of Foods,”
Journal of Consumer Psychology.
c. Rozin, Paul (2005), “The Meaning of Food In Our Lives: A Cross-Cultural
Perspective on Eating and Well-Being,” Journal of Nutrition Education and
Behavior, 37, Supplement 2 (November-December), S107-S112.
d. Rozin, Paul, Abigail K. Remick, and Claude Fischler (2011), “Broad Themes of
Difference between French and Americans in Attitudes to Food and Other Life
Domains: Personal Versus Communal Values, Quantity Versus Quality, and
Comforts Versus Joys,” Frontiers in Psychology, 2 (July), Article 177, 1-9.
Session 9 – Student Paper Idea Presentations – March 24, 2015
Session 10 – Humor and Its Effects – March 31, 2015
a. McGraw, A. Peter, Caleb Warren, and Christina Kan (2015), “Humorous
Complaining,” Journal of Consumer Research, 41 (5), 1153-1171.
b. McGraw, A. Peter, Lawrence E. Williams, and Caleb Warren (2014), “The Rise and
Fall of Humor: Psychological Distance Modulates Humorous Responses to
Tragedy,” Social Psychological and Personality Science, 5 (5), 566-572.
c. Samson, Andrea C. and James J. Gross (2012), “Humor as Emotion Regulation: The
Differential Consequences of Negative versus Positive Humour,” Cognition and
Emotion, 26 (2), 375-384.
Session 11 – Stigma and Style - April 7, 2015
a. Sandikci, Özlem and Güliz Ger (2010), “Veiling in Style: How Does a Stigmatized
Practice Become Fashionable?” Journal of Consumer Research, 37 (1), 15-36.
b. Nguyen, Hieu, Steven Chen, and Sayantani Mukherjee (2014), “Reverse Stigma in
the Freegan Community,” Journal of Business Research, 67 (9), 1877-1884.
c. Sobh, Rana, Russell Belk, and Justin Gressel (2014), “Mimicry and Modernity in the
Middle East: Fashion Invisibility and Young Women of the Arab Gulf,”
Consumption Markets & Culture, 17 (4), 392-412.
Session 12 – Potpourri - April 14, 2015
a. Galla, Brian M. and Angela L. Duckworth (2015), “More Than Resisting Temptation:
Beneficial Habits Mediate the Relationship Between Self-Control and Positive
Life Outcomes,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
b. Akpinar, Ezgi and Jonah Berger (forthcoming), “Cultural Success of Sensory
Metaphors,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
c. Etkin, Jordan and Aner Sela (2015), “How Experience Variety Shapes PostPurchase Product Evaluation,” Journal of Marketing Research.
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