Course Syllabus - BA 591
Special Topics in Consumer Research
Jim Bettman
– Fall 2010
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 1:30-4 pm. The first class is Thursday, September 2.
The last class is Thursday, December 2.
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. I will call on people in class to outline their ideas. 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 17, the Friday of exam week. On
November 4 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 2-3) 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 BA591, Fall 2010
Session 1
– Brand Personality and Implicit Personality Theories – September 2,
2010 a.
Park, Ji Kyung and Deborah Roedder John (2010), “Got to Get You into My Life: Do
Brand Personalities Rub Off on Consumers?” Journal of Consumer Research , 37
(December). b. Yorkston, Eric A., Joseph C. Nunes, and Shashi Matta (2010), “The Malleable Brand:
The Role of Implicit Theories in Evaluating Brand Extensions,” Journal of
Marketing , 74 (January), 80-93.
Session 2
– Interpersonal Influences on Goal Pursuit – September 9, 2010 a. Fitzsimons, Grainne and Eli J. Finkel (2010), “Interpersonal Influences on Self-
Regulation,”
Current Directions in Psychological Science , 19 (April), 101-105. b. Rusbult, Caryl E., Eli J. F inkel, and Madoka Kumashiro (2009), “The Michelangelo
Phenomenon,” Current Directions in Psychological Science , 18 (December), 305-
309. c. Fitzsimons, Grainne and Eli J. Finkel (2010), “ Outsourcing Self-Regulatory Effort to
Significant Others,” submitted for publication.
Session 3
– Signaling – September 16, 2010 a. Berger, Jonah and Morgan Ward (2010), “Subtle Signals of Conspicuous
Consumption,”
Journal of Consumer Research , 37 (December). b. Berger
, Jonah and Lindsay Rand (2008), “Shifting Signals to Help Health: Using
Identity Signaling to Reduce Risky Health Behaviors,” Journal of Consumer
Research , 35 (October), 509-518. c. Mead, Nicole, L., Roy F. Baumeister, Tyler F. Stillman, Catherine D. Rawn, and
Kathleen D. Vohs (forthcoming), “Social Exclusion Causes People to Spend and
Consume Strategically in the Service of Affiliation,”
Journal of Consumer
Research .
Session 4 – Priming or Not – September 23, 2010 a. Laran, Juliano
, Amy N. Dalton, and Eduardo B. Andrade (forthcoming), “The Curious
Case of Behavioral Backlash: Why Brands Produce Priming Effects and Slogans
Produce Reverse Priming Effects,”
Journal of Consumer Research . b. Smeesters, Dirk, Vincent Y. Yzerbyt, Olivier Corneille, and Luk Warlop (2009),
“When Do Primes Prime? The Moderating Role of the Self-Concept in
Individuals’ Susceptibility to Priming Effects on Social Behavior,” Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology , 45 (January), 211-216. c. Chartrand, Tanya L., Amy N. Dalton, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons (2007),
“Nonconscious Relationship Reactance: When Significant Others Prime
Opposing Goals,”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 43 (September),
719-726.
Session 5 – Effects on Emotional Responses – September 30, 2010
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a. Ebert, Jane E. J. and Tom Meyvis (2010), “Psychological Distance in Hedonic
Prediction and Consumption: The Surprising Impact of Distant Events,” Working paper. b. Morewedge, Carey K., Daniel T. Gilbert, Meng Zhu, Kristian Ove R. Myrseth, Karim
S. Kassam, and Timothy D. Wilson (in press), “Consuming Experience: Why
Affective Forecasters Overestimate Comparative Value,”
Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology . c. Argo, Jennifer J., Rui (Juliet) Zhu, and Darren W. Dahl (2008), “Fact or Fiction: An
Investigation of Empathy Differences in Response to Emotional Melodramatic
Entertainment,” Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (February), 614-623.
Session 6 – Constructive Preferences – October 14, 2010 a. Warren, Caleb, A. Peter McGraw, and Leaf Van Boven (in press), “Values and
Preferences: Defining Preference Construction,” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews:
Cognitive Science . b. Simonson
, Itamar (2008), “Will I Like a ‘Medium’ Pillow? Another Look at
Constructed and Inherent Preferences,” Journal of Consumer Psychology , 18 (3),
155-169. c. Bettman, James R., Mary Frances Luce, and John W. Payne (2008), “Preference
Construction and Prefer ence Stability: Putting the Pillow to Rest,” Journal of
Consumer Psychology , 170-174.
Session 7 – Group and Individual Identity – October 21, 2010 a.
Swann, William B., Ángel Gómez, D. Conor Seyle, J. Francisco Morales, and
Carmen Huici (2009), “Identity Fusion: The Interplay of Personal and Social
Identities in Extreme Group Behavior,”
Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology , 96 (May), 995-1011. b. Lamont, Michèle and Virág Molnár (2001), “How Blacks Use Consumption to Shape their Collective Identity: Evidence from Marketing Specialists,”
Journal of
Consumer Culture , 1 (1), 31-45. c. Swann, William B., Ángel Gómez, John F. Dovidio, Sonia Hart, and Jolanda Jetten
(2010), “Dying and Killing for One’s Group: Identity Fusion Moderates Responses to Intergroup Versions of the Trolley Problem,”
Psychological Science , 21
(August), 1176-1183.
Session 8 – Power and Consumer Behavior – October 28, 2010 a. Rucker , Derek D., David Dubois, and Adam D. Galinsky (2011), “Generous Paupers and Stingy Princes: Power Drives Consumer Spending on Self versus Others,”
Journal of Consumer Research , 37 (April). b. Rucker, Derek D. and Adam D. Galinsky (2009), “Conspicuous Consumption versus
Utilitarian Ideals: How Different Levels of Power Shape Consumer Behavior,”
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology , 45, 549-555. c. Mandel, Naomi, Petia K. Petrova, and Robert B. Cialdini (2006), “Images of Success and the Preference fo r Luxury Brands,” Journal of Consumer Psychology , 16 (1),
57-69.
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Session 9 – Student Paper Idea Presentations – November 4, 2010
Session 10 – Morality – November 11, 2010 a. McGraw, A. Peter and Philip E. Tetlock
(2005), “Taboo Trade-Offs, Relational
Framing, and the Acceptability of Exchanges,” Journal of Consumer Psychology ,
15 (1), 2-15. b. Levav, Jonathan and A. Peter McGraw (2009), “Emotional Accounting: How Feelings
About Money Influence Consumer Choice,” Journal of Marketing Research , 46
(April), 66-80. c. Lee, Spike W. S. and Norbert Schwarz (2010), “Dirty Hands and Dirty Mouths:
Embodiment of the Moral Purity Metaphor is Specific to the Motor Modality
Involved in Moral Transgression,” Psychological Science .
Session 11
– Aesthetics – December 2, 2010 a. Madzharov, Adriana V. and Lauren G. Block (2010), “Effects of Product Unit Image on Consumption of Snack Foods,”
Journal of Consumer Psychology , 20(4), 398-
409. b. Krishna , Aradhna, Ryan S. Elder, and Cindy Caldara (2010), “Feminine to Smell but
Masculine to Touch? Multisensory Congruence and Its Effect on the Aesthetic
Experience,”
Journal of Consumer Psychology , 20 (4), 410-418. c. Townsend, Claudia and Suzanne B. Shu (2 010), “When and How Aesthetics
Influences Financial Decisions,” Journal of Consumer Psychology , 20 (4), 452-
458.
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