Anticipated Group Interaction: Coping with Valence Asymmetries in Attitude Shift

Many consumer decisions are influenced by social interactions with other consumers. This research proposes that negative group information induces asymmetric effects on individual attitudes toward a product, depending on anticipated group interaction as a moderating variable. More specifically, negative group information is expected to induce more attitude change on consumers who hold positive attitudes. However, an opposite pattern of results is predicted when consumers anticipate discussing their product attitude with a group. Namely, negative group information should stimulate more attitude change on consumers who hold negative attitudes. In two experiments, we show reliable support for this interaction between individual attitude valence, group attitude valence, and anticipated group interaction. We also provide evidence in support of the theoretically predicted mechanism responsible for these effects. Implications for the emerging consumer literatures on valence asymmetry and anticipated group interaction are discussed. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..