In three sets of experiments, we propose and find a cognitive shift caused by heightened physiological states such as sexual desire and hunger. In particular, it was found that exposure to images of sexy women decreases male consumers’ perception of being connected to others. A similar effect...

This article investigates how two dimensions of psychological distance (i.e., temporal distance and social distance) jointly affect consumers' evaluations of products. Drawing on the properties of psychological distance and diminishing sensitivity to the increase in distance, we show an...

People are said to be loss averse when their pain of losing something exceeds their joy of gaining it. This research proposes and tests a new moderator of loss aversion: the type of relationship norms salient at the time the loss or the gain is experienced. We suggest that mere salience of the...

Past research has shown that a physical experience can influence metaphorically linked psychological judgment. However, the underlying mechanisms have not been formally tested. This article examines the role of semantic activations underlying such influences, focusing on the effects of a...

A friendly relationship with a service provider can sometimes decrease the negative feelings that consumers experience as the result of a service failure. However, friendship is not always beneficial. When consumers focus their attention on the provider’s obligation to respond to their needs,...

Ads often contain puffery-product descriptions that purport to be important but actually provide little if any meaningful information. Consumers' reactions to these descriptions depend on whether they perceive themselves to be more or less knowledgeable about the product than others whom the ad...