Articles week 2

Question 1

Feelings that make a difference: how guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices (Antonetti & Maklan)

What is the link between consumers’ beliefs and sustainable behavior?

Answer 1

Consumers who believe their decisions can significantly affect environmental and social issues are more likely to behave sustainably.

Question 2

Feelings that make a difference: how guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices (Antonetti & Maklan)

How do feelings of guilt and pride regulate sustainable consumption?

Answer 2

Feelings of guilt and pride can regulate sustainable consumption by affecting consumers’ general perception of effectiveness.

Question 3

Feelings that make a difference: how guilt and pride convince consumers of the effectiveness of sustainable consumption choices (Antonetti & Maklan)

How do guilt and pride affect consumers’ perceptions of agency?

Answer 3

After experiencing guilt or pride, consumers see themselves as the cause of relevant sustainability outcomes.

Question 4

What do guilt and pride influence in terms of consumer behavior?

Answer 4

The process of causal attribution associated with these emotions influences consumers’ use of neutralization techniques.

Question 5

What is the positive effect of guilt and pride on perceived consumer effectiveness?

Answer 5

Guilt and pride positively influence perceived consumer effectiveness by reducing consumers’ ability to neutralize their sense of personal responsibility.

Question 6

What does PCE stand for?

Answer 6

Perceived customer effectiveness

Question 7

What does PBC stand for?

Answer 7

Perceived behavioural control

Question 8

What impact do self-conscious emotions like guilt and pride have on personal decisions for long-term goals?

Answer 8

Self-conscious emotions, such as guilt and pride, impact individuals’ ability to control personal decisions in support of long-term goals.

Question 9

Describe pride and its motivational aspect.

Answer 9

Pride is a positive emotion associated with a sense of achievement and self-worth. Authentic pride, a positive dimension of pride, is associated with a sense of purpose and the attainment of cherished goals. It motivates people to behave responsibly in the future.

Question 10

How does guilt affect consumer behavior?

Answer 10

Guilt is a negative emotion that leads consumers to regulate their own choices to avoid feeling guilty. It is associated with problem-focused coping, and consumers act to regulate their behavior.

Question 11

How do emotions, in general, influence behavior?

Answer 11

Emotions shape behavior by providing information to individuals that influences cognitions and offers the opportunity to learn courses of action that will produce better emotional outcomes in the future.

Question 12

What is the role of a “sense of agency” in consumer behavior, and how do guilt and pride contribute to it?

Answer 12

The experience of guilt and pride activates psychological processes that increase consumers’ sense of agency. Guilt and pride are associated with causal attributions that lead consumers to perceive themselves as the cause of the event appraised.

Question 13

What are “neutralization techniques” in consumer behavior, and what do they explain?

Answer 13

Neutralization techniques are methods used to deflect blame for deviant or undesirable behavior. They explain how consumers act in ways that contradict their pro-social beliefs while still preserving a positive self-image.

Question 14

How do “mastery experiences” impact Perceived Customer Effectiveness (PCE)?

Answer 14

Mastery experiences are beliefs based on the analysis of previous achievements. PCE increases if consumers realize they have been able to contribute positively to environmental or social issues in a specific consumption episode. This often requires direct feedback after every instance of behavior.

Question 15

What is the challenge with obtaining direct feedback for PCE in most contexts?

Answer 15

The problem is that direct feedback is possible in some domains but not in most contexts.

Question 16

How do guilt and pride contribute to the regulation of sustainable consumption?

Answer 16

Guilt and pride contribute to the regulation of sustainable consumption by influencing consumers’ Perceived Customer Effectiveness (PCE).

Question 17

What is the influence of guilt and pride on PCE?

Answer 17

Experiences of guilt and pride suggest the possibility of changing consumers’ beliefs of effectiveness through interventions based on these emotions. Guilt and pride affect PCE, mediating the relationship between emotions and sustainable consumption.

Question 18

What do guilt and pride make consumers realize?

Answer 18

Guilt and pride force consumers to realize the causal link between certain sustainability outcomes and their own actions.

Question 19

How do guilt and pride affect the use of neutralization techniques?

Answer 19

When experiencing feelings of guilt or pride, consumers are less likely to use neutralization techniques. These emotions hinder the use of rationalization techniques that allow them to deflect blame, as they are based on the identification of a link between personal action and relevant outcomes.

Question 20

Why might eliciting self-conscious emotions be more effective than informational strategies?

Answer 20

Eliciting self-conscious emotions like guilt and pride may be more effective than informational strategies in influencing PCE. The information contained in the experience of these emotions serves as feedback on previous behavior and is a powerful source of effectiveness beliefs. Informational strategies may lead to cognitive processes that justify past decisions and protect the self.

Question 21

How do single experiences of guilt and pride impact consumers?

Answer 21

Single experiences of guilt and pride provide feedback on past behavior that ultimately convince consumers of their effectiveness, simulating a process similar to what might be achieved through mastery experiences.

Question 22

What mediates behavioral regulation in relation to guilt and pride?

Answer 22

Behavioral regulation is mediated by Perceived Customer Effectiveness (PCE). Guilt and pride activate a learning process that leads to an increase in PCE. The process is centered on the ability of guilt and pride to reinforce the individual’s sense of agency.

Question 23

How do guilt and pride affect consumers’ sense of personal responsibility?

Answer 23

Both guilt and pride stress consumers’ perceptions that they are directly responsible for the event or outcome, which underlies the process of emotional appraisal. After experiencing guilt or pride, consumers assessing a new decision find it more difficult to neutralize their sense of personal responsibility.

Question 24

How do guilt and pride influence PCE regarding sustainability outcomes?

Answer 24

After experiencing guilt or pride, consumers cannot claim that sustainability outcomes do not depend on their individual choices. This affects PCE as it persuades consumers that their decisions make a difference in the promotion of sustainability.

Question 25

What does the paper present?

Answer 25

The paper presents a mediated moderation model to explain humour perceptions of prankvertising.

Question 26

What is the role of a victim’s expressions of surprise in this model?

Answer 26

Victim’s expressions of surprise indicate the degree of transgression, which can induce humor perceptions and result in positive brand attitude changes among viewers if it is morally justified.

Question 27

What does the mediating effect of victims’ surprise influence?

Answer 27

The mediating effect of victims’ surprise influences brand attitudes through morality judgments and humor perceptions.

Question 28

What two main cues affect the mediating effect of victims’ surprise on brand attitudes?

Answer 28

The two main cues are victim’s expressions of fear and the meaningfulness of the pranks.

Question 29

What is the prediction for the mediation process in this model?

Answer 29

The prediction is a process of surprise → morality → humor mediation.

Question 30

What is “prankvertising”?

Answer 30

Prankvertising is when advertisers play pranks on seemingly unsuspecting consumers to deliver information about the product, brand, campaign, and brand image or positioning. It is used to induce viral sharing of brand messages.

Question 31

What are the two distinct styles of staged surprises in prankvertising?

Answer 31

Staged surprises in prankvertising come in two styles: pleasant and fearful.

Question 32

Describe the “pleasant” scenario in prankvertising.

Answer 32

In the pleasant scenario, advertisers trick unaware people with hilarious hoaxes that involve pleasure and fun.

Question 33

Describe the “unpleasant/fearful” scenario in prankvertising.

Answer 33

In the unpleasant/fearful scenario, advertisers stage pranks to mock, ridicule, or scare unaware consumers, representing threats to the innocent victims.

Question 34

What is the “boomerang effect” in the context of harmful prankvertising?

Answer 34

Harmful prankvertising has a boomerang effect, which generates significantly negative shifts in brand affect. Positive prankvertising, however, has no parallel positive influence.

Question 35

What is the Benign Violation Theory (BVT)?

Answer 35

BVT is a theory that suggests humor results from consumers simultaneously holding two specific appraisals: (1) there is a violation, and (2) the violation is benign.

Question 36

What conditions make violations humorous according to BVT?

Answer 36

Violations are humorous when they feature playful cues and inconsequential threats.

Question 37

What is prankvertising, and how does it relate to BVT?

Answer 37

Prankvertising involves surprising people on the streets, representing a violation, and has the potential to induce humor. It relates to BVT as it involves violations with humorous potential.

Question 38

What problem is associated with BVT in the context of prankvertising?

Answer 38

The problem with BVT is the assumption that all consumers should find prankvertising humorous, which is not true.

Question 39

What factors influence whether victims’ surprise can be morally justified and lead to humor perceptions and positive brand attitude changes?

Answer 39

The factors include perceptions of the victims’ fear and the meaningfulness of the prank in prankvertising.

Question 40

What happens when victims do not express much fear in prankvertising?

Answer 40

When victims do not express much fear, it leads to a positive mediation effect.

Question 41

What is the effect when victims express greater fear in prankvertising?

Answer 41

When victims express greater fear, it is likely to reduce the positive mediation effects if the pranks are less meaningful.

Question 42

How do brand attitude changes differ for well-known brands after exposure to prankvertising?

Answer 42

For well-known brands, people’s attitudes towards these brands are less likely to be affected by advertising.

Question 43

What is the concern with prankvertising videos?

Answer 43

The concern is that prankvertising videos naturally vary on multiple characteristics, and these unique characteristics introduce unnecessary surprises.

Question 44

What are the three factors that affect the perception of prankvertising?

Answer 44

The three factors are degrees of perceived surprise among victims (high vs. low), perceived fear induced in victims (high vs. low), and meaningfulness of the pranks (high vs. low).

Question 45

What do morality judgments determine in the context of prankvertising?

Answer 45

Morality judgments determine humor perceptions, which significantly affect brand attitudes.

Question 46

Does the perception of victims feeling fear moderate the influence of victims’ surprise on humor perceptions through morality judgments?

Answer 46

No, the perception that victims feel fear does not moderate the influence of victims’ surprise on humor perceptions through morality judgments.

Question 47

How does the positive mediation effect change with low meaningfulness and high victim fear?

Answer 47

When meaningfulness is low, the positive mediation effect decreases with victims’ fear, and it may disappear or even become negative if victims express high levels of fear.

Question 48

What is the role of morality judgments in response to prankvertising?

Answer 48

People engage in moral judgments when exposed to prankvertising. Morality judgments determine humor perception, which in turn influences the direction and degree of brand attitude changes and brand attitudes in general.