Construal-Level Effects on Preference Stability, Preference-Behavior Correspondence, and the Suppression of Competing Brands

Construal level theory (Trope & Liberman, 2003) suggests that construal level––or the degree of abstractness of mental representations––increases with temporal, spatial, or sensory distance. Three experiments show that the mere presence of a set of target brands at the time a choice is made enco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consumer psychology 2006, Vol.16 (2), p.135-144
Main Authors: Kardes, Frank R., Cronley, Maria L., Kim, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brands
Consumer attitudes
Studies
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Summary:Construal level theory (Trope & Liberman, 2003) suggests that construal level––or the degree of abstractness of mental representations––increases with temporal, spatial, or sensory distance. Three experiments show that the mere presence of a set of target brands at the time a choice is made encourages consumers to represent the brands in memory in terms of concrete lower-level construals. Consequently, preference stability is higher, preference-behavior consistency is greater, and product category-identification latencies for competing brands are slower. Furthermore, the mere presence of target brands at the time of choice affects preference-behavior consistency independent of the effects of direct experience. Implications for an understanding of spontaneous preference formation, preference representation, and preference elicitation are discussed.
ISSN:1057-7408
1532-7663
DOI:10.1207/s15327663jcp1602_4