Marketing Seminar（2018-13）

Topic:An Investigation of Relational Processing in Evaluative Conditioning

Speaker:Xiaomeng Fan, PhD Candidate in Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Time:Friday, 21 September, 13:30-15:00

Location:Room 216, Guanghua Building 2

Abstract:

Evaluative conditioning (EC) is a widely used technique to shape consumers’ brand preferences by repeatedly pairing a brand with affective cues. According to one dominant theoretical perspective – the associative account of EC – any sort of affective cue can be an effective basis for EC. I investigate this idea with a focus on implicit brand attitudes. In contrast to the associative account, I show that EC involves higher-order relational processing: (1) EC is moderated by relational affordances between the targeted brand and the associative affective cues; implicit brand attitudes can be changed more substantially by affective cues having a plausible (vs. implausible) relation with the brand, and (2) EC can reflect the processing of negation; implicit brand attitudes can be enhanced by a negative cue if there is a plausible negation between the brand and the cue. Finally, I show that relational processing can happen spontaneously but requires cognitive resources.

Introduction:

Xiaomeng Fan is a PhD Candidate in Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. Her research focuses on understanding consumers’ affective reactions to brands and products, and how these reactions interact with cognition and motivation to influence consumer learning, judgment and decision making. The interplay between affective and cognitive responses is examined in her dissertation project regarding evaluative conditioning and in another research regarding information processing of zero prices. She also studies the dissociation of wanting (motivational) versus liking (affective) systems in human beings, and the unique impact of each system on consumers’ purchasing behavior. Prior to the PhD program, Xiaomeng received her Masters degree in Consumer and Family Sciences from Purdue University and her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Renmin University of China.

Your participation is warmly welcomed!