Abstract
The neurobiological basis of brand and product attachment has received much attention in consumer neuroscience research, although it remains unclear. In this study, we conducted functional MRI experiments involving female users of famous luxury brand cosmetics as participants, based on the regions of interest involved in human attachment and object attachment. The results showed that the left ventral pallidum (VP), which is involved in positive reward, and the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), which is involved in self-concept, a key concept in object attachment, are the core regions in cosmetic attachment. Moreover, the performed psychophysiological interaction analyses showed that VP-temporoparietal junction connectivity positively correlated with activity in the dorsal raphe nucleus, and PCC–anterior hippocampus (aHC) connectivity positively correlated with subjective evaluation of attachment. The former suggests that object attachment is a human-like attachment and a stronger tendency of anthropomorphism is associated with stronger feelings of security. The latter suggests that the individual’s concept of attachment as well as the relationships with the attached cosmetics are represented in the aHC, and the PCC–aHC associations produce subjective awareness of the attachment relationships. These associations between memory and reward systems have been shown to play critical roles in cosmetic attachment.
Highlights
The neurobiological basis of brand and product attachment has received much attention in consumer neuroscience research, it remains unclear
Similar to human attachment, a recent neuroimaging study related to decision making in hoarding disorders showed that the ventral pallidum (VP) is activated in association with attachment to object p ossessions[30], suggesting that the VP plays an important role in attachment in individuals, and in object attachment
As for the brain regions involved in attachment to the cosmetics, the left VP and the left and right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were significantly activated in the main effect of attachment
Summary
The neurobiological basis of brand and product attachment has received much attention in consumer neuroscience research, it remains unclear. This fact suggests that self-concept is a key concept in cosmetic attachment, as in general brands/products[15] Based on these facts and considerations, we first hypothesized the involvement of the reward system, which has been shown to be involved in human attachment and animal pair bonding. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measurements were performed when the participants (1) viewed individual photos of their attached and non-attached cosmetic bottles, and (2) viewed each cosmetic bottle photo while their left hand was gently massaged by a beauty specialist using the serum The latter setting was based on the consideration that the daily self-touching behaviors may reinforce the bond between the users and their favorite cosmetics, and this intimate relationship may establish a specific and stable attachment to the cosmetic product, as in human attachment in relationships. We investigated the correlation of individual strength of connectivity with subjective evaluation and brainstem ROI activities
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