Abstract
AbstractIntegrating the embodied cognition framework with research on the self, this study shows that head canting (the vertical tilt of the head to look up vs. down) interacts with a viewer's physical height to influence perceived brand power and behavioral intentions. Three studies use a variety of brand cues in both laboratory and field contexts to test the effect of head canting on brand power evaluations, the role of a person's physical height as a moderator and boundary condition, and the mediating role of consumer–brand identification. Study 1, an experiment, showed that tall, but not short individuals, evaluate a brand as more powerful when looking up (rather than down) at a brand story from a standing position, with differences in brand power impacting brand attitudes and choice. Study 2 replicates these findings with 30 brands, consumers positioned in a seated position, and brand logos. Both studies rule out the construal level as a process mediator. Study 3 further examines the process and demonstrates that the interaction of head canting with a person's height impacts consumer–brand identification, which mediates brand evaluations. These findings add a brand management and physical‐self perspective to previous embodiment research by specifically examining the effects of sensorimotor experiences.
Highlights
In the marketplace, consumers frequently look at brand cues one's head up versus down impacts evaluations of brand power, including names, logos, stories, packages, and mascots across a brand attitudes and choice, and contingent upon a person's physical variety of settings, ranging from store shelves, computer screens, and height
Given our replicated finding of nonsignificance for the effects of construal level in studies one and two, we examined the potential mediating impact of consumer–brand identification (CBI) in study three
These limitations motivated Study 3, which seeks to further replicate the findings found in Studies 1 and 2, examines the potential role of CBI as the suspected mechanism underlying short versus tall people's differential responses to looking up, and attempts to extend these findings to a field setting
Summary
Feelings of inferiority by their evaluations and behaviors (Knapen, Blaker, & Van Vugt, 2018). Their process explanation centered on construal level, a more concrete processing style evoked by looking down, and a more abstract processing style when looking up While these studies provide evidence for the capacity of head canting to induce embodied cognition and influence consumer behavior, they do not link the sensorimotor experience to the concept of power, in a brand context. Integrating a self‐referencing perspective with the previously posited effect of head canting, we expect that a person's height will interact with their sensorimotor experience when viewing a stimulus to influence brand power perceptions. Three studies tested the effects of head canting and a viewer's physical height on brand power and behavioral intentions with diverse groups of consumers and in a variety of contexts. Beyond testing for the effects of head canting and height, the study probes downstream effects on attitude towards the brand and controls for construal level, a person's mood, and underdog orientation
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