JCR Authors in the News
 | New York How to Get People to Stop Ignoring Traffic Signs February 25, 2015 A lot of people die in traffic accidents — about 34,000 a year in the United States alone — and a fair number of these deaths are caused by people missing or ignoring traffic signs. So, for obvious reasons, researchers are interested in figuring out how to make signs that convey vital information more attention-grabbing. A new paper appears to have found evidence supporting a pretty straightforward tweak that could do just that. A Sign of Things to Come: Behavioral Change through Dynamic Iconography by Luca Cian, Aradhna Krishna, Ryan S. Elder |
 | The Globe and Mail The Rewards and Risks of Airbnb February 25, 2015 A study in the Journal of Consumer Research, which focused on the auto-sharing Zipcar service, found that the sharing economy isn’t so much about sharing as it is about making and saving money. Access-Based Consumption: The Case of Car Sharing by Fleura Bardhi, Giana M. Eckhardt |
 | The Telegraph The Action-Packed Road Signs That Grab Your Attention February 25, 2015 Road signs are hardly the most scenic examples of street furniture, but most drivers can forgive safety warnings their somewhat minimalist aesthetic. That could change following research from two US universities that found drivers react far faster to road signs depicting greater movement. A Sign of Things to Come: Behavioral Change through Dynamic Iconography by Luca Cian, Aradhna Krishna, Ryan S. Elder |
 | The Huffington Post Simple Change to Familiar Road Signs Might Save Countless Lives February 24, 2015 A pedestrian is fatally struck by a motor vehicle every two hours on average in the U.S. But a new study suggests that it may be possible to cut down on that number simply by swapping out road signs featuring those familiar static-looking stick figures with signs bearing active-looking figures. A Sign of Things to Come: Behavioral Change through Dynamic Iconography by Luca Cian, Aradhna Krishna, Ryan S. Elder |
 | MarketWatch Our Bodies, Our Sells: Beware the Bio-Marketing Revolution February 23, 2015 Researchers have discovered that women, and especially married women, are apparently much more willing to sample new products and try new brands during the high-fertility phase of their monthly cycles. Married women chose to try 15% to 20% more products during the high-fertility phase of their cycle than during the low-fertility phase. Playing the Field: The Effect of Fertility on Women’s Desire for Variety by Kristina M. Durante, Ashley Rae Arsena |
 | PBS NewsHour How the Michael Bay Approach to Road Signs Can Reduce Auto Accidents February 23, 2015 How do you make drivers pay more attention to road signs? Simple: increase the action. A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research claims that if a warning sign is more dynamic — i.e., containing an image that appears to move at higher speed — there is a greater chance a driver will react more quickly to the danger it warns about. A Sign of Things to Come: Behavioral Change through Dynamic Iconography by Luca Cian, Aradhna Krishna, Ryan S. Elder |
 | Fox News Women Shop More, Seek Variety in Men When They Are Most Fertile, Study Says February 19, 2015 A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that women who sought different romantic partners were also more inclined to experiment with different brands of consumer goods. Women who were married, or otherwise loyal to a romantic partner, were less inclined to seek product variety —- a finding that suggests loyalty in romance may translate to loyalty of brands. Playing the Field: The Effect of Fertility on Women’s Desire for Variety by Kristina M. Durante, Ashley Rae Arsena |
 | Daily Mail Women Found to Buy More Things When They Are Most Fertile February 18, 2015 A study of more than 500 women suggests that women like to buy more things when they are at their most fertile. Researchers found that their test subjects, aged between 18 and 40, sought a wider variety of items when ovulating –- an impulse that extended to their love life. Playing the Field: The Effect of Fertility on Women’s Desire for Variety by Kristina M. Durante, Ashley Rae Arsena |
 | Forbes Projecting an Image of Success May Make You Feel Like a Failure, Study Says February 18, 2015 Whenever the way we want to see ourselves doesn’t line up with what’s actually going on in our lives, our self-image is threatened. We often try to cope by seeking out specific products or activities to repair our feelings of self-worth. However, our attempts to compensate for feelings of inadequacy could leave us feeling worse, according to a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. Perils of Compensatory Consumption: Within-Domain Compensation Undermines Subsequent Self-Regulation by Monika Lisjak, Andrea Bonezzi, Soo Kim, Derek D. Rucker |
 | Fast Company How to Trick Yourself into Meeting Deadlines February 17, 2015 Serial procrastinators know one of the hardest things about getting things done is getting started. Research published in the Journal of Consumer Research shows the key to motivating yourself to start working on a task may be picking the right due date. It turns out meeting our deadlines requires changing the way we think about time. The Categorization of Time and Its Impact on Task Initiation by Yanping Tu, Dilip Soman |
 | Cosmopolitan Being Cold Makes You Want to Watch Rom-Coms, Says Science February 13, 2015 Science is now saying that feeling cold increases your likeliness to buy tickets to see a romantic comedy. Researchers at the Journal of Consumer Research say they first thought that was because being physically cold could lead people to want to feel psychologically warm, and according to their findings, they were right. Warm It Up With Love: The Effect of Physical Coldness on Liking of Romance Movies by Jiewen Hong, Yacheng Sun |
 | TIME 7 Surprising Ways To Eat Healthy at a Restaurant February 13, 2015 We tend to underestimate how much liquid is in short tumblers —- which is why bartenders typically pour 27 percent more alcohol into short glasses than tall ones, according to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research. The flip side of this optical illusion: By sipping your caipirinha from a tall glass, you’ll have fewer calories without feeling deprived. Plate Size and Color Suggestibility: The Delboeuf Illusion’s Bias on Serving and Eating Behavior by Koert Van Ittersum, Brian Wansink |
 | The Globe and Mail Can Pharrell, Bono and Other Davos Regulars Really Change the World? February 10, 2015 Each January hundreds of luminaries such as Pharrell Williams, Sheryl Sandberg and Angela Merkel descend on the Swiss ski resort of Davos to discuss pressing global problems at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. If nothing else, it makes for some entertaining press. But beyond the headlines, what does the meet-up really achieve? A lot more than you might think, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Creating the Responsible Consumer: Moralistic Governance Regimes and Consumer Subjectivity by Markus Giesler, Ela Veresiu |
 | Sydney Morning Herald Numbers Game: How Prices Get Shoppers 'Feeling Right' about a Deal February 9, 2015 The number of cents on a price tag might have a greater influence on which product you choose to buy than the number of dollars, according to new research. Marketing researchers compared the impact of rounded and non-rounded prices, and found rounded numbers increased the chances of consumers buying a product when driven by feelings, such as a $100 camera for a summer holiday. This Number Just Feels Right: The Impact of Roundedness of Price Numbers on Product Evaluations by Monica Wadhwa, Kuangjie Zhang |
 | Pacific Standard We Prefer Merlot with a Hint of Altruism February 9, 2015 Memo to CEOs: Would you like customers to rate your company’s merchandise as superior to your competitors? Preferably without switching to better-quality, higher-cost ingredients? Newly published research suggests a simple way to do so: Make sure the corporate budget includes a generous allotment to charitable causes. Doing Well by Doing Good: The Benevolent Halo of Corporate Social Responsibility by Alexander Chernev, Sean Blair |
 | Chicago Tribune Complaining Is No Joke January 31, 2015 Funny complaints contained in negative reviews on Amazon.com or Yelp tend to get more attention from other consumers, but they may not be taken seriously by businesses or lead to a sympathetic response that fixes the problem. So, if your goal is simply to vent publicly or to warn or entertain other consumers, joke away. But if you want a fix, play it straight. Humorous Complaining by A. Peter McGraw, Caleb Warren, Christina Kan |
 | Yahoo! Finance The Psychological Difference Between $12.00 and $11.67 January 30, 2015 A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that products that are recreational or luxurious benefit from rounded prices: Consumers were more inclined to buy a bottle of champagne when it was priced at $40.00 rather than at $39.72 or $40.28. However, for purchases that are utilitarian participants were more likely to buy at the higher non-rounded price. This Number Just Feels Right: The Impact of Roundedness of Price Numbers on Product Evaluations by Monica Wadhwa, Kuangjie Zhang |
 | The Atlantic The Psychological Difference Between $12.00 and $11.67 January 30, 2015 A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that shoppers deal with pricing information differently when prices feature round numbers ("5"), as opposed to non-round ones ("4.99"). When something costs $100, consumers tend to rely on their feelings, whereas when something has an irregular price —- such as $98.67 —- consumers have to use reason to compute whether it's a good price. This Number Just Feels Right: The Impact of Roundedness of Price Numbers on Product Evaluations by Monica Wadhwa, Kuangjie Zhang |