PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Why does explaining why a cupcake is delicious make us love it less?

2011-10-22
(Press-News.org) When consumers share their thoughts about products or experiences, their opinions can intensify, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. But it depends on whether they're talking about something sensory or practical.

"Consumers constantly share stories with others about products and services through word of mouth (WOM)," writes author Sarah G. Moore (University of Alberta). "How does sharing WOM change storytellers' feelings about their own experiences? Does sharing stories make consumers like the experience more or less than before? Moore asks.

In her experiments, Moore found that people have different reactions to explaining and sharing different types of experiences. She gives the example of a consumer who might explain that she bought some divine chocolate cupcakes for a friend's birthday—or that she loves her new USB stick because it holds all her files in one place.

People who are explaining and sharing hedonic (sensory or emotional) experiences have their emotions dampened, Moore found. "Explaining why a chocolate cupcake tasted so divine makes us love the cupcake a little less, while explaining why a movie was so horrible makes us hate the movie a little less," Moore explains. And people who share about hedonic experiences are less likely to spread word-of-mouth opinions about them in the future.

On the other hand, utilitarian (cognitive) experiences, such as using a USB stick or a cleaning product are based on functions instead of emotions; explaining helps consumers understanding the experience. "Explaining why a USB stick is so great makes us like the USB stick more, while explaining why a cleaning product is so horrible makes us dislike the cleaning product more," Moore writes. In addition, consumers who share about utilitarian experiences are more likely to spread word-of-mouth information about them in the future.

"In short, some things really are best left unsaid," writes Moore. "Although we have a natural tendency to explain the events in our lives, it is not always in our best interests to do so."

###

Sarah G. Moore. "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid: How Word of Mouth Influences the Storyteller." Journal of Consumer Research: April 2012 (published online August 15, 2011).

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Social isolation: Are lonely consumers actually loners or conformers?

2011-10-22
Despite the proliferation of social networks, many Americans feel alone and isolated. According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, lonely individuals behave differently in the marketplace than people with strong social networks. "Despite the popularity of Wi-Fi technologies and social networks such as Facebook, Americans are more socially isolated than two decades ago," write authors Jing Wang (University of Iowa), Rui (Juliet) Zhu (University of British Columbia), and Baba Shiv (Stanford University). According to the authors, in 2004 almost twenty five ...

Housing, health care contribute most to rising costs of living in Washington

2011-10-22
It costs 8 percent more on average than it did two years ago for Washington residents to make ends meet, according to a new report from a University of Washington research group. A single parent with one preschooler and one school-age child living in Seattle needs an annual income of $56,904 – up 13 percent from $50,268 two years ago – to meet the family's most basic requirements, according to the Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2011 released today. A similar family living in Spokane County needs $41,750, up 8 percent from $38,562 two years ago. "Even ...

Researchers find coupling of proteins promotes glioblastoma development

2011-10-22
Two previously unassociated proteins known to be overly active in a variety of cancers bind together to ignite and sustain malignant brain tumors, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports this week in the journal Cancer Cell. This research is the first to connect FoxM1 to a molecular signaling cascade that regulates normal neural stem cells, said senior author, Suyun Huang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in MD Anderson's Department of Neurosurgery. "When FoxM1 binds to beta-catenin, we found that it also supports ...

Sixth Circuit Court Rules Definition of "Employee" Includes Some Volunteers, Extending Title VII Discrimination Protection

2011-10-22
by: Edward Macey A recent ruling from Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals specifically confirms that the federal civil rights laws protect certain volunteers from discrimination at work. The case brought by a volunteer firefighter against the Middlefield Fire Dept. was originally thrown out before trial by the lower court. The Appeals court ruling reverses the lower court and sends the discrimination case back for trial, based on a determination that the law's protection against discrimination and harassment for "employees" includes employees who are unpaid. The ...

Why do some athletes choke under pressure?

2011-10-22
Athletes know they should just do their thing on the 18th hole, or during the penalty shootout, or when they're taking a 3-point shot in the last moments of the game. But when that shot could mean winning or losing, it's easy to choke. A new article published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, looks at why paying too much attention to what you're doing can ruin performance. "We think when you're under pressure, that your attention goes inward naturally. Suddenly it means so much, you want to make sure ...

Psychologists defend the importance of general abilities

2011-10-22
"What makes a great violinist, physicist, or crossword puzzle solver? Are experts born or made? The question has intrigued psychologists since psychology was born -- and the rest of us, too, who may secretly fantasize playing duets with Yo Yo Ma or winning a Nobel Prize in science. It's no wonder Malcolm Gladwell stayed atop the bestseller lists by popularizing the "10,000-hour rule" of Florida State University psychologist K. Anders Ericsson. Using Ericsson's pioneering work -- but omitting equally prominent, contradictory, research -- Gladwell's book Outliers argued that ...

Commonly used 3-drug regimen for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis found harmful

2011-10-22
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, has stopped one arm of a three arm multi-center, clinical trial studying treatments for the lung-scarring disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) for safety concerns. The trial found that people with IPF receiving a currently used triple-drug therapy consisting of prednisone, azathioprine, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) had worse outcomes than those who received placebos, or inactive substances. "These findings underscore why treatments must be evaluated in a rigorous manner," ...

Trio of studies support use of PET/CT scans as prostate cancer staging tool

2011-10-22
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Recent studies have suggested that C-11 choline positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (PET/CT) scans can be utilized as a staging and potentially therapeutic tool in prostate cancer. The results of three studies, released today during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/default.aspx), validate findings in Europe and expand the potential use of C-11 choline PET scans. One study found that C-11 choline PET/CT scans can be used as a staging tool rather than multiple x-rays, ...

Divorced Children Receive Less Financial Help From Their Parents

2011-10-22
A recent study conducted by Rice University reveals that children of divorced parents typically receive less college financial aid from their parents as compared with children of intact marriages. The study surveyed 2,400 undergraduate students and was published in SAGE Publications' June 2011 issue of its "Journal of Family Issues." The study examined whether divorced/separated and remarried parents contribute less in absolute dollars, as a proportion of their income, and as a proportion of their children's financial need, toward their children's college ...

Mayo Clinic study: PSA test valuable in predicting biopsy need, low-risk prostate cancer

2011-10-22
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The prostate-specific antigen test, commonly known as the PSA test, is valuable in predicting which men should have biopsies and which are likely to be diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The findings were released today during a meeting of the North Central Section of the American Urological Association (http://www.ncsaua.org/default.aspx) in Rancho Mirage, Calif. "The decision to use the PSA test is best made by the patient, in consultation with his doctor," says R. Jeffrey Karnes, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/12463493.html), ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New jab protects babies from serious lung infection, study shows

July Tip Sheet from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Current application status and innovative development of surgical robot

Counterfeited in China: New book assesses state of industry and its future

Machine learning reveals historical seismic events in the Yellowstone caldera

First analyses of Myanmar earthquake conclude fault ruptured at supershear velocity

Curved fault slip captured on CCTV during Myanmar earthquake

Collaboration rewarded for work to further deployment of batteries in emerging economies

Heart-healthy habits also prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s, COPD, other diseases, Emory study finds

Scientists will use a $1M grant to build a support system addressing sea level rise and flooding in South Florida

New research examines how pH impacts the immune system

Inhaled agricultural dust disrupts gut health

New study reveals hidden regulatory roles of “junk” DNA

Taking the sting out of ulcerative colitis

Deep life’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key energy sources, study shows

Idaho National Laboratory to lead advancements in US semiconductor manufacturing

AI-assisted sorting, other new technologies could improve plastic recycling

More than just larks and owls!

Call for nominations: 2026 Dan David Prize

New tool gives anyone the ability to train a robot

Coexistence of APC and KRAS mutations in familial adenomatous polyposis and endometrial cancer: A mini-review with case-based perspective

First global-to-local study reveals stark health inequalities from COVID-19 in 2020–2021

rcssci: Simplifying complex data relationships with enhanced visual clarity

Why some ecosystems collapse suddenly—and others don’t

One-third of U.S. public schools screen students for mental health issues

GLP-1 RA use and survival among older adults with cancer and type 2 diabetes

Trends in physician exit from fee-for-service Medicare

Systematic investigation of tumor microenvironment and antitumor immunity with IOBR

Common feature between forest fires and neural networks reveals the universal framework underneath

New R package revolutionizes gene set enrichment analysis visualization for biomedical research

[Press-News.org] Why does explaining why a cupcake is delicious make us love it less?