2020 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Hedonic Choice, Abstract Thinking, and Context Familiarity
| Project/Area Number |
19H01537
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Hitotsubashi University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
岡田 英理香 一橋大学, 大学院経営管理研究科, 教授 (70747980)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
|
| Keywords | hedonic choice / context / novelty / familiarity |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
Data collection and analysis have been completed for 5 studies that collectively suggest that (1) hedonic versus utilitarian items tend to evoke abstract versus concrete construal, and (2) people tend to make more hedonic versus utilitarian choices in familiar versus novel environments. Studies One and Two experimentally activated abstract vs. concrete thinking styles and demonstrated that participants in the abstract experimental conditions were more likely to choose a more hedonically positioned sunscreen (Study One) and more hedonic versus utilitarian items at a dollar store (Study Two). Study Three attenuated familiarity by asking participants to complete their surveys using their non-dominant hands, and showed that participants in the familiar condition who completed surveys in standard format were more likely to score higher on an established construal scale, and make more hedonic choices. Studies Four and Five operationalized familiarity by placing the decision in proximate (and familiar) vs. distant (and novel) locations (Study Four) and presenting pricing in aggregate (and familiar) vs. partitioned (and novel) figures. A manuscript was prepared, and submitted to a top-tier peer-reviewed academic journal in marketing.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Our submission received mixed reviews, with one reviewer recommending a revise and resubmit and two recommending rejection, and was rejected. The reviews were actually not negative, prompting us to further explore the nuances of novelty vs. familiarity. Top tier journals have acceptance rates of about 6%. That a submission would not be accepted in the first version, was expected. Thus the evaluation of the "status" as おおむね順調
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In our completed studies, novelty was arguably confounded with fear. And if so, our results could have been driven by positive affect in the familiar condition, versus negative affect in the novelty condition. During this year, we plan further studies with cleaner operationalization of novelty versus familiarity.
|
