
Mario PandelaereGhent University | UGhent · Department of Marketing
Mario Pandelaere
PhD in Psychology
About
115
Publications
96,000
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
4,124
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
October 2003 - September 2005
Publications
Publications (115)
(Thomas and Morwitz Journal of Consumer Research, 32(1), 54–64, 2005) demonstrated the left-digit effect (LDE): nine-ending prices influence our perception of price magnitude, but only if they trigger a change of the leftmost digit. We present a replication and extension of the left-digit effect for content reductions in the context of shrinkflatio...
This research documents a purity premium effect, showing that consumers perceive a greater value difference between a pure product containing 100% of a single material (e.g., 100% wool) and a non‐pure product containing lower quality material (e.g., 80% wool + 20% cotton), compared to two non‐pure products with the same composition difference (e.g....
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming pervasive across society. However, its deployment appears to be a divisive issue. This research examines aversion to AI across the partisan divide. We analyze partisan media sentiment toward AI, a powerful driver of public opinion toward social issues. We conduct a text analysis of media articles on AI ( N =...
The negative association between materialism and life satisfaction is well‐documented, but it is unclear what the directionality of the association is. To address this issue, we (a) conducted a three‐wave longitudinal study ( N = 6551) over 3 years and examined the bidirectional relations between life satisfaction and materialism as a composite mea...
Hope is a commonly encountered positive emotion in daily life. Although most extant literature highlights its positive consequences, nascent studies suggest potential negative outcomes. In this article, findings of five studies, including a study with consequential decisions, demonstrated that in a gambling context, hope can lead to suboptimal deci...
Food waste is one of society’s biggest problems, with huge ecological, economic and social consequences. Hence, there is a necessity to derive a better insight in how consumers can be triggered to avoid food waste. Although it is generally known that motivations are important drivers of human behavior, limited attention has been paid to motivations...
Food waste, especially at the retail and consumer level, is a critical societal issue. Consumers' reluctance to purchase and consume near-expired food is a major contributor. Retailers have taken actions to promote near-expired food; however, it is unclear how their actions influence both purchase and consumption of near-expired food. This research...
We report a consistent effect in the evaluation of actions: later actions – specifically, actions that are closer to a final, positive outcome - are considered as contributing more to that outcome, compared to earlier actions. Twelve experiments (total n = 5658, six pre-registered, with U.S. American and British participants, manipulating action ti...
Five experiments (total n = 2422, with U.S. American and French participants, four preregistered) show that people are more likely to use median salaries rather than CEO-median employee compensation ratios when making inequality and fairness judgments based on company compensation data. In separate evaluation of companies, we find no significant im...
One core fundamental need that people may try to address through consumption is that of affiliation, or the need to belong. First, giving gifts may serve that goal, but it may also potentially hurt the formation of affiliative bonds if it creates a sense of indebtedness. Second, experiential consumption serves the need to belong if it is enjoyed so...
We report a consistent effect in the evaluation of actions: later actions – specifically, actions that are closer to a final, positive outcome - are considered as contributing more to that outcome, compared to earlier actions. Twelve experiments (total n = 5658, six pre-registered, with U.S. American and British participants, manipulating action ti...
Firms pursuing expansion abroad increasingly face challenges of protectionism and discrimination against foreign products, a phenomenon widely recognized as domestic country bias. This research addresses discordant findings in previous work by introducing a new mechanism of domestic country bias that operates distinctly for national identifiers and...
Food desire is an intense motivational state a consumer experiences toward food that accounts for much of consumption. While extant research has shown that experiencing desire elicits consumption imagery, it remains unclear whether consumption imagery alone instigates desire. Even though this directional relationship has been often speculated upon,...
Prior research found that glossy objects not only excel in drawing attention but also are more positively evaluated than matte ones. Contrary to that research, we show that glossy packaging may adversely affect brand trust. This negative effect of glossy packaging appears robust across different contexts and product categories. We find that consume...
Prior research has documented a denomination effect, such that consumers are less willing to spend banknotes in large denominations (e.g., $100 bill) than in small denominations (e.g., five $20 bills). This research shows that the denomination effect persists when prices are low, but when prices are high, a reverse denomination effect applies, such...
This research documents a “light = healthy” intuition, such that consumers perceive foods that weigh less are healthier than their heavier counterparts with the same serving size. Subsequently, consumers consume a larger quantity of lighter‐weight foods. The intuition is based on a co‐activation of two meanings of the word “light”: light in physica...
While research suggests that conspicuously displaying luxury goods can help men signal desirable qualities such as high earning capacity and social status, little is known about how women evaluate and interpret luxury items given as romantic gifts by men. The current research explores this under-researched question and reveals that women do not alw...
Four studies provide evidence for a process by which a woman's conspicuous consumption can serve as a deterrent to affiliative behaviors by materialistic men, via heightened perceptions of the woman's financial standards for a romantic partner. Materialistic men report utilizing status and resources to attract women more than non-materialistic men....
Tourism provides myriad opportunities for customer engagement and value co-creation, especially in online communities. This research analyzed the role of empowerment in the tourist knowledge value co-creation process in online review contexts. Using scenario-based, between-subjects experimental designs, three studies were conducted using online con...
In the aftermath of a product failure, companies often offer a financial compensation. The present research compares the effects of equal compensation (i.e., a refund that is equivalent to the purchase price) and large overcompensation (i.e., a refund that is five times larger than the purchase price) on customer loyalty, which was hypothesized to...
Five experiments (total n = 2422, with U.S. American and French participants, four preregistered) show that people are more likely to use median salaries rather than CEO-median employee compensation ratios when making inequality and fairness judgments based on company compensation data. In separate evaluation of companies, we find no significant im...
Despite the ubiquity of numerical information in consumers’ lives, prior research has provided limited insights to marketers about when numerical information exerts greater impact on decisions. This study offers evidence that judgments involving numerical information can be affected by consumers’ sense of personal control over the environment. A nu...
Observers infer consumers' values and personality from their consumption behaviors. Recent literature highlights the benefits of minority consumption, typically by comparing several qualitatively different options. In seven studies (total N = 1555; one pre-registered), the current research instead compares inferences derived from the acquisition of...
Materialism is the focus of much research due to its negative consequences for individuals and societies. While recent research indicates that the strength of materialistic value orientations changes with age during adulthood, little is known about the processes that cause these age-related changes. We propose that changes in materialism, as people...
Many apps require consumers to evaluate products by swiping them, to the right or left. This work explores whether product orientation affects the product evaluations communicated by swiping movements, compared with those made by pressing onscreen buttons. Building on stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) theory, which suggests that irrelevant prod...
The present paper examines the effectiveness of financial overcompensation as a means to enhance customer loyalty after a product failure. Overcompensation implies that customers are entitled to a refund that is larger than the purchase price. It is, however, still unclear whether large overcompensations entail saturation effects, or alternatively,...
This study examines the impact of self-disclosing incriminating information in the context of organizational crises. Study one indicates that when an organization self-discloses a crisis, participants devote less attention to subsequent negative publicity and any attention this information receives has less impact on the organizational post-crisis...
We investigate the impact of self-construal on extreme responding in six studies. The results show that people with an independent self-construal generally answer more extremely to survey items than those with an interdependent self-construal, especially when the items are self-relevant (Studies 1a and 1b) and when these items are fluently processe...
Numerous studies find a negative relation between materialism and well-being. The present paper discusses the role of consumption in that relation. Studies on experiential versus material purchases are reviewed. Although a good deal of studies find an advantage for experiential purchases, this does not occur for materialists. Yet, materialists do n...
Media multitasking represents an important aspect of the recent evolution in media consumption habits. While some experimental research exists, it has primarily focused on the detrimental effects of multitasking on task performance. We go a step further by examining the impact of media multitasking on information processing style. Study I demonstra...
Materialism has a generally held connotation that is associated with character deficiencies, self-centeredness, and unhappiness, and most extant research views materialism as having a negative influence on well-being. In this article, we review and synthesise research that supports both positive and negative outcomes of behaviours associated with m...
Extant research on greed has focused on situational determinants of greedy behavior, ignoring individual differences in greed. Defining greed as insatiability, the present paper introduces a six item Dispositional Greed Scale. Two studies demonstrate convergent and discriminant validity and test–retest reliability. Specifically, they demonstrate th...
When evaluating the helpfulness of online reviews, review valence is a particularly relevant factor. This research argues that the influence of review valence is highly dependent on its consistency with the valence of other available reviews. Using both field and experimental data, this paper show that consistent reviews are perceived as more helpf...
Most research on income inequality implicitly assumes that a fixed percentage increase in income across all income levels does not alter income inequality. In contrast with this assumption, we show that relative increases in income lead to increased perceptions of inequality, even when buying power is held constant. In a second experiment, we exten...
Information about alternatives often appears in a multi-option multi-attribute table, with the alternatives hierarchically sorted on attribute levels. This research shows that the choice of the primary sorting attribute can affect peoples' evaluations. Three studies show that the attribute on which options are primarily sorted becomes more importan...
Using celebrity endorsers can be an effective way to influence brand perceptions and elevate the brand. However, although there is a significant amount of research investigating how endorsers influence brand perceptions, there is little research showing whether traits associated with the brand influence perceptions of the endorser. This article add...
Considering the increasing popularity of reality television shows, this research investigated the impact of a destination placement in reality television on tourism. Two experiments reveal that a reality show can change the image of the destination in which the show is set. This positively affects cognitive, affective and behavioral outcomes. Speci...
Previous research showing that luxury consumption can be beneficial for one’s well-being equate consumption with ownership. The current paper experimentally investigates whether the impact of luxury consumption on one’s Satisfaction With Life differs when this consumption implies ownership versus mere use of (democratized) luxury products. While we...
Most research on income inequality implicitly assumes that a fixed percentage increase in income across all income levels does not alter income inequality. In contrast with this assumption, we show that relative increases in income lead to increased perceptions of inequality, even when buying power is held constant. In a second experiment, we exten...
Human beings are attracted to glossy objects. However, the investigation of whether this preference for glossy is a systematic bias, and the rationale for why, has received little or no attention. Drawing on an evolutionary psychology framework, we propose and test the hypothesis that the preference for glossy stems from an innate preference for wa...
Previous research has demonstrated that people’s concern about their position relative to a reference group (i.e., positional concern) is stronger in some domains than in others. Our survey data reveals that people care more about their relative position in domains where they have to engage in social comparison to evaluate outcomes. People thus ten...
Abstract The current study explores how competition and gaming expertise affect the satisfaction of competence needs and gaming gratifications. We demonstrate that competition moderates the effect of gaming expertise on the satisfaction of competence needs, which in turn affects game enjoyment and replay intention. Gaming expertise predicted player...
This article investigates if and how the valence of color cues affects moral acceptability of (un)desirable consumer behaviors. Study 1 uses colors with definite differences in terms of valence, namely, red and green. Study 2 applies an evaluative conditioning paradigm to endow initially neutral colors with negative versus positive valences. We fin...
The nature of luxury is constantly changing and this makes it difficult to formulate a universal definition of luxury brands. The current paper aims to enrich the understanding of luxury brand meaning from a consumer perspective. In particular, this paper investigates consumers' perceptions of luxury brands based on the extent to which they associa...
Previous research on attribute framing has shown that people often infer higher quantity from larger numbers, usually with the assumption that the units used to specify this information elicit the same meanings. Drawing on literature on categorization and numerical cognition, the authors challenge this assumption and show that consumers often have...
People not only purchase brands for the product behind the brand but also for what they symbolize [69]. As such, luxury brands are widely desired because – compared to their cheaper counterparts – they offer a functional, hedonic and symbolic value to their owners in addition to their utilitarian product value [20], [34], [56], [117], [122], [123].
The nature of luxury is constantly changing and this makes it difficult to formulate a universal definition of luxury brands. The current paper aims to enrich the understanding of luxury brand meaning from a consumer perspective. In particular, this paper investigates consumers' perceptions of luxury brands based on the extent to which they associa...
Materialism is a way of life characterized by the pursuit of wealth and possessions. Several studies have documented that
a materialistic lifestyle is associated with diminished subjective well-being. In spite of this, many people continue to pursue
materialistic goals rather than pursue goals that are more beneficial for their well-being. The curr...
In line with evolutionary principles of reproduction and mate selection, the current research shows that women's attention to status cues fluctuates across their menstrual cycle. Specifically, we show that women pay more attention to status products in a visual display around ovulation than in other phases of their menstrual cycle. Pill use elimina...
Materialism represents a pervasive value in contemporary society and one that is associated with multiple negative consequences. Although a considerable amount of research has documented these consequences, little research has examined how materialism levels might be reduced. This article presents a research agenda for reducing materialism. The aut...
Greed is often invoked to explain non-cooperative behavior in economic games (Stanley & Ume, 1998), resource exploitation (Ludwig et al, 1993) and is considered intrinsic to a materialistic lifestyle (Belk, 1985). Despite this view of greed as a fundamental motive for behavior, no empirical research has investigated individual differences in greed....
Due to biological and sociological factors, men and woman are different and these differences show early in life. Examining children's behavior will provide a deeper understanding of the constitution of these gender differences. The current chapter focuses on children's creativity, play behavior and the possible relationship between both. In additi...
We tested whether and why observers dislike individuals who convey self-superiority through blatant social comparison (the hubris hypothesis). Participants read self-superiority claims ("I am better than others"; Experiments 1-7), noncomparative positive claims ("I am good"; Experiments 1-2, 4), self-equality claims ("I am as good as others"; Exper...
Quantitative information can appear in different units (e.g., 7-year warranty = 84-month warranty). This article demonstrates that attribute differences appear larger on scales with a higher number of units; expressing quality information on such an expanded scale makes consumers switch to a higher-quality option. Testifying to its practical import...
Advertisements frequently link values to advertised products or services, but little is known about the effect of this practice on value-driven behavior that is unrelated to the advertising context. Evidence from two studies show that exposure to value-laden advertisements instigates behavior that is congruent with the "advertised" value (i.e., sel...
Exposure to mating cues activates the goal to signal one's mate value to members of the opposite sex. This mate attraction goal may render men perceptually ready for products that signal their mate value to women. As men's mate value is partly determined by their financial prospects, men may be more likely to notice products that would signal their...
Although current conceptualizations of materialism have yielded very valuable insights, each seems to be narrowly restricted to its own research purposes. In this article, we offer an expanded view of materialism that stresses the functions of materialistic goal pursuit, the processes by which these functions are developed and implemented, and thei...
Consumers prefer quantitative to qualitative information, yet the same quantitative information can appear as different numbers (e.g., 7-year warranty = 84-month warranty). The current paper demonstrates that consumers focus more on the number of units (7 versus 84) than on the type of units (year versus month), which implies a unit effect. The sam...
While many studies have shown that exposure frequency affects consumer attitudes and preferences, the current paper provides evidence that exposure order also does so. Three studies show that people like stimuli to which they are first exposed better than later encountered, similar stimuli. Controlling for exposure frequency and duration, individua...
The present paper shows that the frequency of people's compliance with a request can be substantially increased if the requester first gets them to agree with a series of statements unrelated to the request but selected to induce agreement. We label this effect the ‘mere-agreement effect’ and present a two-step similarity-based mechanism to explain...
The present study investigates the effectiveness of fear appeals in preventing shoplifting among adolescents. We study the effects of type of punishment (social disapproval versus fines), probability of getting caught when shoplifting and severity of the punishment. Results show that social punishment messages should stress severe levels of social...
Past research documents an asymmetry between consumers’ willingness to pay for an object and their willingness to accept to give up this object. The current paper presents three studies which demonstrate that materialism moderates this “endowment effect”. Although materialism is not related to willingness-to-pay, materialism is positively related t...
The present paper shows that people’s compliance with a request can be substantially increased if the requester first gets them to agree with a series of statements unrelated to the request, but selected to induce agreement. We label this effect the ‘mere agreement effect’, and present a two-step similarity-based mechanism to explain it. Across six...
In two experiments we demonstrate that men display an enhanced interest in status enhancing consumption upon exposure to mating cues. Men indicate a higher interest in high-status products (study 1) and more readily noticed high-status products (study 2) after exposure to sexily, rather than plainly, dressed women. The effects are restricted to sin...
People are often exposed to actionable food temptations (i.e., an immediate opportunity to consume, like when friends offer cookies) and nonactionable food temptations (i.e., no immediate consumption opportunity, like ads for chocolate). The results of three experiments suggest that prior exposure to nonactionable food temptations does not prevent...
In this questionnaire study it was tested to what extent identification with a merged basketball club could be predicted on the basis of six concepts derived from a social identity perspective on mergers. Respondents were 160 fans and 91 youth players of a Belgian first division basketball club that had merged the previous season. A direct multiple...
People frequently fail to see themselves as environmentally conscious consumers; one reason for this is that they are oftentimes prone to dismissing their more common ecological behaviors (e.g., avoid littering) as non-diagnostic for that particular self-image. The cueing of commonly performed ecological behaviors as environmentally friendly (what...
The current paper explores the impact of value-laden advertisements on consumer values and behavior. Study 1 revealed that participants who were exposed to ads that strongly communicated self-direction acted more in a way that was congruent to openness to change values in different scenarios and choose more often a candy bar that was perceived as u...
Respondents in four studies were more willing to comply with a help request if they previously agreed with the person asking for help. In all four studies, the topic of agreement was unrelated to the issue for which help was requested. Mere agreeing increased subsequent compliance in a real life telephone survey (Study 1). Agreeing respondents perc...
Markman and Brendl have demonstrated that individuals tend to regard as more valuable those objects that are able to satisfy an active desire. Building on their framework, we predicted that desire would enlarge the consideration set and, hence, affect variety-seeking tendencies in a product category. Our first study shows that hunger and visual foo...
Using a priming procedure, the authors study the influence of associating low-fat snack products with contextual health references (e.g., words, such as diet and fiber) on the consumption of these products. Health primes increase consumption of low-fat potato chips (Study 1) and lead consumers to report that they are closer to their ideal weight (S...
Charities often request donations while offering of a near-worthless token, like a key chain, in exchange. Little research has examined whether such 'exchange' requests are met with higher compliance rates than merely asking people to donate. Our studies suggest that in mere donation settings people may have difficulties to estimate a socially acce...
This report attempts to provide an evolutionary explanation for humans' motivation to strive for money in present-day societies. We propose that people's desire for money is a modern derivate of their desire for food. In three studies, we show the reciprocal association between the incentive value of food and of money. In Study 1, hungry participan...
Four experiments demonstrate a fundamental ‘statement bias’: questions are more often misremembered as statements than vice versa. The bias increases with increasing item comprehensibility (Experiment 1) and is related to depth of processing at encoding (Experiment 2). When sentences are simply comprehended, the bias is not affected by the truth of...
A major obstacle for promoting sustainable (e.g. ecological) consumer behaviors is people’s negative attitude towards these.
We tested the potential of a persuasion technique for improving these attitudes. We propose that cueing ecological behaviors
people usually engage in, increases the accessibility of previously performed ecological behavior i...
We investigated whether category focus at encoding affects how people estimate category frequencies. Participants in three experiments viewed items of various categories. They estimated category frequencies after categorizing them into relevant versus irrelevant categories (Experiments 1-2) or after categorizing versus memorizing them (Experiment 3...
We examined whether consumers seek more or less variety when shopping on an empty stomach. The data show that hunger increases variety seeking when consumers make multiple food choices at once. In a first study, participants in the hungry condition selected a more varied flavor set than satiated participants. Food attractiveness mediated the hunger...