Neural Correlates of Impulsive Buying Tendencies during Perception of Product Packaging
Journal
Psychology and Marketing
ISSN
0742-6046
ISSN-Digital
1520-6793
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2013-10-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Research has shown that people differ in their susceptibility to impulsive buying. The appeal of product packaging has the potential to trigger impulsive buying even for consumers with no intention to make a purchase. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether individual differences in consumers' impulsive buying tendencies affect unconscious neural responses during the perception of product packaging. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was applied to measure neural responses to the perception of product packages in participants with different impulsive buying tendencies. The results of the study support and expand prior research in impulsive and reflective information processing and behavior. First, attractive versus neutral packages evoked more intensive activity changes in brain regions associated with an impulsive system. Second, attractive and unattractive versus neutral packages led to less intensive activity changes in regions associated with a reflective system. Third, attractive packages activated regions associated with reward, whereas unattractive packages activated regions associated with negative emotions. The results suggest that there is indeed a corresponding relationship between stronger impulsive buying tendencies and activity in brain areas associated with impulsive and reflective processes.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Wiley Interscience
Publisher place
New York
Volume
30
Number
10
Start page
861
End page
873
Pages
13
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
227008
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Name
__SV-MONK_UNISG-Rfolder$_mlinzmajer_Desktop_Hubert et al. 2013.pdf
Size
1.07 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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