Jennifer Edson Escalas
Biographic Data
| ID | 76376 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer Edson Escalas |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer Edson |
| FAMILY NAME | Escalas |
| SIGNATURE | ESCALAS J E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vanderbilt University |
| ORCID | 0009-0009-1515-3310 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 161 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Significant Objects: How Eudaimonic Narratives Enhance the Value of Featured Products
Eudaimonic narratives, which past work identifies as stories featuring themes related to virtue and life’s higher purpose, are increasingly prevalent in advertisements and marketing communications. The current research examines whether this type of narrative achieves advertiser-desired outcomes. If these outcomes are achieved, how? The results from five studies demonstrate that eudaimonic narratives enhance the value of, attitude toward, and purc…
What Happens in Vegas Stays on TripAdvisor? A Theory and Technique to Understand Narrativity in Consumer Reviews
Many consumers base their purchase decisions on online consumer reviews. An overlooked feature of these texts is their narrativity: the extent to which they tell a story. The authors construct a new theory of narrativity to link the narrative content and discourse of consumer reviews to consumer behavior. They also develop from scratch a computerized technique that reliably determines the degree of narrativity of 190,461 verbatim, online consumer…
Self-Identity and Consumer Behavior Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Pro…
Consumer researchers have recognized for a long time that people consume in ways that are consistent with their sense of self (Levy 1959; Sirgy 1982). Important thought leaders in our field have described and documented that consumers use possessions and brands to create their self-identities and communicate these selves to others and to themselves (e.g., Belk 1988; Fournier 1998; McCracken 1989). Although early research tended to focus on broad …
Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration
This article contrasts narrative self-referencing with analytical self-referencing. I propose that narrative self-referencing persuades through transportation, where people become absorbed in a story—in this case, in their storylike thoughts (Green and Brock 2000). When ad viewers are transported by these narrative thoughts, persuasion is not negatively affected by weak ad arguments. Conversely, analytical self-referencing persuades via more trad…
Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning
We propose that consumers purchase brands in part to construct their self-concepts and, in so doing, form self-brand connections. We focus on reference groups as a source of brand meaning. Results from two studies show that brands with images consistent with an ingroup enhance self-brand connections for all consumers, whereas brands with images that are consistent with an outgroup have a stronger negative effect on independent versus interdepende…
Imagine Yourself in the Product: Mental Simulation, Narrative Transportation, and Persuasion
Mental simulation has been defined as the cognitive construction of hypothetical scenarios, which are usually in the form of stories or narratives. The experiment in this paper examines the favorable effect of ad-encouraged mental simulation on ad attitudes and brand evaluations. A model is developed wherein mental simulation persuades via narrative transportation, defined as immersion into a story (Gerrig 1994; Green and Brock 2000). Transportat…
Narrative Processing: Building Consumer Connections to Brands
This article proposes that narrative processing creates or enhances self-brand connections (SBC) because people generally interpret the meaning of their experiences by fitting them into a story. Similarly, in response to an ad that tells a story, narrative processing may create a link between a brand and the self when consumers attempt to map incoming narrative information onto stories in memory. Our approach rests on the notion that a brand beco…
Understanding the Effects of Process-Focused versus Outcome-Focused Thought in Response to Advertising
Research on mental simulation finds differential effects for process versus outcome focus. We manipulate the focus of participants' thoughts while viewing advertisements and find that under low to moderate involvement, argument strength has a greater effect on behavioral intentions when participants focus on the process versus the outcome of product use. This differential advantage of process-focused thought reverses under conditions of high invo…
You Are What They Eat: The Influence of Reference Groups on Consumers’ Connections to Brands
The set of associations consumers have about a brand is an important component of brand equity. In this article, we focus on reference groups as a source of brand associations, which can be linked to one's mental representation of self to meet self‐verification or self‐enhancement goals. We conceptualize this linkage at an aggregate level in terms of self‐brand connections, that is, the extent to which individuals have incorporated a brand into t…
Sympathy and Empathy: Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas
This research examines differences in consumers' sympathy and empathy responses to televised drama commercials. The research framework is multidisciplinary, for construct definition from humanities disciplines (aesthetics and philosophy) grounds the empirical testing of sympathy and empathy responses to advertising. Valid and reliable measurement instruments are developed to test relationships between sympathy and empathy as responses to classica…
Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning
We propose that consumers purchase brands in part to construct their self-concepts and, in so doing, form self-brand connections. We focus on reference groups as a source of brand meaning. Results from two studies show that brands with images consistent with an ingroup enhance self-brand connections for all consumers, whereas brands with images that are consistent with an outgroup have a stronger negative effect on independent versus interdepende…
Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration
This article contrasts narrative self-referencing with analytical self-referencing. I propose that narrative self-referencing persuades through transportation, where people become absorbed in a story—in this case, in their storylike thoughts (Green and Brock 2000). When ad viewers are transported by these narrative thoughts, persuasion is not negatively affected by weak ad arguments. Conversely, analytical self-referencing persuades via more trad…
Sympathy and Empathy: Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas
This research examines differences in consumers' sympathy and empathy responses to televised drama commercials. The research framework is multidisciplinary, for construct definition from humanities disciplines (aesthetics and philosophy) grounds the empirical testing of sympathy and empathy responses to advertising. Valid and reliable measurement instruments are developed to test relationships between sympathy and empathy as responses to classica…
Understanding the Effects of Process-Focused versus Outcome-Focused Thought in Response to Advertising
Research on mental simulation finds differential effects for process versus outcome focus. We manipulate the focus of participants' thoughts while viewing advertisements and find that under low to moderate involvement, argument strength has a greater effect on behavioral intentions when participants focus on the process versus the outcome of product use. This differential advantage of process-focused thought reverses under conditions of high invo…
What Happens in Vegas Stays on TripAdvisor? A Theory and Technique to Understand Narrativity in Consumer Reviews
Many consumers base their purchase decisions on online consumer reviews. An overlooked feature of these texts is their narrativity: the extent to which they tell a story. The authors construct a new theory of narrativity to link the narrative content and discourse of consumer reviews to consumer behavior. They also develop from scratch a computerized technique that reliably determines the degree of narrativity of 190,461 verbatim, online consumer…
Self-Identity and Consumer Behavior Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Pro…
Consumer researchers have recognized for a long time that people consume in ways that are consistent with their sense of self (Levy 1959; Sirgy 1982). Important thought leaders in our field have described and documented that consumers use possessions and brands to create their self-identities and communicate these selves to others and to themselves (e.g., Belk 1988; Fournier 1998; McCracken 1989). Although early research tended to focus on broad …
You Are What They Eat: The Influence of Reference Groups on Consumers’ Connections to Brands
The set of associations consumers have about a brand is an important component of brand equity. In this article, we focus on reference groups as a source of brand associations, which can be linked to one's mental representation of self to meet self‐verification or self‐enhancement goals. We conceptualize this linkage at an aggregate level in terms of self‐brand connections, that is, the extent to which individuals have incorporated a brand into t…
Sympathy and Empathy: Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas
This research examines differences in consumers' sympathy and empathy responses to televised drama commercials. The research framework is multidisciplinary, for construct definition from humanities disciplines (aesthetics and philosophy) grounds the empirical testing of sympathy and empathy responses to advertising. Valid and reliable measurement instruments are developed to test relationships between sympathy and empathy as responses to classica…
Imagine Yourself in the Product: Mental Simulation, Narrative Transportation, and Persuasion
Mental simulation has been defined as the cognitive construction of hypothetical scenarios, which are usually in the form of stories or narratives. The experiment in this paper examines the favorable effect of ad-encouraged mental simulation on ad attitudes and brand evaluations. A model is developed wherein mental simulation persuades via narrative transportation, defined as immersion into a story (Gerrig 1994; Green and Brock 2000). Transportat…
Narrative Processing: Building Consumer Connections to Brands
This article proposes that narrative processing creates or enhances self-brand connections (SBC) because people generally interpret the meaning of their experiences by fitting them into a story. Similarly, in response to an ad that tells a story, narrative processing may create a link between a brand and the self when consumers attempt to map incoming narrative information onto stories in memory. Our approach rests on the notion that a brand beco…
Understanding the Effects of Process-Focused versus Outcome-Focused Thought in Response to Advertising
Research on mental simulation finds differential effects for process versus outcome focus. We manipulate the focus of participants' thoughts while viewing advertisements and find that under low to moderate involvement, argument strength has a greater effect on behavioral intentions when participants focus on the process versus the outcome of product use. This differential advantage of process-focused thought reverses under conditions of high invo…
Self-Construal, Reference Groups, and Brand Meaning
We propose that consumers purchase brands in part to construct their self-concepts and, in so doing, form self-brand connections. We focus on reference groups as a source of brand meaning. Results from two studies show that brands with images consistent with an ingroup enhance self-brand connections for all consumers, whereas brands with images that are consistent with an outgroup have a stronger negative effect on independent versus interdepende…
Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration
This article contrasts narrative self-referencing with analytical self-referencing. I propose that narrative self-referencing persuades through transportation, where people become absorbed in a story—in this case, in their storylike thoughts (Green and Brock 2000). When ad viewers are transported by these narrative thoughts, persuasion is not negatively affected by weak ad arguments. Conversely, analytical self-referencing persuades via more trad…
Self-Identity and Consumer Behavior Dissociative versus Associative Responses to Social Identity Threat: The Role of Consumer Self-Construal Self-Affirmation through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Pro…
Consumer researchers have recognized for a long time that people consume in ways that are consistent with their sense of self (Levy 1959; Sirgy 1982). Important thought leaders in our field have described and documented that consumers use possessions and brands to create their self-identities and communicate these selves to others and to themselves (e.g., Belk 1988; Fournier 1998; McCracken 1989). Although early research tended to focus on broad …
What Happens in Vegas Stays on TripAdvisor? A Theory and Technique to Understand Narrativity in Consumer Reviews
Many consumers base their purchase decisions on online consumer reviews. An overlooked feature of these texts is their narrativity: the extent to which they tell a story. The authors construct a new theory of narrativity to link the narrative content and discourse of consumer reviews to consumer behavior. They also develop from scratch a computerized technique that reliably determines the degree of narrativity of 190,461 verbatim, online consumer…
Significant Objects: How Eudaimonic Narratives Enhance the Value of Featured Products
Eudaimonic narratives, which past work identifies as stories featuring themes related to virtue and life’s higher purpose, are increasingly prevalent in advertisements and marketing communications. The current research examines whether this type of narrative achieves advertiser-desired outcomes. If these outcomes are achieved, how? The results from five studies demonstrate that eudaimonic narratives enhance the value of, attitude toward, and purc…
Psychology (10 works) · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification (9 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Advertising (7 works) · Business (6 works) · Media Influence and Health (6 works) · Art (5 works) · Media, Gender, and Advertising (5 works) · Narrative (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works)