M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The current study investigated, by means of an experiment, the influence of nonconscious incidental haptic sensation, encountered when completing self-report questionnaires, on formal ratings of a consumer brand. In total, 178 university students (mean age = 19.82 years, males = 31.5%, females = 68.5%) participated in the study. Participants were allocated to one of two groups with Group 1 (n=88) completing a questionnaire printed on rigid paper while Group 2 (n=90) completed the same questionnaire printed on flimsy paper. The questionnaire scale was constructed using 28 sets of biploar pairs of adjectives related to the language association of rigidity and strength. An independent t-test revealed no differences between groups (t = 0.67, p = 0.50), but differences of distribution and polarisation of scores, evidenced by differences in kurtosis across groups (Group 1: kurtosis = 1.49, Group 2: kurtosis = 0.11), were apparent. In conclusion it appeared that a physically grounded mental framework, consistent with an embodied cognition approach to mental processes, had led to participants forming stronger product judgments when encountering an incidental, nonconscious, tactile experience of strength in a consumer context.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:7640 |
| Date | 18 July 2013 |
| Creators | Williams, Elizabeth Helen |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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