The effects of endorsers' facial expressions on status perceptions and purchase intentions

Yunqing Chen and Robert S. Wyer

International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2020, vol. 37, issue 2, 371-385

Abstract: The facial expressions that endorsers convey in a print ad can influence consumers' reactions to the product being advertised. This effect, which is mediated by perceptions of the endorsers' social status, depends on whether the endorser is male or female. Consumers expect endorsers' facial expressions to conform to normative expectations for how men and women present themselves to others and they attribute high social status to those whose expressions deviate from these expectations. Thus, they perceive smiling male endorsers to have high status but smiling female endorsers to have low status. These perceptions, which are independent of warmth and competence, influence consumers' willingness to purchase products whose social prestige value is unknown a priori. Five experiments confirm these conclusions and demonstrate their implications for actual purchase behavior.

Keywords: Smiling; Gender; Status; Print advertising (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ijrema:v:37:y:2020:i:2:p:371-385

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2019.10.002

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