Does Mere Exposure to Beauty-Related Words Promote Prosocial Behavior? Exploring the Mental Association between Beauty and Prosociality

Xiaojing Yang, Xiaoyan Deng and Amita Bhadauria

Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2020, vol. 5, issue 1, 106 - 116

Abstract: Drawing from research on prosocial behavior, aesthetics, and conceptual metaphor, we posit and find that simply exposing consumers to beauty-related words activates the concept of prosociality (study 1), improves their prosocial tendency in general (study 2), and lowers their evaluations and purchase intentions of products with corporate social responsibility issues (but has no effect on products without such issues) (study 3). Our research contributes to the existing literature by establishing the mental association between verbal beauty primes (activated by mere exposure to beauty-related words) and prosociality. Additionally, by identifying exposure to beauty-related words as a situational antecedent of prosocial tendency, we suggest that verbal beauty primes may be used as an effective strategy to enhance consumers’ prosocial behavior. These findings have implications for both nonprofit and for-profit marketers.

Date: 2020
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