Papers by Christilene du Plessis
ACR North American Advances, 2016
This research shows that consumer multitasking facilitates learning of brand associations. Though... more This research shows that consumer multitasking facilitates learning of brand associations. Though prior research assumes that predictive learning -the process of learning to predict brand related outcomes -will be attenuated when cognitive resources are constrained, we show that multitasking facilitates predictive learning by narrowing attention.
The journal of consumer research/Journal of consumer research, May 15, 2024
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Mar 1, 2023
Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and ... more Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and auxiliary (information accompanying reviews such as details about the reviewer and the review-generating process). Prior work has focused primarily on the former, despite the latter being commonplace. In this paper, we consider how a common type of auxiliary information — disclosure statements about incentives received by reviewers — affects review persuasiveness. Disclosure likely induces uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness, leading consumers to discount reviewers’ opinions when forming expectations about product quality. However, we show this is not always the case. Instead, the extent to which disclosing incentives affects review persuasiveness depends on whether consumers deem their disclosure-induced uncertainty to be integral or incidental to judgment formation. This occurs through a metacognitive process in which consumers elaborate on the relevance of their uncertainty. Using a field study and three experiments, we show that when disclosure-induced uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness is deemed to be integral, product evaluations are affected by this uncertainty. However, when uncertainty is incidental to judgment formation, product evaluations are unaffected.
ACR North American Advances, 2016
Social Science Research Network, 2016
Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and ... more Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and auxiliary (information accompanying reviews such as details about the reviewer and the review-generating process). Prior work has focused primarily on the former, despite the latter being commonplace. In this paper, we consider how a common type of auxiliary informationdisclosure statements about incentives received by reviewers-affects review persuasiveness. Disclosure likely induces uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness, leading consumers to discount reviewers' opinions when forming expectations about product quality. However, we show this is not always the case. Instead, the extent to which disclosing incentives affects review persuasiveness depends on whether consumers deem their disclosure-induced uncertainty to be integral or incidental to judgment formation. This occurs through a metacognitive process in which consumers elaborate on the relevance of their uncertainty. Using a field study and three experiments, we show that when disclosure-induced uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness is deemed to be integral, product evaluations are affected by this uncertainty. However, when uncertainty is incidental to judgment formation, product evaluations are unaffected.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Nov 1, 2018
We examine the role of low-power individuals in social power research. A multi-method literature ... more We examine the role of low-power individuals in social power research. A multi-method literature review reveals that low-power individuals may be insufficiently understood because many studies lack necessary control conditions that allow drawing inferences about low power, effects are predominantly attributed to high power, and qualitative reviews primarily focus on how high-power individuals feel, think, and behave. Challenging the assumption that low power tends to produce opposite consequences of high power, we highlight several similarities between the two states. Based on social exchange theories, we propose that unequal-power (vs. equalpower) relationships make instrumental goals, competitive attitudes, and exchange rules salient, which can cause both high-and low-power individuals to behave similarly. Two experiments suggest that although lowpower individuals sometimes behave in opposite ways to high-power individuals (i.e., they take less action), at other times they behave similarly (i.e., they objectify others to the same extent). We discuss the systematic study of low-power individuals and highlight methodological implications.
A pervasive assumption in the social power literature is that powerfulness is the driving causal ... more A pervasive assumption in the social power literature is that powerfulness is the driving causal force behind power’s far-reaching effects. This preoccupation with the powerful has led to the proliferation of experimental designs that contrast high power to either low power or a control condition. We review evidence suggesting that this convention poses both theoretical and methodological challenges. Across a content analysis, an experiment, and a large-scale meta- analysis, we find that (1) few studies allow for substantive inferences about powerlessness; (2) although control conditions are needed to interpret effect directionality, effects of studies comparing only high and low power tend to be attributed to powerfulness; and (3) comparing high power to a control condition in the absence of low power weakens construct validity and leads to an overestimation of the high-power effect. Our findings have profound implications for social power, experimental design, and other fields in psychology, management,...
RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2018
We examine the role of low-power individuals in social power research. A multi-method literature ... more We examine the role of low-power individuals in social power research. A multi-method literature review reveals that low-power individuals may be insufficiently understood because many studies lack necessary control conditions that allow drawing inferences about low power, effects are predominantly attributed to high power, and qualitative reviews primarily focus on how high-power individuals feel, think, and behave. Challenging the assumption that low power tends to produce opposite consequences of high power, we highlight several similarities between the two states. Based on social exchange theories, we propose that unequal-power (vs. equalpower) relationships make instrumental goals, competitive attitudes, and exchange rules salient, which can cause both high-and low-power individuals to behave similarly. Two experiments suggest that although lowpower individuals sometimes behave in opposite ways to high-power individuals (i.e., they take less action), at other times they behave similarly (i.e., they objectify others to the same extent). We discuss the systematic study of low-power individuals and highlight methodological implications.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Jul 1, 2021
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research find... more This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching the original reports together with 55% of tests in different spans of years and 40% of tests in novel geographies. Some original findings were associated with multiple new tests. Reproducibility was the best predictor of generalizability—for the findings that proved directly reproducible, 84% emerged in other available time periods and 57% emerged in other geographies. Overall, only limited empirical evidence emerged for context sensitivity. In a forecasting survey, independent scientists were able to anticipate which effects would find support in tests in new samples.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
This meta-analysis investigates changes in gender discrimination in hiring decisions over time.
ACR North American Advances, 2016
Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and ... more Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and auxiliary (information accompanying reviews such as details about the reviewer and the review-generating process). Prior work has focused primarily on the former, despite the latter being commonplace. In this paper, we consider how a common type of auxiliary information — disclosure statements about incentives received by reviewers — affects review persuasiveness. Disclosure likely induces uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness, leading consumers to discount reviewers’ opinions when forming expectations about product quality. However, we show this is not always the case. Instead, the extent to which disclosing incentives affects review persuasiveness depends on whether consumers deem their disclosure-induced uncertainty to be integral or incidental to judgment formation. This occurs through a metacognitive process in which consumers elaborate on the relevance of their uncertainty. Us...
markdownabstractSocial influence is the corner stone of consumer psychology. In fact, in the last... more markdownabstractSocial influence is the corner stone of consumer psychology. In fact, in the last decade of the 19th century the study of consumer psychology emerged from an interest in advertising and its influence on people. Traditionally research on social influence has focused on understanding how people respond to influence attempts and how social influence emerges. This dissertation challenges common methodological conventions used to study social influence in consumer behavior and, more broadly, social psychology. The first part of this dissertation moves beyond the study of social influence in a single dyadic relationship, and investigated how one dyadic relationship influences another. Here, influence attempts by one agent (e.g., a company) on another (e.g., a review writer) are shown to not only influence the cognitions of the agent being influenced, but also their ability to influence others (e.g., review readers) in turn. The second part of this work investigates how the...
Academy of Management Proceedings, 2021
If there is one thing that recent events have shown, it is that systemic inequality needs to be a... more If there is one thing that recent events have shown, it is that systemic inequality needs to be addressed. From a systems perspective, solving inequalities will require a diverse group of stakehold...
RSM Discovery - Management Knowledge, 2018
Uploads
Papers by Christilene du Plessis