03 - Capable of making informed choices?

Question 1

Three main pillars that lead to consumers whom are not able to make complete informed choices

Answer 1

1) mindless consumers
2) environmental factors
3) psychological factors

Question 2

Mindless consumers

Answer 2

• on average 225 decisions a day
• for decions we rely on simple rules of thumb and heuristics
• limited cognitive capacity
• we make decions everywhere: school, work, stores etc.

Question 3

Environmental factors

Answer 3

How/where the products are place/presented highly influences behavior.

• Suppose a buffet. Where the unhealthy or healthy lays at the front vs. in the back.
• Or riding a bike in a big city in the VS

Question 4

Psychological factors (underlying phenomena)

Answer 4

1) Construal level
2) Literacy
3) Computational ability
4) Perceptions
5) Inferences & negatively correlated attributes

Question 5

Construal level theory

Answer 5

People use concrete, low-level constructs to represent the near things and abstract, high-level constructs to represent distant events.
- or simpler -> things look different from up close compared to up far.

Question 6

The categories of distance (within construal theory)

Answer 6

1) Temporal distance -> now or in the future
2) Spatial distance -> locational distance
3) Social distance -> friend/family or complete stranger
4) Hypothetical distance -> unlikely to happen to me or friend/family vs. likely to happen

Question 7

Psychological distance

Answer 7

A subjective experience that something is close or far away from the self / here or now

Question 8

Low psychological distance -> aspects

Answer 8

• low-level construal
• concrete
• contextual
• pragmatic
• FEASIBILITY

Question 9

High psychological distance -> aspects

Answer 9

• high-level construal
• abstract
• integrated
• idealistic
• DESIRABILITY

Question 10

Temporal distance

Answer 10

You think in now with your pragmatic self and in future with your idealistic self:

• cake eating example…
• energy saving example…

Question 11

Spatial distance

Answer 11

• refugee example
  People want to help refugees as long as it is far away in their country. Not enthousiast to let them into their streets/cities or country.

Question 12

Social distance

Answer 12

• example of earthquackes in Groningen

rEdUcInG gAs ExTrAcTiOn MeAnS hIgHeR TaXeS

Question 13

Hypothetical distance

Answer 13

• Mac Donalds example…

Question 14

Advertising & construal level theory -> effectiviness

Answer 14

Processing is most efficient if distance and presentation of the medium are congruent

Question 15

Advertising & construal level theory -> low vs. high construal level

Answer 15

• low level -> very concrete (kid doesn’t eat, without my help). But it will cost me money…
• high level -> Africa needs our support. But is not a sustainable solution.

One not better than the other, be aware of the effect of using different levels.

Question 16

Construal level -> costs & benefits

Answer 16

• Costs -> immediate and certain

- Benefits -> often delayed and potential

Question 17

Solutions to construal level theory

Answer 17

1) pre-commitment
2) adapt a mental construct before decision making: desirable vs. feasible features
3) reduce immediate costs: e.g. offer a service to clean out the attic increased home insulation

Question 18

Health literacy

Answer 18

the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.

Question 19

Energy literacy

Answer 19

an understanding of the nature and role of energy in the world and daily lives accompanied by the ability to apply this understanding to answer and solve

Question 20

Computational ability

Answer 20

Computational skills are the selection and application of arithmetic operations to calculate solutions to mathematical problems

Question 21

Perceptions

Answer 21

• consider the experiment of people playing basketball
• bowl sizes: bigger bowls means serving more
• spoon sizes: same effect

Question 22

Inferences

Answer 22

Conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning

Question 23

Example inferences

Answer 23

High price -> high quality
Healthy -> less tasty
Healthy -> expensive

Question 24

Vice food

Answer 24

“wants” -> food that provides immediate pleasure experiences but contribute to negative long-term outcomes. Such as weight gain & alcoholism

Question 25

Virtue food

Answer 25

“should” -> food that is less gratifying and appealing in the short-term but has fewer negative long-term consequences.

Question 26

Wholesomeness and virtue foods

Answer 26

Wholesomeness signaled by an organic label can be a positive quality cue. E.g. decreased fertilization might make vegetables more tasty

Question 27

Wholesomeness and vice foods

Answer 27

Wholesomeness signaled by an organic label may reduce the amount of enjoyment and pleasure ascribed to vice foods.

Question 28

Why do negatively correlated attributes exist?

Answer 28

• Consumers have a lay theory that firms resources are zero-sum
• Consumers assume that a company sacrifices quality for sustainability, unless it is an unintended side effect

Question 29

Firms resources are zero-sum assumption

Answer 29

Resources that are invested in greening a product are diverted from improving its quality.

Question 30

Competing views on negatively correlated attributes:

Answer 30

• Moral licensing

- Brand concepts

Question 31

Moral licensing view

Answer 31

A sustainable label can reduce feelings of guilt associated with the consumption of hedonic products

Question 32

Brand concepts view

Answer 32

Self-enhancement values (e.g. power/wealth) associated with luxury brands do not match with the self-transcendence values (e.g. social justice) connected to sustainability.