Article 4.1 Berger 2014

Question 1

Impression management components

Answer 1

1. Self-enhancement
2. Identity-signaling
3. Filling conversational space

Question 2

Self-enhancement

Answer 2

People want to be perceived positively and are more likely to share things that make them look good

Question 3

Identity-signaling

Answer 3

Talking about items or experiences that express who they are or aspire to be

Question 4

Filling conversational space

Answer 4

Sharing accessible or relatable topics to avoid awkward silences.

Question 5

How impression management drives what people share

Answer 5

Entertaining (funny video)
Self-concept relevant
Unique
Accessible
Useful
Status related (discussing luxury handbag)
Common ground (talking about a popular TV show)
Affecting the valence of content shared
Leading incidental arousal to boost sharing

Question 6

Self-concept relevant things

Answer 6

Impression management should lead people to discuss identity-relevant information
When someone feels they know less about a topic than they’d like but want to seem knowledgeable or aspirational, they’re more likely to discuss it to bridge the gap and present themselves as the person they aim to be.

Question 7

Emotional valence

Answer 7

People tend to share positive experiences because it helps them look good and feel good about themselves, reinforcing their image. Sharing happy or exciting news makes them appear fun or successful.

However, sharing negative experiences can also have benefits. For example, writing critical reviews can make people seem smart.

Question 8

Incidental arousal

Answer 8

When people are energized or excited from an activity, they might mistakenly think this excitement comes from something they’re considering sharing, like a story or rumor.
This makes the content seem more interesting or engaging than it really is, leading them to share it

Question 9

Emotion regulation

Answer 9

The ways people manage which emotions they have, when they have them and how they experience and express them
Word of mouth helps consumers regulate their emotions

Question 10

How does sharing facilitate emotion regulation?

Answer 10

1. Generating social support
2. Venting
3. Facilitating sense making
4. Reducing dissonance (reducing feelings of doubt)
5. Taking vengeance (punishing a company or individual for a negative consumption experience)
6. Encouraging rehearsal (reliving positive emotions)

Question 11

How emotion regulation drives what people share

Answer 11

1. Emotionality
2. Valence
3. Emotional arousal

Question 12

Emotionality

Answer 12

Emotion regulation should lead to content high in emotional intensity being shared

Question 13

Valence

Answer 13

Emotion regulation should impact the valence of what people share
Consumers share positive emotions to re-consume or extend the positive effect

Question 14

Emotional arousal

Answer 14

Emotion regulation should lead to more emotionally arousing things to be shared
Negative high arousal emotions should increase the need to vent
Positive high arousal emotions should increase desires for rehearsal

Question 15

Information acquisition

Answer 15

People use WOM to actively seek information

Question 16

Sharing should enable information acquisition for…

Answer 16

Seeking advice
Resolving problems

Question 17

How information acquisition drives what people talk about

Answer 17

1. Risky, important or complex decisions
2. Lack of trustworthy information

Question 18

Social bonding

Answer 18

WOM helps us connect with others, as it can act as a ‘social glue’

Question 19

Sharing facilitates social bonding through…

Answer 19

Reinforcing shared views
Reducing loneliness and social exclusion

Question 20

How social bonding drives what people share

Answer 20

1. Common ground
2. Emotionality

Question 21

Persuasion drives people to share tings that are…

Answer 21

More emotionally polarized
Arousing in nature

Question 22

Polarized valence

Answer 22

If you want to persuade someone that something is good, you should share extreme rather than moderate positive information.

Question 23

Separating functions from conscious deliberation

Answer 23

People share things for different reasons, like venting or trying to make sense of their feelings, but they often don’t consciously realize why they’re sharing.
People tend to discuss whatever is most accessible or comes to mind, especially in casual face-to-face conversations.
For example, someone might talk about a recent experience to process emotions or rehearse the event, without being fully aware that’s why they’re doing it.

Question 24

Is WOM self-serving?

Answer 24

Sharing one’s own personal thoughts and feelings activates that same brain region that responds to things like food and money

Question 25

Arguments against self-serving account

Answer 25

1. Altruism: people share things to help others (unclear if it is to look smart or seem helpful)
2. Audience tuning: people tailor what they share to the knowledge and interests of their audience, which helps in social bonding and self-presentation (partly self-serving)

Question 26

How does audience and channel shape WOM?

Answer 26

1. Tie strength
2. Audience size
3. Tie status

Question 27

Tie strength

Answer 27

Impression management: motives are strong with both weak and strong ties as people want to be socially accepted
Emotion regulation: when experiencing negative emotions, people reach out to strong ties
Information acquisition: trust strong ties more for information
Social bonding: better with strong ties
Persuading others: better with strong ties

Question 28

Audience size

Answer 28

Broadcasting: talking to a large audience
Narrowcasting: talking to small audiences

Question 29

Audience size

Answer 29

Impression management: greater impact when communication to larger groups
Emotion regulation: less likely to share negative emotions with a large audience
Information acquisition: narrowcasting is better for acquiring detailed information
Social bonding: the larger the audience the less likely someone shares the same opinion
Persuasion: broadcasters may try to change opinions when social presence of others is not felt (online)

Question 30

Tie status

Answer 30

People tend to share positive information with those of higher social rank to impress them, while they turn to high-status individuals for emotional support.
They may also try to persuade those of lower status more often, as part of managing their image and influence within the social hierarchy.

Question 31

Communication channel

Answer 31

1. Written vs oral
2. Identifiability
3. Audience salience

Question 32

Written vs oral

Answer 32

Impression management: written communication leads people to talk about interesting things
Persuading others: written communication can facilitate persuasion
Emotional regulation and social bonding: oral communication, immediate feedback
Information acquisition: written communication, allows for time to collect useful information

Question 33

Identifiability

Answer 33

Impression management: makes people more conscious of what they’re saying
Social bonding and persuading others: harder to bond with others if you don’t know who they are
Emotion regulation and information acquisition: little impact

Question 34

Audience salience

Answer 34

When the audience is more prominent ( face-to-face interactions), individuals are more likely to adjust what they share to manage their image.
In contrast, online communication often has less audience salience, which can influence how people share con