The Influence of Consumer Distractions on the Effectiveness of Food-Sampling Programs

Sampling programs are a significant element of the promotions mix, particularly in the food category. In this research, the authors find that the degree to which consumers are distracted while sampling a product can influence the effectiveness of such programs. In particular, the authors find that distraction actually increases subsequent choice of the sampled food, a finding that is contrary to what industry experts predict. The authors propose a dual-process model of somatosensory experiences to account for the findings. In line with the model, the findings suggest that the ultimate pleasure that a consumer derives from the taste of a food sample depends on two components, an informational component and an affective component. Furthermore, the findings suggest that distraction affects the subsequent choice of the sampled item by increasing (decreasing) the impact of the affective component (informational component) on subsequent choice.

[1]  A. Damasio The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness , 1999 .

[2]  A. Damasio,et al.  Emotion, decision making and the orbitofrontal cortex. , 2000, Cerebral cortex.

[3]  J. Guinard,et al.  Sensory-specific Satiety: Comparison of Taste and Texture Effects , 1998, Appetite.

[4]  Marcel Zeelenberg,et al.  Option Attachment: When Deliberating Makes Choosing Feel Like Losing. , 2003 .

[5]  Stephen M. Nowlis,et al.  The Effect of a Delay between Choice and Consumption on Consumption Enjoyment , 2004 .

[6]  Lawrence L. Garber,et al.  Measuring consumer response to food products , 2003 .

[7]  Philip Gendall,et al.  An Empirical Test of Product Sampling and Couponing , 1995 .

[8]  Laurette Dubé,et al.  The content and structure of laypeople's concept of pleasure , 2003, Cognition & emotion.

[9]  J. Metcalfe,et al.  A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: dynamics of willpower. , 1999, Psychological review.

[10]  Alan C. Evans,et al.  Changes in brain activity related to eating chocolate: from pleasure to aversion. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[11]  Daniel Read,et al.  Enduring pain for money: decisions based on the perception and memory of pain , 1999 .

[12]  N. Kalin,et al.  Emotion, plasticity, context, and regulation: perspectives from affective neuroscience. , 2000, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  J. E. Russo,et al.  Decision traps : ten barriers to brilliant decision-making and how to overcome them , 1989 .

[14]  David Zilberman,et al.  Learning and Forgetting: Modeling Optimal Product Sampling Over Time , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[15]  Kent C. Berridge,et al.  Pleasures of the brain , 2003, Brain and Cognition.

[16]  R. Dar,et al.  Schematic processes in pain perception , 1993, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[17]  B. Shiv,et al.  Spontaneous versus Controlled Influences of Stimulus-Based Affect on Choice Behavior , 2002 .

[18]  D. Turk,et al.  Sensory and affective components of pain: separation and synthesis. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[19]  B. Shiv,et al.  Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making , 1999 .

[20]  Y. Trope,et al.  Effortfulness and flexibility of dispositional judgment processes. , 1997 .

[21]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  Introspecting about Reasons can Reduce Post-Choice Satisfaction , 1993 .

[22]  Rebecca K. Ratner,et al.  The Impact of Private versus Public Consumption on Variety-Seeking Behavior , 2002 .

[23]  Susan M. Broniarczyk,et al.  Integrating Multiple Opinions: The Role of Aspiration Level on Consumer Response to Critic Consensus , 1998 .

[24]  D. Dubourdieu,et al.  Wine Descriptive Language Supports Cognitive Specificity of Chemical Senses , 2001, Brain and Language.

[25]  Effects of preparatory information about sensations, threat of pain, and attention on cold pressor distress. , 1979, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  Susan T. Fiske,et al.  Category-based versus piecemeal-based affective responses: Developments in schema-triggered affect. , 1986 .

[27]  D. A. Kenny,et al.  The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[28]  I. Simonson,et al.  Earning the Right to Indulge: Effort as a Determinant of Customer Preferences toward Frequency Program Rewards , 2002 .

[29]  Lawrence J. Marks,et al.  The Use of Product Sampling and Advertising: Effects of Sequence of Exposure and Degree of Advertising Claim Exaggeration on Consumers’ Belief Strength, Belief Confidence, and Attitudes , 1988 .

[30]  E. Blanchard,et al.  Cognitive control of pain: Attention to the sensory aspects of the cold pressor stimulus , 2005, Cognitive Therapy and Research.