The effects of cognitive thinking style and ambient scent on online consumer approach behavior, experience approach behavior, and search motivation

This study evaluates the effect of the interaction between cognitive variables and the presence of scent on online search motivation, purchase characteristics, and telepresence. An interaction between consumers' type of thought process and the presence of scent was identified as influencing search motivation (attention focus and challenge) and telepresence experience. Ambient scent influenced the search motivation of consumers possessing systematic cognitive thinking style (SCTS) and the telepresence experience of consumers with intuitive cognitive thinking style (ICTS). In addition, much in the same way that ambient scent affects consumer behavior in traditional stores, in online settings consumers exposed to scent were found to demonstrate a higher degree of approach behavior. The results suggest extending the S-O-R model by emphasizing cognitive thinking style as a mediator of environmental stimuli. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[1]  E. Higgins.  Making a good decision: value from fit. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[2]  Michel Tuan Pham,et al.  Ideals and Oughts and the Reliance of Affect Versus Substance in Persuasion , 2004 .

[3]  Kenneth R. Hammond,et al.  Human Judgment and Social Policy: Irreducible Uncertainty, Inevitable Error, Unavoidable Injustice , 2000 .

[4]  Salvador Ruiz,et al.  The impact of cognitive and/or affective processing styles on consumer response to advertising appeals , 2004 .

[5]  P. Bone,et al.  Does it Matter If it Smells? Olfactory Stimuli as Advertising Executional Cues , 1998 .

[6]  A. Isen,et al.  Positive affect and decision making. , 1993 .

[7]  D. Kahneman.  A perspective on judgment and choice: mapping bounded rationality. , 2003, The American psychologist.

[8]  Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn,et al.  Effects of Sensory Information and Prior Experience on Direct Subjective Ratings of Presence , 1999, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[9]  A. Isen,et al.  Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. , 1987, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  B. Kahn,et al.  There's Something in the Air: Effects of Congruent or Incongruent Ambient Odor on Consumer Decision Making , 1995 .

[11]  Jim Jiunde Lee,et al.  Emotion and Sense of Telepresence: The Effects of Screen Viewpoint, Self-transcendence Style, and NPC in a 3D Game Environment , 2007, HCI.

[12]  J. Bargh.  Conditional automaticity: Varieties of automatic influence in social perception and cognition. , 1989 .

[13]  Jochen Wirtz,et al.  Congruency of Scent and Music As a Driver of In-Store Evaluations and Behavior , 2001 .

[14]  David Mazursky,et al.  Modifying consumer search processes in enhanced on-line interfaces , 2005 .

[15]  E. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. , 2000, Contemporary educational psychology.

[16]  Seymour Epstein,et al.  Cognitive-experiential self-theory. , 1998 .

[17]  K. Craik.  Multiple Scientific Paradigms in Environmental Psychology , 1977 .

[18]  K. R. Hammond.  Human judgment and social policy , 1980 .

[19]  R. Petty,et al.  The Role of the Affective and Cognitive Bases of Attitudes in Susceptibility to Affectively and Cognitively Based Persuasion , 1999 .

[20]  S. Chaiken.  Heuristic versus systematic information processing and the use of source versus message cues in persuasion. , 1980 .

[21]  Diana Gagnon Hawkins,et al.  Virtual reality and passive simulators: the future of fun , 1995 .

[22]  Jillian C. Sweeney,et al.  The role of cognitions and emotions in the music-approach-avoidance behavior relationship , 2002 .

[23]  S. Epstein,et al.  Individual differences in intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational thinking styles. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[24]  Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit , 1985 .

[25]  Jennifer Lawrence,et al.  Communication in the Age of Virtual Reality. , 1997 .

[26]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior , 1975, Perspectives in Social Psychology.

[27]  Steven J. Armstrong,et al.  The Influence of Individual Cognitive Style on Performance in Management Education , 2000 .

[28]  Maureen Morrin,et al.  Does it Make Sense to Use Scents to Enhance Brand Memory? , 2003 .

[29]  J. Russell,et al.  An approach to environmental psychology , 1974 .

[30]  P. C. Nutt.  The Formulation Processes and Tactics Used in Organizational Decision Making , 1993 .

[31]  M. Mccaulley.  The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and leadership. , 1990 .

[32]  Jonathan Steuer,et al.  Defining virtual reality: dimensions determining telepresence , 1992 .

[33]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment , 2002 .

[34]  G. McCarthy,et al.  Dissociable prefrontal brain systems for attention and emotion , 2002, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  P. Bone,et al.  Scents in the marketplace: explaining a fraction of olfaction , 1999 .

[36]  R. Dale Wilson,et al.  Television Programming and Its Influence on Viewers' Perceptions of Commercials: The Role of Program Arousal and Pleasantness , 1995 .

[37]  M. Kirton.  Adaptors and Innovators: A Description and Measure. , 1976 .

[38]  Leigh M. Smith,et al.  ‘u r a lot bolder on the net’: shyness and Internet use : LYNNE D. ROBERTS, LEIGH M. SMITH AND CLARE M. POLLOCK , 2002 .

[39]  D. Perkins.  The Mind's Best Work , 1981 .

[40]  Donna L. Hoffman,et al.  Measuring the Customer Experience in Online Environments: A Structural Modeling Approach , 2000 .

[41]  N. Schwarz,et al.  Happy and Mindless, But Sad and Smart? The Impact of Affective States on Analytic Reasoning , 1991 .

[42]  J. G. Hunt.  Leadership: A New Synthesis , 1991 .

[43]  Thomas B. Sheridan,et al.  Musings on Telepresence and Virtual Presence , 1992, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[44]  F. Hesse,et al.  Store atmosphere, mood and purchasing behavior , 1997 .

[45]  Wijnand A. IJsselsteijn,et al.  Using Behavioral Realism to Estimate Presence: A Study of the Utility of Postural Responses to Motion Stimuli , 2000, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[46]  A. Fiore,et al.  Effects of a product display and environmental fragrancing on approach responses and pleasurable experiences , 2000 .

[47]  Roland G. Tharp,et al.  Psychocultural variables and constants: Effects on teaching and learning in schools. , 1989 .

[48]  Laura A. Peracchio,et al.  Flow in Individual Web Sites: Model Estimation and Cross-Cultural Validation , 2003 .

[49]  S. Knasko,et al.  Pleasant odors and congruency: effects on approach behavior. , 1995, Chemical senses.

[50]  S. Messick.  Beyond structure: In search of functional models of psychological process , 1972 .

[51]  Stacy Marsella,et al.  A step toward irrationality: using emotion to change belief , 2002, AAMAS '02.

[52]  S. Epstein.  Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory of Personality , 2003 .

[53]  S. Messick.  The nature of cognitive styles: Problems and promise in educational practice , 1984 .

[54]  Pamela W. Henderson,et al.  Improving the Store Environment: Do Olfactory Cues Affect Evaluations and Behaviors? , 1996 .

[55]  Yair Amichai-Hamburger,et al.  Internet and personality , 2002, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[56]  R. Hogarth.  Deciding Analytically or Trusting your Intuition? The Advantages and Disadvantages of Analytic and Intuitive Thought , 2002 .

[57]  A. Tversky,et al.  Extensional versus intuitive reasoning: the conjunction fallacy in probability judgment , 1983 .

[58]  S. Epstein.  Integration of the cognitive and the psychodynamic unconscious. , 1994, The American psychologist.

[59]  R. E. Milliman,et al.  Atmospheric Effects on Shopping Behavior: A Review of the Experimental Evidence , 2000 .

[60]  Jussi Holopainen,et al.  Emotional response patterns and sense of presence during video games: potential criterion variables for game design , 2004, NordiCHI '04.

[61]  Suzanne K. Damarin,et al.  The second self: Computers and the human spirit , 1985 .

[62]  E. Tory Higgins,et al.  Knowledge accessibility and activation: Subjectivity and suffering from unconscious sources. , 1989 .

[63]  Reginald A. Bruce,et al.  Decision-Making Style: The Development and Assessment of a New Measure , 1995 .

[64]  Franziska Marquart,et al.  Communication and persuasion : central and peripheral routes to attitude change , 1988 .

[65]  A. Hirsch,et al.  Effects of ambient odors on slot‐machine usage in a las vegas casino , 1995 .

[66]  J. Ghani.  Flow in human-computer interactions: test of a model , 1995 .

[67]  Sadru Bhanj.  Analytical psychology: Its theory and practice , 1978 .

[68]  R. Sternberg.  RETRACTED ARTICLE: The Nature of Creativity , 2006 .

[69]  N. Schwarz,et al.  Sufficient and necessary conditions in dual process models : The case of mood and information processing , 1999 .

[70]  Sally Hibbert,et al.  The influence of music tempo and musical preference on restaurant patrons' behavior , 2002 .

[71]  Dennis L. Hoffman,et al.  Marketing in Hypermedia Computer-Mediated Environments : Conceptual Foundations 1 ) , 1998 .

[72]  Siok Kuan Tambyah,et al.  Life on the Net: the Reconstruction of Self and Community , 1996 .

[73]  B. Kahn,et al.  Cross-category effects of induced arousal and pleasure on the Internet shopping experience , 2002 .

[74]  J. Sinacore.  Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions , 1993 .

[75]  S. Epstein,et al.  The Missing Link in the Paradox of the Linda Conjunction Problem: Beyond Knowing and Thinking of the Conjunction Rule, the Intrinsic Appeal of Heuristic Processing , 1999 .

[76]  Melody E. Schuhwerk,et al.  Green or Non-Green? Does Type of Appeal Matter When Advertising a Green Product? , 1995 .

[77]  R. Sternberg.  A three-facet model of creativity. , 1988 .

[78]  Tyler S. Lorig,et al.  Brain and odor: I. Alteration of human EEG by odor administration , 1988, Psychobiology.

[79]  R. Donovan.  Store atmosphere and purchasing behavior , 1994 .

[80]  Adrian Furnham,et al.  Personality and Occupational Behavior: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Correlates of Managerial Practices in Two Cultures , 1993 .

[81]  E. Higgins,et al.  Transfer of value from fit. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[82]  F. Biocca,et al.  Communication in the age of virtual reality , 1995 .

[83]  D. Hoffman,et al.  The Fit of Thinking Style and Situation: New Measures of Situation-Specific Experiential and Rational Cognition , 2007 .

[84]  T. Pearson,et al.  Direct comparison of the efficacy of intuitive and analytical cognition in expert judgment , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[85]  J. Goldenberg,et al.  Structure and freedom in creativity: The interplay between externally imposed structure and personal cognitive style , 2010 .

[86]  David W. Schloerb,et al.  A Quantitative Measure of Telepresence , 1995, Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments.

[87]  S. Knasko,et al.  Ambient odor's effect on creativity, mood, and perceived health , 1992 .

[88]  D. Kahneman,et al.  Representativeness revisited: Attribute substitution in intuitive judgment. , 2002 .

[89]  W. Ray Crozier.  Shyness : Development, Consolidation and Change , 2000 .

[90]  L. F. Barrett,et al.  Handbook of emotions, 2nd ed. , 2000 .

[91]  S. Ting,et al.  Our view of coaching for leadership development. , 2006 .

[92]  J. Russell,et al.  A Description of the Affective Quality Attributed to Environments , 1980 .

[93]  D. Laird,et al.  How the consumer estimates quality by subconscious sensory impressions. , 1932 .