We Argue When We Care
July 20, 2006New study explains why loyal customers get defensive when their brands are
criticized
We are emotionally attached to the products we use regularly, so much so that we
become defensive and tense when they are criticized, says a new study from the
September issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Interestingly, the more
committed we are to a product - and thus the more incensed we are by any
critique - the more counterarguments we are able to come up with.
"Less loyal individuals more readily agree with the unfavorable information
and change their attitudes to be consistent with the new information,"
write Sekar Raju (University of Buffalo) and H. Rao Unnava (Ohio State
University). "More loyal consumers question and argue against the
information."
Raju and Unnava explain that we are negatively aroused by criticism of products
to which we feel committed. However, this negative arousal can also be induced
by an external stimuli, such as an irritating noise. Thus, those who are in a
state of agitation and those who are loyal to a brand come up with more
counterarguments in response to criticism in an attempt to reduce cognitive
discomfort. In contrast, those who are not particularly committed to the brand
or who are not externally agitated are more likely to change their opinions.
"This difference in the level of tension seems to motivate the more loyal
customers to take a much more defensive stand against the unfavorable
information," write the authors. "It is our contention in this
research that counterarguementation is one way by which highly committed
consumers reduce their arousal, and thus the aversiveness that accompanies
it."
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Sekar Raju and H. Rao Unnava. "The Role of Arousal in Comittment: An
Explanation for the Number of Counterarguements". Journal of Consumer
Research. September 2006.
Contact: Suzanne Wu
University of
Chicago Press Journals/