Situated Embodied Cognition: Monitoring Orientation Cues Affects Product Evaluation and Choice

37 Pages Posted: 1 Jul 2013

See all articles by Jiska Eelen

Jiska Eelen

KU Leuven. Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE)

Siegfried Dewitte

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB)

Luk Warlop

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB); BI Norwegian Business School

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

Consumers generally prefer products that are easy to interact with. In three studies, we show that this preference arises from the fit between product orientation and monitored situational constraints. Flexible right-handers, who monitor situational constraints, recall product orientations better and prefer products for which the handle is oriented in the direction of the hand used for grasping. When their ability to monitor situational constraints is impaired, the preference for easy-to-grasp products is attenuated. The findings highlight that motor fluency is a relevant cue for decision making when consumers assess how to interact with a product. The implications of these results for embodiment and fluency research are discussed.

Keywords: embodiment, situated cognition, handedness, processing fluency, product orientation, grasping

Suggested Citation

Eelen, Jiska and Dewitte, Siegfried and Warlop, Luk, Situated Embodied Cognition: Monitoring Orientation Cues Affects Product Evaluation and Choice (2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2287554 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2287554

Jiska Eelen (Contact Author)

KU Leuven. Faculty of Business and Economics (FBE) ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

Siegfried Dewitte

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB) ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

Luk Warlop

KU Leuven - Faculty of Business and Economics (FEB) ( email )

Naamsestraat 69
Leuven, B-3000
Belgium

BI Norwegian Business School ( email )

Nydalsveien 37
Oslo, 0442
Norway

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