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From Bye to Buy: Homophones as a Phonological Route to Priming

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  • Derick F. Davis
  • Paul M. Herr

Abstract

Words prime semantic and conceptually related associates and concepts. This article documents a novel route of priming disparate meanings relevant to consumer behaviors. Reading processes use word sound, not spelling, to activate word meaning in memory. Reading a homophone (e.g., "bye")--a word with identical pronunciation as another word but with different spelling and meaning--activates meanings and concepts related to the complementary homophone (e.g., "buy"). Homophone priming occurs when a secondary process fails to suppress activated meanings associated with the complementary homophone, which may influence meaning-relevant consumer behaviors downstream. Two experiments (with replications) demonstrate this effect occurs when consumers experience diminished cognitive resources, which reduces the ability to suppress complementary homophone meanings. This research identifies word sound as an associative link between otherwise unrelated concepts that can result in priming of judgments and behavior. Importantly, these results are difficult to predict from a purely semantic or associative priming perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Derick F. Davis & Paul M. Herr, 2014. "From Bye to Buy: Homophones as a Phonological Route to Priming," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(6), pages 1063-1077.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/673960
    DOI: 10.1086/673960
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    Cited by:

    1. Blair, Sean, 2020. "How lacking control drives fluency effects in evaluative judgment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 97-112.
    2. Kulczynski, Alicia & Ilicic, Jasmina & Baxter, Stacey M., 2017. "Pictures are grate! Examining the effectiveness of pictorial-based homophones on consumer judgments," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 286-301.
    3. Jasmina Ilicic & Stacey M. Brennan & Alicia Kulczynski, 2021. "Sinfully decadent: priming effects of immoral advertising symbols on indulgence," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 61-73, March.
    4. Gill, Tripat & El Gamal, Monica, 2014. "Does exposure to dogs (cows) increase the preference for Puma (the colour white)? Not always," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 125-126.
    5. Davis, Derick F. & Bagchi, Rajesh & Block, Lauren G., 2016. "Alliteration Alters: Phonetic Overlap in Promotional Messages Influences Evaluations and Choice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 1-12.

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