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Of Chameleons and Consumption: The Impact of Mimicry on Choice and Preferences

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  • Robin J. Tanner
  • Rosellina Ferraro
  • Tanya L. Chartrand
  • James R. Bettman
  • Rick Van Baaren

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of mimicry on consumer product consumption and appraisal. We propose and test two paths via which mimicry may influence product preferences. In the mimicking consumer path, we suggest that individuals automatically mimic the consumption behaviors of other people and that such mimicry then affects preferences toward the product(s) consumed. In the mimicked consumer path, we argue that being mimicked leads to increased prosociality, which affects preferences for products presented in dyadic interactions. Three studies confirm the two paths and suggest that mimicry can indeed influence product preferences. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Suggested Citation

  • Robin J. Tanner & Rosellina Ferraro & Tanya L. Chartrand & James R. Bettman & Rick Van Baaren, 2008. "Of Chameleons and Consumption: The Impact of Mimicry on Choice and Preferences," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(6), pages 754-766, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:34:y:2008:i:6:p:754-766
    DOI: 10.1086/522322
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    Cited by:

    1. Richerson, Rob & Mead, James A. & Li, Wenjing, 2020. "Evolutionary motives and food behavior modeling in romantic relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 509-519.
    2. Nuttall, Peter & Arnold, Sally & Carless, Luke & Crockford, Lily & Finnamore, Katie & Frazier, Richard & Hill, Alicia, 2011. "Understanding music consumption through a tribal lens," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 152-159.
    3. Landsman, Vardit & Nitzan, Irit, 2020. "Cross-decision social effects in product adoption and defection decisions," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 213-235.
    4. Samson, Alain & Voyer, Benjamin G., 2012. "Two minds, three ways: dual system and dual process models in consumer psychology," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 47252, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Khandeparkar, Kapil & Motiani, Manoj & Sharma, Amalesh, 2021. "Thank you for not smoking – A multi-method investigation to understand the effect of anti-smoking warnings in television programs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 462-472.
    6. Sebastian P. H. Speer & Laetitia Mwilambwe-Tshilobo & Lily Tsoi & Shannon M. Burns & Emily B. Falk & Diana I. Tamir, 2024. "Hyperscanning shows friends explore and strangers converge in conversation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Lamberto Zollo, 2021. "The Consumers’ Emotional Dog Learns to Persuade Its Rational Tail: Toward a Social Intuitionist Framework of Ethical Consumption," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 295-313, January.
    8. Michelle Andrews & Xueming Luo & Zheng Fang & Anindya Ghose, 2016. "Mobile Ad Effectiveness: Hyper-Contextual Targeting with Crowdedness," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(2), pages 218-233, March.
    9. Herrmann, Andreas & Rossberg, Nadja & Huber, Frank & Landwehr, Jan R. & Henkel, Sven, 2011. "The impact of mimicry on sales - Evidence from field and lab experiments," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 502-514, June.
    10. Wedel, Michel & Bigné, Enrique & Zhang, Jie, 2020. "Virtual and augmented reality: Advancing research in consumer marketing," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 443-465.
    11. Coelho, Filipe J. & Evanschitzky, Heiner & Sousa, Carlos M.P. & Olya, Hossein & Taheri, Babak, 2021. "Control mechanisms, management orientations, and the creativity of service employees: Symmetric and asymmetric modeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 753-764.
    12. Michael Thomas, 2019. "Was Television Responsible for a New Generation of Smokers?," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 689-707.
    13. Xia Jiang & Fengyi Deng & Qing Yao & Defeng Yang, 2024. "Better or different? How mimicry by social groups shapes consumers’ preference for differentiated brands," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(5), pages 502-515, September.
    14. Pandelaere, Mario & Briers, Barbara & Dewitte, Siegfried & Warlop, Luk, 2010. "Better think before agreeing twice," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 133-141.

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