Who Wants You To Say Youre Sorry?: The Moderating Effect Of Brand Response On The Relationship Between Customer Attachment Style And Reactions To Brand Transgressions

In psychology, negative behavior on the part of an individual is described as a transgression and transgressions are defined as an action by one individual towards another which violates the implicit or explicit norms and rules that serve as guides for conduct within the context of a relationship. Transgressions range from the mundane to the extreme and when an individual transgresses, they typically react in one of two ways: They may try to explain why they engaged in transgressive behavior by providing excuses or justifications through the use of apologia or they may take responsibility and apologize. Individuals who were transgressed against can also react in a number of ways: For instance, they may choose to behave constructively by forgiving the transgressor or they may choose to behave destructively by terminating their relationship with the transgressor. Much as with interpersonal relationships, transgressive behaviors can be exhibited by brands towards individuals. Attachment theory is often used to explain the ways in which individuals can be expected to react to transgressions. However, relationships between consumers and brands differ from interpersonal relationships in a number of ways, which may affect the influence of attachment theory in a marketing context. Thus, this investigation focuses on whether a consumers attachment style can be used to make predictions about consumer responses to brand transgressions in the service context. Additionally, it explores the impact of apologies and apologia the types of responses a brand can employ to respond to a transgression in order to determine their influences on consumer reactions to brand transgressions. This research demonstrates that when securely attached consumers experience brand transgressions, they are more likely to behave constructively while insecurely attached consumers who experience brand transgressions are more likely to behave destructively. Further, it demonstrates that when securely attached consumers are presented with apologies following brand transgressions, the strength of their constructive responses increases while the presentation of apologia decreases the strength of their constructive responses. Finally, it also demonstrates that when insecurely attached consumers are presented with apologia following brand transgressions, the strength of their destructive responses decrease while the presentation of apologies results in an increase in the strength of their destructive responses. Therefore, the findings of this research contribute to the literature by demonstrating that attachment style can be used to help explain consumer reactions to brand transgressions in a service context and that a brands response following a transgression can be used to influence the nature of a customers reaction to that transgression

Paranoia and the Role of Contingency in the Experience of Trust and Perceived Empathy in Interpersonal Encounters

This thesis addresses the interpersonal determinants of paranoid ideation. Part one presents a systematic review of the empirical literature on the relationship between childhood adversity and paranoia. It considers whether there is an association between direct experience of interpersonal adversity and paranoia, and whether paranoia is specifically associated with a type of early interpersonal adversity. The data suggest that there is inconclusive evidence of a relationship, but support was found for a more consistent association between paranoia and emotional abuse. Possible mechanisms are considered, and results are discussed in the context of methodological limitations and the need for further investigations in this area. Part two reports on an empirical virtual reality study investigating the role of paranoia and interpersonal contingency in the experience of trust and perceived empathy in encounters with unfamiliar others, and exploring associations with other factors, including attachment history and anxiety. Sixty-one healthy male participants with varying levels of trait paranoia interviewed a virtual flatmate whose non-verbal responses were either contingent, or non-contingent in relation to them. Evidence was found for an interaction between interpersonal contingency and trait paranoia in influencing explicit trust of the avatar, but not implicit trust (as assessed by distance kept from the avatar) or perceived avatar empathy. Those high in paranoia perceived the contingent avatar as more trustworthy, whereas there was evidence of greater trust towards the non-contingent avatar in those low in paranoia. Dismissive attachment predicted greater explicit trust and perceived empathy, but reduced implicit trust. Part three is a critical appraisal of the empirical research, including personal reflections on the research process. It considers the challenges of recruitment across the paranoia continuum and the use of virtual reality technology in research investigating interpersonal encounters