Intention superiority as a mechanism of the question-behavior effect

This paper investigates the mere measurement effect from an intention superiority perspective. Relying on the dynamic processes that characterize intention-related information in memory, the first study shows that a brand tied to an intention remains in a heightened state of activation until choice, after which it becomes inhibited. Competitive brands that are distracting from intention completion are inhibited prior to the completion of the intention. These changes in brand activation drive the mere measurement effect. Two additional studies show that intention superiority can explain findings that cannot be accounted for by traditional theoretical explanations, such as increased choice of the preferred brand after activation of a negatively evaluated brand and decreased choice of the preferred brand when consumers make two subsequent choices

A motivational account of the question-behavior effect

To explain the question-behavior effect, that is, the effect of answering an intention question on subsequent behavior, this article takes on a motivational perspective and proposes that answering an intention question automatically activates an intention. The activation of this motivational state influences subsequent brand choices due to changes in brand accessibilities. Three studies provide support for the assumption that responding to an intention question affects brand choices through a motivational mechanism, such that (1) answering an intention increases the accessibility of motivation-related information and decreases the accessibility of motivation-competing information which increases the choice for the intentionrelated brand; (2) intention completion temporarily reverses the foregoing accessibility patterns, instigating a reversal of the brand choices for an immediate, second brand choice; and (3) the changes in brand accessibilities and thus the behavioral effect persist as the delay between the intention question and brand choice occasion increases until intention completion

Pension reform in an OLG model with heterogeneous abilities

We study the effects of pension reform in a four-period OLG model for an open economy where hours worked by three active generations, education of the young, the retirement decision of older workers, and aggregate growth, are all endogenous. Within each generation we distinguish individuals with high, medium or low ability to build human capital. This extension allows to investigate also the effects of pension reform on the income and welfare levels of different ability groups. Particular attention goes to the income at old-age and the welfare level of low-ability individuals. Our simulation results prefer an intelligent pay-as-you-go pension system above a fully-funded private system. When it comes to promoting employment, human capital, growth, and aggregate welfare, positive effects in a pay-as-you-go system are the strongest when it includes a tight link between individual labor income (and contributions) and the pension, and when it attaches a high weight to labor income earned as an older worker to compute the pension assessment base. Such a regime does, however, imply welfare losses for the current low-ability generations, and rising inequality in welfare. Complementing or replacing this ‘intelligent’ pay-as-you-go system by basic and/or minimum pension components is negative for aggregate welfare, employment and growth. Better is to maintain the tight link between individual labor income and the pension also for low-ability individuals, but to strongly raise their replacement rate

Fats are glossy but does glossiness imply fatness? The influence of packaging glossiness on food perceptions

This research brings together two research streams, one focusing on the influence of a diverse set of packaging attributes (e.g., shape, size, color, etc.) on perceptions of packaged food and the second one on the up- and downsides of using glossy materials, which are often studied in a non-food context. The current research deals with the influence of glossy (versus matte) food packages on consumers' perceptions of the food inside the package. With one online survey and one quasi-experiment, we show that consumers draw inferences on the food's fat level from the package surface, in that glossy packages are seen as a signal of fatness. This association is specific; consumers do not associate glossiness with every unhealthy product aspect. Sugar levels are unaffected by the package surface. However, due to the higher inferred fat level, a product in a glossy package is perceived to be less healthy, less tasty, and low in quality and product expensiveness. Thus, these findings suggest that glossy (versus matte) food packages mainly serve as a signal of negative product qualities

Pension reform, employment by age and long-run growth

We study the effects of pension reform in a four-period OLG model for an open economy where hours worked by three active generations, education of the young, the retirement decision of older workers, and aggregate per capita growth, are endogenous. Next to the characteristics of the pension system, our model assigns an important role to the composition of fiscal policy. We find that the model explains the facts remarkably well for many OECD countries. Our simulation results prefer an intelligent pay-as-you-go pension system above a fully-funded private system. When it comes to promoting employment, human capital, growth, and welfare, positive effects in a PAYG system are the strongest when it includes a tight link between individual labor income (and contributions) and the pension, and when it attaches a high weight to labor income earned as an older worker to compute the pension assessment base.employment by age, endogenous growth, retirement, pension reform, overlapping generations

On the overconsumption of food portions : is the problem in the size or the number?

While larger food portions lead to greater consumption, the effect appears to be greater when the larger food portions are created by increasing the size of food units than when created by increasing the number of food units making up the portion. Study 1 shows consumer estimates of food quantities are more sensitive to unit-number information (i.e., the number of units) and less sensitive to unit-size information (i.e., the size of food units). Estimates of the food quantity presented in a portion size are larger when the portion is presented as many, smaller units than when presented as few, larger units. Study 2 demonstrates that participants tend to consume less when a portion is presented as more, smaller units vs. few, larger units. This result along with that of Study 1 suggest the portion-size effect on consumption is inversely related to the portion-size effect on quantity perceptions. When consumers are induced to focus on unit-size rather than unit-number (Study 3), quantity estimates can be made more sensitive to unit-size manipulations. Study 4 extends this finding to show that the portion-size effect on consumption is greatest when quantity estimation is insensitive to portion size change, and mitigated when information focus encourages processing of the relevant information