The effect of
awesome
nature used in
ads on (non-)
materialism
Dominique Cuppers S19857441st supervisor: Yannick Joye
Content
Introduction Literature review Awe Environmental conditions Non-materialism Construal level Moderators Research question & Conceptual model Central hypotheses
Methods
Design and participants Materials Procedure Results Manipulation check Mediation analysis Moderation analysis Discussion
Connections and relevance to existing theory Limitations and recommendations
Introduction
Feeling awed by the emotion awe
Nature as an elicitor of awe
Experiencing awe and feeling less
materialistic
Mediation effect of the construal level of a
person
Moderation effect of personal traits openness
to experience and dominance
Problem statement
If the emotion awe is most strongly evoked by
LR - Awe
“An emotional response to perceptually vast
stimuli that overwhelm current mental
structure, yet facilitate attempts at
accommodation”
(Keltner & Haidt, 2003; p. 303)
Perceived vastness
Need for accommodation
Piagetian theories (Piaget, 1970)
Self diminishing
Less materialistic preferences (Bagozzi,
Gopinath & Nyer, 1999; Shiota, Keltner &
Mossman, 2007; Saroglou, Buxant & Tilquin, 2008)
Elicitors of awe
LR - Environmental conditions
Three conditions
Awesome nature/spectacular nature “Awesome nature is very uncommon,
contains unexpected phenomena leading to an attentionally and emotionally gripping experience Joye & Bolderdijk, 2015, p. 7)
Mundane nature
Softly fascinating, easy accessible and
familiar to people
(Joye & Bolderdijk, 2015)
Mundane urban
Commercial/man-made landscapes
LR - Non-materialism
“Materialism is a cultural system in which
material interests are not made
subservient to other social goals” (Mukerij,
1983, p. 8; in Banerjee & McKeage, 1994,
p.147)
Materialism, concerns about the economic
consumer value (type and quantity goods
consumed)
Environmentalism, concerns about the
relationship of humans with their
environment
LR - Construal level
How people represent and process
information about objects/events
(Trope & Liberman, 2011, p. 132)
“What are the psychological processes that
enable people to mentally shift back and
forth between being immersed in the
here-and-now and removing oneself from it”
(Trope & Liberman, 2011, p. 119)
High level vs. low level Psychological distance
Temporal distance Spatial distance
Hypothetical distance Social distance
LR - Moderators
Openness to experience is characterized by a
broader and deeper scope of awareness and
by the need to enlarge and examine their
experiences
(McCrae & Costa, 1991)
Positively correlates with both positive and
negative affects (McCrae & Costa, 1991)
Awe is positive affect
Assumption: Positive moderation effect
Dominance is characterized by assertive and
forceful behavior and no feelings of
humbleness
Awe causes feelings of humbleness
LR - Research question &
Conceptual model
What condition will evoke awe in the
strongest extent and what effect will this
have on the materialistic preferences and
behavior of the individual?
Focus on the emotional impact of the different
LR - Central hypotheses
H1a: Awesome nature will evoke awe to the highest extent
compared to mundane nature and mundane urban.
H1b: Experiencing awe will result in non-materialistic
behavior and preferences of the individual.
H2: The relationship between awe and non-materialism will
be mediated by the construal level of an individual
H3: The relationship between awe and non-materialism will
be positively moderated by the personality trait openness to experience
H4: The relationship between awe and non-materialism will
Methods - Design and participants
Qualtrics
91 participants, 60 useful participants
Drop-out rate 34%
M = 25.0 years, SD = 6.23, Females = 44 (73,3%)
Snowball referencing through social media
DV = Materialism
IV = Environmental condition
Mediator = Construal level
Methods – Materials (1)
Images
10 images per condition (Total = 30) 20 participants per condition
Exposure time = 8 seconds per image Size = 500 x 300 pixels
Example of images
Representation
Sample picture of mundane nature (Source:
http://www.labreuille.com/ Paul Banning)
Sample picture of awesome nature (Source:
https://www.tumblr.com/
NithuAnand)
Sample picture of mundane urban (Source:
https://www.flickr.com/photos
Methods – Materials (2)
Measurement scales
Awe (Keltner & Haidt, 2003; Shiota, Keltner &
Mossman, 2007; Saroglou, Buxant & Tilquin, 2008; Joye & Bolderdijk, 2015)
10-item scale, rate on 7-item Likert scale, α= 0.91
(e.g. 1= very untrue on me, 7= very true on me)
Materiailsm (Richins & Dawson, 1992)
18-item scale, rate on 7-item Likert scale, a= 0.92
(e.g. 1= very untrue on me, 7= very true on me)
Construal level (Fujita, Trope, Liberman &
Levin-Sagi, 2006; Bar-Anan, Liberman & Trope, 2006; Van Boven, 2005)
16-item scale divided in two parts (pro- and
post-manipulation, 2 options (low- or high level)
Skydiving, (1) jumping out of an airplane or (2)
Methods – Materials (3)
Measurement scales
Openness to experience
(Costa & McCrae, 1995; Block, 1961)
6 themes, 18 different items California Q set
7-item Likert scale, a= 0.58
(e.g. 1= very untrue on me, 7= very true on me)
Dominance
(Gough, McClosky & Meehl, 1952)
11 items, 7-item Likert scale, a= 0.85
Mood measurement
Methods - Procedure
Introduction
Demographics and first mood measurement
Openness to experience statements Dominance statements
Pre-manipulation construal level measure Pre-manipulation materialism measurement
Manipulation: 3 conditions (between-subject)
Second mood measurement Awe measurement
Results – Manipulation check (1)
ANOVA conditions on awe, F(2,37)= 32.95, p < 0.001 Positive correlation conditions on awe, p < 0.001
Spectacular nature vs. mundane nature, p < 0.001 Spectacular nature vs. mundane urban, p < 0.001 Mundane nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.042
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Spectacular nature Mundane nature Mundane urban
Results – Manipulation check (2)
ANCOVA conditions on mood measurement,
F(2,56)= 6.75, p = 0.002
Spectacular nature vs. mundane nature, p = 0.068 Spectacular nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.001 Mundane nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.077
60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78
Mood pre-manipulation Mood post-manipulation
Mood measurement
Results – Manipulation check (3)
ANCOVA conditions on materialism, F(2,56)= 5.37, p = 0.007
Spectacular nature vs. mundane nature, p = 0.003 Spectacular nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.014 Mundane nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.574
ANCOVA conditions on construal, F(2,56)= 0.98, p = 0.383 Spectacular nature vs. mundane nature, p = 0.265
Spectacular nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.875 Mundane nature vs. mundane urban, p = 0.206
3,2 3,3 3,4 3,5 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,9
Results – Mediation analysis
Conditions met mediation analysis
Awe positively correlates with construal level, p
=0.012; correlation coefficient =0.32
Materialism negatively correlates with construal
level, p =0.001, correlation coefficient =-0.42
Process developed by Andrew Hayes
Significant effect awe on materialism, p =0.021 Implementation mediator construal level
No significant effect awe on materialism, p =0.087 Significant effect construal level as mediator, p =0.007 95% confidence interval (1000 bootstrap samples
Indirect effect of awe through construal level did not
Results – Moderation analysis
Process, developed by Andrew Hayes
No significant effect Openness to
experience on relation awe and (non-)
materialism, p = 0.157
No significant effect Dominance on relation
awe and (non-) materialism, p = 0.814
No significant effect Openness to
experience on relation environmental
conditions and (non-) materialism, p = 0.199
No significant effect Dominance on relation
Discussion – Connections and
relevance to existing theory
Established evidence
awesome nature evokes awe
Nature evokes awe in a stronger extent than
urban scenery
Negative correlation awe and materialism
New evidence
Investigate relationship in a systematic manner Mediation effect of the construal level
Inconsistent with existing theory
No moderation effect of openness to
experience
Shiota, Keltner and John (2006) found a strong
Discussion – Limitations and
recommendations
Demographics
Age, nationality, familiarity with types of nature More heterogeneous sample needed
Images
Exposure: Nature images vs. real nature Exposure time
Discussion – Managerial implications
Exposure to awesome nature images will
result in feeling less materialistic
Advertise experiences instead of material
possessions
Donations, gifts and forms of charity
Engage audience in social and
environmental causes
Positive associations nature
Feelings of joy, relaxation, inspiration and
Thank you for
your attention
Dominique Cuppers S1985744
