Culture and personal preferences: Implications for decision making, information processing, and brand equity

Barnes, Aaron Jeffrey

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/107982 Copy

Description

Title

Culture and personal preferences: Implications for decision making, information processing, and brand equity

Author(s)

Barnes, Aaron Jeffrey

Issue Date

2020-05-06

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Shavitt, Sharon

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Shavitt, Sharon

Committee Member(s)

• Cohen, Dov
• Torelli, Carlos J
• White, Tiffany B

Department of Study

Business Administration

Discipline

Business Administration

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

culture, independent and interdependent self-construal, attitude accessibility, consensus cues, persuasion

Abstract

This dissertation explores two ways culture shapes the meaning of personal preferences. Decades of research has built on two assumptions about the role of personal preferences in decision making: 1) preferences that come quickly to mind are useful for making decisions and 2) behaviors reflect one’s personal preferences. However, studies supporting both assumptions were conducted in cultural contexts that emphasize an independent self-construal. In these contexts, people are socialized to form preferences that express their individuality and act in a way that fulfills their personal goals. In cultural contexts where an interdependent self-construal is emphasized, fitting in and adjusting to others’ needs is prioritized. In these contexts, people need to be responsive to norms as they make decisions. Informed by cross-cultural perspectives, we theorize and test the ideas that, for interdependents, 1) personal preferences that come quickly to mind can reduce one’s readiness to act and 2) information about others’ preferences may be more persuasive than information about others’ actions. Together, this dissertation suggests ways that cultural theories and attitude theories can expand productively by considering the deeper meanings of personal preferences.

Graduation Semester

2020-05

Type of Resource

Thesis

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/107982

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2020 Aaron Barnes

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