This research conceptualizes and develops a scale to measure individual differences in the centrality of visual product aesthetics (CVPA), defined as the level of significance that visual aesthetics hold for a particular consumer in his/her relationship with products. Three related dimensions of product aesthetics centrality emerged from the research: value, acumen, and response intensity. A series of eight studies provided evidence that the CVPA measure possesses satisfactory reliability and validity. Additionally, this research illuminates important differences between high-and low-CVPA consumers in product design-related evaluations and behaviors and provides suggestions for future research employing the scale.

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This article discusses the need for more satisfactory implicit measures in consumer psychology and assesses the theoretical foundations, validity, and value of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as a measure of implicit consumer social cognition. Study 1 demonstrates the IAT's sen sitivity to explicit individual differences in brand attitudes, ownership, and usage frequency, and shows their correlations with IAT-based measures of implicit brand attitudes and brand re lationship strength. In Study 2, the contrast between explicit and implicit measures of attitude toward the ad for sportswear advertisements portraying African American (Black) and Euro pean American (White) athlete-spokespersons revealed different patterns of responses to ex plicit and implicit measures in Black and White respondents. These were explained in terms of self-presentation biases and system justification theory. Overall, the results demonstrate that the IAT enhances our understanding of consumer responses, particularly when consumers are either unable or unwilling to identify the sources of influence on their behaviors or opinions.

While emotions have been shown to have significant influence on various consumer behaviors, the cognitive appraisals linked to consumption emotions have not been fully explored. This research investigates how individuals’ cognitive interpretations of situations correspond to the emotions they experience in these contexts. Using analysis of variance and multiple discriminant analysis, our results show a systematic relationship between cognitive appraisals and 10 consumption emotions. The authors’ findings offer theoretical insights into these consumption emotions, the appraisal/consumption emotion correspondence, basicversus subordinate-level category differences in emotions, and mixed consumption emotions. The findings provide a practical framework for academics and practitioners interested in better understanding and managing consumption emotions.

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