Does social distancing affect the processing of brand logos?

Abstract

Social distancing and isolation have been imposed to contrast the spread of COVID‐19. The present study investigates whether social distancing affects our cognitive system, in particular the processing of different types of brand logos in different moments of the pandemic spread in Italy. In a size discrimination task, six different logos belonging to three categories (letters, symbols, and social images) were presented in their original format and spaced. Two samples of participants were tested: one just after the pandemic spread in Italy, the other one after 6 months. Results showed an overall distancing effect (i.e., spaced stimuli are processed slower than original ones) that interacted with the sample, revealing a significant effect only for participants belonging to the second sample. However, both groups showed a distancing effect modulated by the type of logo as it only emerged for social images. Results suggest that social distancing behaviors have been integrated in our cognitive system as they appear to affect our perception of distance when social images are involved.

Wearing the face mask affects our social attention over space

“…Previous research has extensively investigated attentional processing, showing that both spatial information and social factors are automatically encoded and affect the recognition of perceptual stimuli. However, a growing body of evidence has shown that standard attentional processes could be modulated by the current task and by context-relevant information (e.g., D’Ascenzo et al, 2022 ; for a discussion, see Lebois et al, 2015 ).…”

Face mask use as a categorical dimension in social perception

“…Most importantly, it is here shown that spontaneous categorization processes are triggered, grouping individuals as a function of their mask-related behaviors. The implementation of preventive behaviors has become an integral part of people's daily lives, and much has already been done to highlight the possible effects on socio-cognitive processes 9,[52][53][54][55][56][57] . Although there is a widespread hope that we could soon overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still uncertainty about the future.…”

The effects of campaign-based logo changes on consumers’ attitude and behavior: a case of social distancing messages during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Additionally, the authors found that spaced logos were processed slower by consumers due to their unfamiliarity. Moreover, D’Ascenzo et al. (2022) found that although social distancing behavior has altered our perception towards the spaced shape of a logo, this alternative presentation can induce negative images in consumers which eventually raises a resistance in processing the stimuli.…”