About Dr. L. J. Shrum

Research Interests

My primary area of research applyies social cognition concepts to understand the determinants of consumer judgments. My most recent research has focused on the multiple roles of the self in consumer judgment, particularly with respect to self-threat and its influence on conspicuous consumption and materialism. Other areas of research include cross-cultural differences in self-construal and their relation to such phenomena as impulsive consumption and socially desirable responding, as well as cross-cultural differences in reactions to self-threat (e.g., social exclusion).

 

Current Projects

 Investigating the effects of social exclusion on : This project is primarily the work of my doctoral student, Jae Lee. The project seeks to understand inconsistencies in prior research on social exclusion by focusing on potential differential effects of different types of social exclusion (e.g., explicit rejection vs. implicit ignoring) and the different needs that these two types of rejection threaten. The project investigates the differential effects of the different types of social exclusion on both conspicuous consumption and helping behavior. potential moderators to this effect, and other psychological processes that may underlie social exclusion effects.[with Jae Lee (University of Houston Clear Lake), Kate Loveland (HEC Montreal), and Sara Loughron Dommer (Pitt)

 Investigating cross-cultural differences in reactions to social exclusion: This project is an extension of the social exclusion research that looks at cross-cultural differences in reactions to different types of social exclusion on conspicuous consumption and helping behavoior. The initial project compares Korean and American cultures.[with Jae Lee (UTSA) and Youjae Yi (Seoul National University)]

Investigating the relations among daily emotions, materialism, and shopping behavior: This project investigates the emotions that accompany shopping and purchasing behavior, and in particular investigates whether these emotional reactions differ as a function level of materialism. The study uses a novel research method, the Dailey Experience Method, to tap emotions immediately after the activity. Participants are given Palm Pilots to carry for a two-week period, and they are randomly contacted four times per day to measure their immediate emotions. In addition, they also fill out surveys measuring their emotions any time they shop, pay bills, or exercise. This method aims to get more reliable emotion data than that which would be obtained through long-term recall. [with Jill Sundie (UTSA) and Dan Beal (UTSA)]

Antecedents and consequences of materialism: Multiple projects investigate what motivates materialistic consumption and the outcomes it produces. Projects include the motivations underlying materialism [with Mario Pandelaere (University of Ghent, Belgium), Inge Lens (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), and Jae Lee (University of Houston Clear Lake)] , the role of affective forecasting error in the relation between materialism and subjective well being[with Jim Burroughs (Universitity of Virginia) and Aric Rindfleisch (University of Wisconsin), how materialists react to self-threat [with Jae Lee (UTSA)], and a meta-analyitic review of materialism research [with Jill Sundie and Kristin Trask (UTSA) and Dan Beal (UTSA)]

Investigating the role of psycholinguistic characteristics in the interpretation of brand names: One of the aspects of words that has been shown to affect their meaing is phonetic symbolism. Phonetic symbolism refers to the ability of phonemes (the fundamental building blocks of language) to convey information on their own. This project investigates the implications of this notion for the perceptions of and preference for brand names. We are currently conducting lab experiments to determine the nature of the processes underlying these effects. We have also conducted experiments to determine whether these effects generalize to bilinguals in English and another language, and have collected these data from participants in France, Taiwan, and the U.S. [with Tina M. Lowrey (UTSA), David Luna (Baruch University), Dawn Lerman (Fordham University), and Min Liu (UTSA)]

Investigating phonetic symbolism as a fluency effect: This project investigates the extent to which ease of processing (fluency) mediates phonetic symbolism effects on brand names. The first study investigates whether phonetic symbolism facilitates fluency measured via a lexical decision task, and whether the fluency mediates brand name preference. The second study uses secondary data to determine the relation between the phonetic symbolism of financial (stock) ticker symbols and their relation to stock performance. [with Tina M. Lowrey and Mark Nespoli (UTSA) and Victor Cook (Tulane University)]

Investigating the relation between self-construal and impulsive consumption: This project investigates cross-cultural differences in self-regulation and impulsive consumption. [with Ashley Arsena (UTSA)]

Investigating the influence of alcohol-related messages in television program on teen drinking : This project looks at the role of television programs and their alcohol consumption narratives in influencing teen perceptions and behaviors toward alcohol consumption [with Cristel Russell (American University)]

Current and Recently Published Papers and Books

• Lee, Jaehoon & L. J. Shrum (2012), “Conspicuous Consumption versus Charitable Behavior in Response to Social Exclusion: A Differential Needs Explanation,” Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming. Full Text (PDF)

• Lee,, Jaehoon and L. J. Shrum (2013), “Self-Threats and Consumption,” in Identity and Consumption, eds. Russell Belk and Ayalla R. Ruvio, New York: Routledge, forthcoming.

• Zhang, Yinlong and L. J. Shrum (2013), “Culture and Self-Regulation: The Influence of Self-Construal on Impulsive Consumption,” in Identity and Consumption, eds. Russell Belk and Ayalla R. Ruvio, New York: Routledge, forthcoming.

• Wong, Nancy, L. J. Shrum, Farrah Arif, Sunaina Chugani, Alexander Gunz, Tina M. Lowrey, Agnes Nairn, Mario Pandelaere, Spencer M. Ross, Ayalla Ruvio, Kristin Scott, and Jill Sundie (2011), “Rethinking Materialism: A Process View and Some Transformative Consumer Research Implications,” Journal of Research for Consumers, Issue 19, http://www.jrconsumers.com/academic_articles/issue_19,_2011?f=45670.

• Wong, Nancy, L. J. Shrum, Farrah Arif, Sunaina Chugani, Alexander Gunz, Tina M. Lowrey, Agnes Nairn, Mario Pandelaere, Spencer M. Ross, Ayalla Ruvio, Kristin Scott, and Jill Sundie (2012), “A Process View of  Materialism,” Journal of Business Research, forthcoming.

• Shrum, L. J., ed. (2012), The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and Persuasion, 2nd edition, NY: Psychology Press, forthcoming.

• Shrum, L. J. and Jaehoon Lee (2012), “Multiple Processes Underlying Cultivation Effects: How Cultivation Works Depends on the Types of Beliefs Being Cultivated,” in The Cultivation Differential: State of the Art Research in Cultivation Theory,eds. Michael Morgan, James Shanahan, & Nancy Signorielli, New York: Peter Lang Publishers, forthcoming.

• Shrum, L. J. and Jaehoon Lee (2012), “Television’s Persuasive Narratives: How Television Influences Values, Attitudes, and Beliefs,” in The Psychology of Entertainment Media: Blurring the Lines Between Entertainment and Persuasion, 2nd edition, ed. L .J. Shrum, New York: Taylor and Francis, forthcoming.

• Shrum, L. J., Min Liu, Mark Nespoli, and Tina M. Lowrey (2012), “Persuasion and Marketing,” in The Persuasion Handbook, eds. James Dillard & Lijiang Shen, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, forthcoming.

• Shrum, L. J., Jaehoon Lee, James E. Burroughs, and Aric Rindfleisch (2011), “An On-line Process Model of Second-Order Cultivation Effects: How Television Cultivates Material Values and Its Consequences for Life Satisfaction,” Human Communication Research, 38, 34-57. - Full Text (PDF)

• Lalwani, Ashok K., L. J. Shrum, & Chi-Yue Chiu (2009), “Motivated Response Styles: The Role of Cultural Values, Regulatory Focus, and Self-Consciousness in Socially Desirable Responding,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96 (April), 870-882. - Full Text (PDF)

• Zhang, Yinlong & L. J. Shrum (2009), “The Influence of Self-Construal on Impulsive Consumption,” Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (February), 838-850. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J., Tina M. Lowrey, & Yuping Liu (2009), “Current Issues in Advertising Research,” in Handbook of Media Effects, eds. Mary Beth Oliver & Robin Nabi, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 299-312. - Full Text (PDF)

• Liu, Yuping & L. J. Shrum (2009), “A Dual-Process Model of Interactivity Effects,” Journal of Advertising, 38 (Summer), 53-68. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J. (2009), "Effects of Television Viewing,” in The Social Psychology of Consumer Behavior, ed. Michaela Wänke, New York: Psychology Press, 251-272. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J., (2009), “Media Consumption and Perceptions of Social Reality: Effects and Underlying Processes,” in Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research, 3rd edition, eds. Jennings Bryant & Mary Beth Oliver, New York: Psychology Press, 50-73. - Full Text (PDF)

• Lowrey, Tina M. & L. J. Shrum (2007), “Phonetic Symbolism and Brand Name Preference,” Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (3), 406-414. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J. (2007), “Cultivation and Social Cognition,” in Communication and Social Cognition: Theories and Methods, eds. David R. Roskos-Ewoldsen and Jennifer L. Monahan, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 245-272. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J. (2007), “The Implications of Survey Method for Measuring Cultivation Effects,” Human Communication Research, 31 (1), 64-80. - Full Text (PDF)

• Briley, Donnel A., L. J. Shrum, & Robert S. Wyer, Jr. (2007), “Subjective Impressions of Minority Model Frequencies in the Media: A Comparison of Majority and Minority Viewers' Judgments and Underlying Processes,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17 (1), 36-48. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J. & Tina J. Lowrey (2007), “Sounds Convey Meaning: The Implications of Phonetic Symbolism for Brand Name Construction,” in Psycholinguistic Phenomena in Marketing Communications, ed. Tina M. Lowrey, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 39-58. - Full Text (PDF)

• Shrum, L. J., James E. Burroughs, & Aric Rindfleisch (2005), “Television's Cultivation of Material Values,” Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (3), 473-479. - Full Text (PDF)