What to diffuse in a gender‐specific store? The effect of male and female perfumes on customer value and behaviour

Sensory marketing can be an efficient way to involve consumers in the store environment. Diffusing a pleasant ambient scent that matches with the store setting is often used to create pleasant shopping experiences. The aim of this study is to extend scent marketing research: (i) by examining the effect of pleasant ambient scent on the different dimensions of customer value; and (ii) by exploring whether product‐scent incongruity can have a positive effect on consumer evaluations. A field experiment with 182 participants showed that a pleasant gender‐incongruent ambient perfume positively influences different dimensions of customer value as compared to the absence of a perfume. Moreover, a gender‐incongruent perfume also leads to a more positive evaluation of the play, product excellence, and social dimension of customer value as compared to a gender‐congruent perfume. A pleasant gender‐congruent ambient perfume, on the other hand, only has a positive effect on the aesthetic dimension of customer value as compared to the absence of a perfume. The observed ambient scent effects do not differ between men and women. These results are in contrast with existing literature. However, an explanation for this undocumented effect can be found in the mate attraction theory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Young Females' Images of Motherhood

This paper reports on two studies into the images of motherhood held by young females. In Study 1, we attempted to uncover general conceptual dimensions by which young Dutch females perceive motherhood. For this, a group of 64, predominantly White, participants of various ages and educational backgrounds were interviewed about real-life mothers and female images derived from television. Qualitative analysis revealed 4 main conceptual categories: a mother's traditional orientation toward motherhood, her child-centeredness, her self-assertive attitude, and a mother's open and social attitude. The items making up the 4 conceptual categories found in Study 1, underwent factor analysis in Study 2. Two main dimensions were found. One dimension represented a traditional orientation toward motherhood, whereas the other added a more contemporary perspective to motherhood, and represented a self-assertive and relational orientation toward motherhood. In Study 2, we investigated how young females viewed themselves as potential mothers with regard to these two dimensions. We analyzed whether differences in the views of young females about their future motherhood were dependent on level of education, age, and image of their own mother. The 165, predominantly White, young females taking part were asked to rate themselves and their mother on a range of items, representing the two dimensions of motherhood. Although daughter ratings were positively related to the ratings they assigned to their mothers, daughter perceived themselves to function differently with respect to the two dimensions of motherhood, compared to their own mother: They perceived themselves as less traditional, and more self-assertive and relational oriented than their mothers.     

Optimism and Mental Health in Adolescence: a Prospective Validation Study of the Dutch Life-Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R-A) for Adolescents

The study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Dutch Life Orientation Test-Revised for Adolescents (LOT-R-A), a self-report questionnaire assessing dispositional optimism, and to evaluate the two-factor structure (optimism, pessimism). The LOT-R-A and the questionnaires measuring well-being (MHC-SF-A) and psychological problems (SDQ) were completed by 459 Dutch adolescents (178 boys and 281 girls) between the ages of 11 and 18 years at baseline and 281 adolescents at a four-week follow-up. The results confirmed the two-factor structure (optimism, pessimism) of the LOT-R-A. The findings provided evidence of internal consistency of scores ranging from low to good, and evidence of good test-retest reliability of scores. Further, scores of optimism were cross-sectionally positively associated with scores of positive emotions and well-being and negatively with scores of psychological problems and negative emotions, providing evidence of convergent and divergent validity of optimism scores with emotions, well-being, and psychological problems. Lastly, scores of optimism were prospectively positively associated with scores of well-being and negatively with scores of psychological problems, providing evidence of criterion validity of optimism scores with well-being and psychological problems. Based on these findings it can be concluded that the LOT-R-A is a valid instrument to examine optimism among adolescents. Future research can help to elucidate the role of optimism in mental health interventions and can gather knowledge on how these interventions can be refined to optimally cultivate optimism during the developmental period of adolescence.     

Can buy me love: Mate attraction goals lead to perceptual readiness for status products

Exposure to mating cues activates the goal to signal one's mate value to members of the opposite sex. This mate attraction goal may render men perceptually ready for products that signal their mate value to women. As men's mate value is partly determined by their financial prospects, men may be more likely to notice products that would signal their financial resources to women. The current study demonstrates that exposure to a sexily dressed woman increases single men's likelihood of noticing status products in a visual display. Not only do these findings further support the link between conspicuous consumption and male mating strategies, they are the first to demonstrate perceptual readiness for indirect (i.e., products) rather than direct (i.e., opposite sex individuals) means for reproduction.     

Effects of Scarcely Dressed Models in Advertising on Body Esteem for Belgian Men and Women

We explore how more revealing displays of models’ bodies in advertising impact individuals’ body esteem. The first study exposed a snowball sample of 215 Belgian men and women starting from a research department’s database to an advertisement containing a male or female model in pajamas or underwear. Scarcely dressed models had a negative effect on individuals’ body esteem compared to dressed models, especially for opposite-sex models. The second study replicated the results of the first with a representative sample of 123 women from a consumer panel, using different models. Both scarce dress of the opposite-sex model and reported sexual arousal affected body esteem. Model attractiveness served as a moderator for same-sex models.     

Helping families improve: an evaluation of two primary care approaches to parenting support in the Netherlands

The present study evaluated two primary care parenting interventions. First, we evaluated the most widely used Dutch practices for primary care parenting support. Second, we assessed the applicability of the Primary Care Triple P approach, which is now being utilized in a wide variety of primary care settings. Both interventions target parents of children with mild to moderate behavioural and/or emotional problems, with the aim of improving parenting skills and thereby decreasing child problems. We examined the interventions in pre‐, post‐ and follow‐up assessment, and compared the results. Both interventions produced significant reductions in reported child emotional and behaviour problems, that also remained after 3 months. For both groups, parenting styles were also found to have improved at both post‐test and follow‐up measurement. When compared with the regular Dutch parenting consultation practices, however, the Primary Care Triple P approach produced greater reductions in parental laxness and total parenting dysfunction, and greater improvement in total parenting competence at both post‐test and follow‐up. Primary Care Triple P may even—in light of the greater improvements in parenting skills and total parental competences in the Triple P group than in the regular Dutch parenting consultation group—produce better results in the long run concerning child behaviour and emotional problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality, delinquency, and criminal recidivism

This study explores the relationship between PEN profiles, delinquency, and recidivism in young offenders. According to Eysenck, personality is based on three basic Dimensions: Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism (PEN-model). Eysenck states that delinquents score high on all three dimensions. A group of young male offenders in a juvenile detention center in The Netherlands were studied to test Eysenck's hypothesis, which was partially confirmed. From a cluster analysis it appear that only a small group of offenders had high scores on all three PEN dimensions. Finally, it was concluded that the PEN profiles were not able to differentiate between recidivists and nonrecidivists.     

Parameterization of movement execution in children with developmental coordination disorder

The Rhythmic Movement Test (RMT) evaluates temporal and amplitude parameterization and fluency of movement execution in a series of rhythmic arm movements under different sensory conditions. The RMT was used in combination with a jumping and a drawing task, to evaluate 36 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) and a matched control group. RMT errors in space and in time were significantly larger for children with DCD. Omission of sensory information decreased the accuracy of movement parameterization in children with DCD more than in the control group, suggesting that children with DCD have more problems in building up an internal representation of the movement. Errors in time correlated significantly with the jumping and drawing task, while errors in space did not. Deficits of temporal movement parameterization might be one of the underlying causes of poor motor performance in some children with DCD.