In this study, we studied the possible impact of shame on trust, in the context of situations of poverty. It is known that people living in poverty feel shame, but what the impact is on trust, for...Show moreIn this study, we studied the possible impact of shame on trust, in the context of situations of poverty. It is known that people living in poverty feel shame, but what the impact is on trust, for instance when seeking help, is not well studied. We tried to manipulate 120 female participants into feeling either public shame, private shame, and nothing in particular (baseline condition). This was done by letting the participant in the first two conditions do a very difficult math- and language test, next to a confederate who clearly outperformed them. After the manipulation, a Trust Game was done. We expected that feeling shame caused them to score lower on the trust game and thus have less trust in others. Significant differences were found between shame scores of the public shame and the baseline conditions and between the private shame group and the baseline condition. However, no significant differences were found between the trust scores of the three conditions. This is notable because other studies show that beliefs about how one is perceived by others affects trust. This study provides important information on what feelings of shame can be evoked by counselors, and on the impact on clients’ ability to trust others. Future studies could further explore the mechanism behind this relationship, improving the limitations that were encountered in the present study.Show less
Generating emotional brand attachment is a central concern in the current marketing industry. Existing research has shown the high relevance of emotions in consumer–brand relationships. We propose...Show moreGenerating emotional brand attachment is a central concern in the current marketing industry. Existing research has shown the high relevance of emotions in consumer–brand relationships. We propose that the emotion awe makes people feel connected to brands, because awe causes people to feel interconnected. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between music, awe and brand attachment. Participants in this online study (N = 199) were randomly divided into four conditions: a music condition, a recall condition, a music and recall condition, and a control condition. We hypothesized that listening to music would induce awe, which in turn would affect brand attachment. Results showed that music did not have a significant effect on awe, but recalling an experience of awe did. Furthermore, awe had a significant effect on brand attachment. Finally, the personality trait Openness to Experience predicted the experience of awe. The implications for these findings, directions for future research and limitations of the current research are discussed.Show less
