“I Doubt It Works!” the negative impacts of anthropomorphizing healthcare products

This research proposes that anthropomorphism has negative downstream consequences in a healthcare product context. Using anthropomorphization in a product, package design or advertising can negatively affect consumers’ product evaluations. Anthropomorphized healthcare products look cute and fun, and can evoke compensatory inferences that the product itself may not be efficacious. This kind of lay belief reduces the consumer’s willingness to pay for the product. Study 1 shows that consumers have less of a preference for healthcare product anthropomorphism (vs. non-anthropomorphism). Study 2 shows that product anthropomorphism reduces consumers’ willingness to spend money on the product. The results also show that the effect of anthropomorphism on consumer preferences is mediated by lowered perceived product efficacy. Promotion focus (Studies 3a and 3b) and external health locus-of-control (Studies 4a and 4b) are found to reduce the negative impacts of anthropomorphism on product evaluations (i.e., attitude toward the product, purchase intention, or actual money spent).