The Effect of Cognitive Disfluency and Construal Level on Consumer Confidence and Product Evaluation: The Role of Consumption Occasions

The current research investigates whether cognitive disfluency has asymmetric influences on consumer confidence and product evaluation depending on different consumption occasions under which consumers with different levels of construal make a judgment. The findings of two studies demonstrate that cognitive disfluency is likely to increase (decrease) confidence and evaluation about special-occasion products (everyday products) when consumers adopt low construal level because the experienced disfluency signals effort invested in their judgments. In contrast, when consumers adopt high construal level, cognitive disfluency is likely to undermine (enhance) consumer confidence and evaluation about special-occasion products (everyday products) because the experienced disfluency makes it harder (easier) to justify reasons for using the products. The current research contributes to integrating the streams of research on cognitive disfluency and construal level theory and offers useful implications for marketing practitioners with respect to communication tactics. We also discuss limitations and avenues for further research.