The healing effect of cute elements

• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Author: Hsuan‐Yi Chou,Xing‐Yu (Marcos) Chu,Tzu‐Chun Chen
• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12414

ARTICLE

The healing effect of cute elements

Hsuan-Yi Chou

1

| Xing-Yu (Marcos) Chu

2

| Tzu-Chun Chen

1

1

Institute of Marketing Communication,

National Sun Yat-sen University,

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

2

Department of Marketing and E-

commerce, Nanjing University, Jiangsu

Province, China

Correspondence

Xing-Yu (Marcos) Chu, Department of

Marketing and E-commerce, Nanjing

University, Jiangsu Province, China.

Email: marcos.xy.chu@gmail.com

Funding information

Research funding from National Natural

Science Foundation of China (71902083)

and the Fundamental Research Funds for

the Central Universities (010414370114)

was granted to Xing-Yu (Marcos) Chu.

Abstract

Consumers around the world use retail therapy to alle-

viate negative emotions. In response, marketers have

incorporated cute elements into product design, capi-

talizing on the demand for products that provide

healing effects. Grounded on attention restoration the-

ory, this study explores how baby and whimsical cute-

ness generate feelings of healing. It also clarifies the

moderating effect of product type and examines

whether feelings of healing affect consumer subjective

well-being, product attitudes, and purchase intentions.

The results indicate that products with cute elements

generate stronger feelings of healing. Baby cuteness is

relatively more effective than whimsical cuteness.

Cuteness arouses feelings of healing through the mech-

anisms of fascination and extent. Incorporating cute

elements with utilitarian (vs. hedonic) products

enhances these healing effects. Feelings of healing

mediate the cuteness effect on well-being and attitudi-

nal responses. These findings are valuable to marketing

theory and practice and consumer well-being.

KEYWORDS

cuteness, healing effect, product type

1|INTRODUCTION

People attempt to reduce their negative emotions by engaging in a variety of physical and psy-

chological behaviors that generate therapeutic effects (Renshaw, 2016). In contemporary socie-

ties, many people have turned to retail therapy behaviors (Surendran & Vardhan, 2014), which

Received: 7 April 2020 Revised: 25 March 2021 Accepted: 21 May 2021

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12414

© 2021 American Council on Consumer Interests.

J Consum Aff. 2022;56:565–596. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 565

refer to shopping to alleviate negative emotions (Chipp et al., 2019; Kang & Johnson, 2011), also

called therapeutic consumption or mood-alleviative consumption. These consumption behav-

iors provide therapeutic/healing effects to the consumer. The terms “therapeutic”and “healing”

are synonymous, referring to the process in which an individual's negative mental state

becomes positive (Fong & Lu, 2016). When a person returns to a healthy mental or emotional

state, he/she experiences what is referred to as “the feeling of healing”(Tomita et al., 2012).

Taking note of how retail therapy provides feelings of healing by alleviating negative emotions

and moods (Chipp et al., 2019; Kang & Johnson, 2011; Luomala, 2002), many marketing practi-

tioners, researchers, and policymakers have sought to understand the elements and the effects

of retail therapy (e.g., Lee & Böttger, 2018; Son & Chang, 2016).

Previous studies of retail therapy have explored how this behavior relieves negative emo-

tions, but the specifics and feasibility of enhancing a product's therapeutic effects (i.e., the feel-

ings of healing it provides) have not yet been studied in detail. Furthermore, previous retail

therapy studies have focused on Western consumers (Surendran & Vardhan, 2014). In Asia, the

consumption of healing products is a burgeoning form of retail therapy and an increasing vol-

ume of products and product packaging incorporate healing designs (Chang & Kao, 2014;

Huang, 2016). A particularly popular characteristic of healing products in Asia is cuteness

(Wang, 2012), often in the form of cute cartoon characters integrated into the product's design.

However, no studies have empirically tested whether cute elements trigger feelings of healing

or identified the mechanism through which these feelings might be activated. Therefore, the

primary motivation of the current research is to fill these knowledge gaps. We employ attention

restoration theory (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989), which centers on the restoration of concentration

and the replenishment of mental energy, to examine how cuteness generates feelings of healing

in an Asian context.

Concepts of cuteness vary and change (Granot et al., 2014). Classic cute characters

(e.g., Doraemon,Hello Kitty, and Winnie the Pooh) now compete with newer and quite different

cute characters, such as Gudetama,Kobito Dukan,Jake the Dog,SpongeBob SquarePants, and

Stitch. Nenkov and Scott (2014) divided cuteness into baby (kindchenschema) cuteness

(i.e., infantile cuteness that expresses vulnerability and triggers caretaking motivations) and

whimsical cuteness (i.e., funny or playful objects). These two types of cuteness have diverse

effects on self-reward focus and indulgent consumption. Most studies on cuteness have focused

on baby cuteness (Nittono & Ihara, 2017), leaving gaps in knowledge around the effects of dif-

ferent types of cuteness. Clarification of the relative effects of cuteness type has important prac-

tical implications. Therefore, extending Nenkov and Scott's (2014) classification of cuteness is

the second goal of this study. Specifically, we compare the effects of baby and whimsical cute-

ness on eliciting feelings of healing and then test if these feelings have a positive impact on con-

sumer well-being, product attitudes, and purchase intentions.

Product type (i.e., hedonic and utilitarian) influences how consumers evaluate products and

make decisions (Stewart et al., 2019). Consumers' motivations, expectations, and considerations

for purchasing hedonic and utilitarian products vary (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000). This suggests

the effects of cuteness might vary with the product type. Thus, the third goal of this study is to

examine the moderating effect of product type on the feelings of healing that cuteness

stimulates.

In sum, this study compares products with and without cute elements, determines how baby

and whimsical cuteness generate different feelings of healing, identifies the mechanism that

triggers feelings of healing, and clarifies how feelings of healing influence consumer well-being,

product attitudes, and purchase intentions. Furthermore, we examine the potential moderating

566 CHOU ET AL.

effect of product type. This research makes several important contributions to the cuteness,

healing, attention restoration theory, and consumer well-being literatures. Specifically, we

establish a complete conceptual framework that explains the healing effects of cute elements.

This is also the first study to employ attention restoration theory to identify the mechanism

whereby cuteness generates feelings of healing. Additionally, this study extends understanding

of the effects of different types of cuteness in an Asian context. The current findings also have

practical contributions, including providing policymakers with insights into improving con-

sumer well-being and informing marketers about designing products that are both profitable

and healing.

2|CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESES

Attention restoration theory explains how people recuperate from stressful experiences

(Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). For instance, an individual who is exposed to environmental stimuli

or tasks that divert his/her attention from arduous mental tasks can experience a replenishment

of depleted psychological resources (Hartig et al., 2001). The cute elements incorporated into

consumer products can be considered distraction stimuli, allowing consumers to detach them-

selves from painful mental tasks. The feelings of healing fit with the mental recovery effect in

attention restoration theory. Therefore, we use this theory and related studies on cuteness

effects and different types of cuteness to infer the mechanism through which cuteness generates

feelings of healing.

2.1 |Therapeutic consumption, retail therapy, and feelings of healing

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term “therapeutic”as something that has a positive effect on

the mind and contributes to an overall sense of well-being (Higgins & Hamilton, 2019, p. 1230).

Therapeutic consumption refers to various tangible or intangible/imaginary consumption

behaviors that have therapeutic power like releasing negative emotions (Luomala, 2002). Exam-

ples of therapeutic consumption include listening to music, traveling, watching movies, shop-

ping, or even participating in everyday activities.

For some consumers, shopping (i.e., retail therapy) alleviates negative emotional states

(e.g., having anxiety, feeling pressure, experiencing boredom, loneliness, or failure) and pro-

vides feelings of healing (Kang & Johnson, 2010,2011; Lee & Böttger, 2018). Consumers on a

retail therapeutic journey are less price-sensitive, feel less time pressure, and possess higher

intrinsic motivation (Lee, Inman, et al., 2018). Studies on retail therapy have discussed the

sources of therapeutic utility (Lee & Böttger, 2018), the benefits, costs, and effects of retail ther-

apy (Atalay & Meloy, 2011; Lee & Lee, 2019; Rick et al., 2014), the motivations for retail ther-

apy, the main retail factors important to therapy shoppers (Surendran & Vardhan, 2014), and

how personal traits affect the likelihood of engaging in retail therapy (Son & Chang, 2016).

Healing products have a calming effect, suspend/mitigate negative emotions, increase plea-

sure, and promote a sense of accompaniment and consolation (e.g., Chen et al., 2015;

Wang, 2012). Even when a consumer is in a neutral or good mood, he or she might purchase

healing products to make social connections, fulfill the desire for self-expression, and seek plea-

sure. In recent years, a burgeoning number of products in Western countries have been labeled

as “healing”to increase their appeal to consumers. However, consumer purchase behavior of

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