Anthropomorphism’s Influence on Consumer Involvement in Sustainability

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2022Across two chapters, this dissertation reviews the literature of sustainability appeals, anthropomorphism, and explores the influence anthropomorphism has on sustainability appeals and downstream marketing consequences. Chapter 1 reviews research on sustainability appeals and identifies message-centric and consumer-centric cues that drive sustainable behavior. In doing so, inconsistencies in extant findings are articulated and anthropomorphism is offered as an explanation for how to reconcile these inconsistencies. Through a detailed review of anthropomorphism, four common underlying mechanisms – empathy, anticipatory guilt, connectedness to nature, and green trust – are highlighted as crucial to explore when considering anthropomorphism’s positive influence on consumer sustainable practices and brands. Chapter 2 utilizes a managerial test of anthropomorphism appeals and tests the relative influence of manipulating specific dimensions of anthropomorphism. Specifically, an ad test of four experimental ads (pure control vs. baseline anthropomorphism vs. anthropomorphism plus empathy vs. anthropomorphism plus anticipatory guilt) was run on a popular social media platform, Facebook. Results from this field test help identify which appeal combinations are relatively stronger in eliciting consumer engagement in sustainability. In total, this dissertation provides a framework by which to understand the various drivers of anthropomorphism’s beneficial impact on sustainability marketing and sheds light onto the most effective communication strategies managers may use to successfully increase consumer engagement