The Asymmetric Effects of Identity Salience on Judgement: The Role of Valence and Attribute Congruence

Abstract

A salient identity influences individuals' judgment on products. The current research investigates why identity salience sometimes produces asymmetric effects on an individual's judgment such that a salient identity often influences judgment on identity-congruent products only or identity-incongruent products only. Across two experiments, this research proposes and shows that the valence of identity-incongruent and identity-congruent attributes determines the direction of the asymmetric identity salience effects. Specifically, when an attribute of an identity-incongruent product is positively- (negatively-) valenced, identity salience influences judgment through a decreased (increased) preference for the identity-incongruent (identity-congruent) product.

Keywords

• identity salience
• judgment
• motivated reasoning
• product attribute