Article Summary

Packaging and Appearance of Products 

Past research suggests that packaging and appearance of products can have a direct influence on how people evaluate the quality and performance of that product. This represents what is known as an image variable, which is the image a consumer feels they would have by owning a specific product. Individuals can be broken down into two groups, high self-monitors and low self-monitors, with the first group judging the quality of products based on their appearance, and the later judging the quality of products based on their actual performance. DeBono, Leavitt, and Backus (2003) developed two hypotheses, that high self-monitors will be more inclined to choose products with more attractive packaging, and that low self-monitors will be more inclined to choose products with higher quality and performance.

In the first study, 64 Union College students were classified as low self-monitors or high self-monitors by their scores on the Self-Monitoring Inventory. All participants were asked to sample four types of chocolate, coffee, and bottled water which were placed next to the packaging from which it supposedly came. The participants were unaware that all four samples of each item were identical, differing only in the level of attractiveness of the packaging. They were then asked to complete a questionnaire and decide which of the four samples of each item they preferred. If they chose the one with the most attractive packaging they received a score of 4; they scored a 3 for the second more attractive, and so on. High self-monitors had higher total scores for each product, suggesting that they chose the sample corresponding to the most attractive packaging with more frequency than low self-monitors.

In the second study, 200 male and female undergraduates were again classified as low self-monitors or high self-monitors by their scores on the Self-Monitoring Inventory. Participants were then given a bottle of cologne or perfume in either an attractive or unattractive bottle which contained either a pleasant-smelling scent or a less than pleasant-smelling scent and asked to spray a little bit and smell the scent. Participant then completed an evaluative questionnaire about their opinions of the cologne or perfume. The results showed that high self-monitors preferred the cologne or perfume that came from the attractive bottle regardless of scent. Low self-monitors preferred the cologne or perfume with the pleasant-smelling scent regardless of the bottle.

The results of both studies support the experimenters’ hypothesis that high self-monitors evaluate products based on the attractiveness of packaging more often than low self-monitors. The second study also lends support to the second hypothesis that low self-monitors favor products with better quality and performance. This suggests that high and low self-monitors form different strategies for evaluating products based on what is important to them.