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Friend or foe? Can anthropomorphizing self-tracking devices backfire on marketers and consumers?

  • Original Empirical Research
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Abstract

Self-quantification, with the promise of motivating consumers to engage in health behaviors through measuring their performance, is a popular trend amongst consumers. Despite the economic impact of self-tracking technologies, consumers’ experiences with self-tracking devices and corresponding consequences for firms remain understudied. Six studies examine how the popular marketing tactic of anthropomorphization influences (a) consumers’ favorability towards wearable tracking devices, (b) their health motivation, and (c) their health behavior (number of steps taken) over time. The authors uncover a novel dynamic effect of anthropomorphism, such that with use, the initially positive evaluations of anthropomorphized (vs. non-anthropomorphized) devices decrease, and (contrary to prior literature), anthropomorphized devices are not favored. Importantly, health motivation and health behaviors are also reduced over time with the use of an anthropomorphized (vs. non-anthropomorphized) wearable device. This decrease occurs because anthropomorphized devices reduce the wearers’ perceived autonomy, which in turn, reduces their health motivation and health behavior. However, customizing the anthropomorphized device (by setting a customized goal or by monitoring a greater number of health-related indicators) can mitigate its negative effects. These findings provide novel insights to marketing scholars and managers, by suggesting that anthropomorphism can be a successful short-term selling strategy, but over time, it can have unintended consequences for both firms and consumers.

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Notes

  1. Parentheses denote that an exact match is required (e.g., [fitness tracker] means the ad will appear if and only if the two words entered are fitness tracker). Fitness tracker was the most clicked on keyword.

  2. This study had an overall click through rate of .28%, which is consistent with other studies (e.g., .20% click-through rate; Winterich et al., 2019).

  3. Fifty-nine participants began the study, but only 43 participants participated in wearing the activity tracker for the duration of the study. In the final sample, there were 21 participants in the control condition and 22 participants in the anthropomorphism condition.

  4. All studies control for age and gender based on their influence on health behaviors (Bender and Derby 1992; Cole and Gaeth 1990; Mathios 1996; Nayga 1997). Adjusted means are reported in the body text; Web Appendix B provides adjusted means (SEs) and raw means (SDs). Patterns hold with and without control variables. We discuss control variables in the body text when they are significant. Furthermore, at the end of the methods section, we report a single paper meta-analysis without any control variables.

  5. Because research suggests that consumers may differ in their tendency to anthropomorphize (e.g., Cullen et al., 2014), we include a corresponding measure in this study (Waytz et al., 2010). In this model, for exploratory purposes, we examined the effects of activity tracker type and tendency to anthropomorphize on health motivation, and we found a significant interaction (F(1, 37) = 8.05, p = .007). (There was no tendency to anthropomorphize main effect; F < 1, p = .50). The significant interaction showed that consumers with a higher tendency to anthropomorphize (+ 1SD) had significantly lower health motivation with an anthropomorphized tracker (M = 4.81; p = .02), whereas those with lower tendency to anthropomorphize (-1SD) were relatively unaffected. This insight provides additional support for our theorizing that anthropomorphizing activity trackers reduces health motivation, because the effects are stronger for people with greater tendency to anthropomorphize products.

  6. The majority of participants did not report their steps taken. The number of participants consistently reporting their steps was not different by condition (12 in the anthropomorphism condition, 13 in the control condition). Based on the responses we did receive, we calculated the average daily steps taken; the steps taken are directionally consistent with our hypothesis (Manthro = 11,626.36, Mcontrol = 12,673.11). That is, participants in the anthropomorphism condition took 1,046 fewer steps on average than those in the control condition, consistent with the health motivation variable results.

  7. Across two back-to-back class periods, we randomized conditions by seating row within each session (i.e., in each session, participants were randomly assigned to either of the two experimental conditions). We controlled for class period in all analyses. Four students reported taking 0 steps during the experiment and were excluded from analyses.

  8. Product evaluation and health motivation analyses controlled for age, gender, class period, name recall, and whether another activity tracker was also used during the study period. For post-usage evaluations, wearing another tracker was significant F(1, 53) = 6.16, p = .02). For actual health motivation, tracker name recall was significant F(1, 53) = 7.38, p < .01).

  9. Across two back-to-back class periods in the fall, and one class period in the spring, we randomized conditions by seating row within each session (i.e., in each session, participants were randomly assigned to the experimental conditions). We controlled for class period in all analyses. One hundred and twenty-three participants participated in Day 1, but only 110 participants completed the study. Three participants indicated they had a disability or medical issue that prevented them from walking long distances or exercising and were excluded from analyses.

  10. We further discuss this unexpected result in Limitations and Future Research.

  11. There was one outlier who reported taking over 70,000 steps on Day 1 (more than nine SDs from the mean) and was removed from the analysis. When this participant is included in the analysis, the difference in steps taken on Day 1 becomes marginal (MAnthro = 3223.20, MControl = 6541.82; F(1, 99) = 3.39, p = .07, η2 = .03). Twelve participants did not report their steps taken on Day 1, and six participants did not indicate how memorable the tracker was, and their values were mean substituted.

  12. The 12 participants that did not indicate their steps data were equally distributed across conditions (6 in the control and 6 in the anthropomorphism condition). When excluding these participants from the analysis, instead of mean substituting, there were no differences in the number of steps taken between those in the anthropomorphism and control conditions (F(1, 86) = .32, p = .57).

  13. We also tested for mediation with two other DVs (Day 1 steps only and Day 1 and Day 2 combined steps). The indirect effect is not significant for the Day 1 steps DV (b = -134.0659, SE = 195.4170, 90% CI = -480.7976, 147.0399), or the combined steps DV (b = -424.5191, SE = 369.7382, 90% CI = -1106.2656, 58.1707). Please see Web Appendix C for full details of the mediation model.

  14. We thank one of the anonymous reviewers for this recommendation for the non-anthropomorphized condition.

  15. We did not include the Follow-Up Study in the meta-analysis because the independent variable, tendency to anthropomorphize, was measured, not manipulated, as in the other studies.

  16. For completeness, we note that results were consistent when analyzed in a SPM with standardized steps from Studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 (estimate = -.3620, SE = .1133, z = -3.20, p = .0006).

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge a Transformative Consumer Research grant from the Association for Consumer Research to support this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marketing, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, 35 Broad Street, Atlanta, GA, 1337, USA

    Lane Peterson Fronczek

  2. Dr. Persis E. Rockwood School of Marketing, College of Business, Florida State University, 821 Academic Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    Martin Mende & Maura L. Scott

  3. Department of Marketing, Carroll School of Management, Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467, USA

    Gergana Y. Nenkov

  4. Department of Marketing, BI Norwegian Business School, Nydalsveien 37, 0484, Oslo, Norway

    Anders Gustafsson

  5. Alliance Manchester Business School, Manchester M13 9SS, UK

    Anders Gustafsson

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  1. Lane Peterson Fronczek
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  2. Martin Mende
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  5. Anders Gustafsson
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Correspondence to Maura L. Scott.

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Fronczek, L.P., Mende, M., Scott, M.L. et al. Friend or foe? Can anthropomorphizing self-tracking devices backfire on marketers and consumers?. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 51, 1075–1097 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-022-00915-1

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