Content area
Abstract
Consumers value objects not only for their features and functions, but also for reasons that are external to the product (i.e., nonfeature utility). The present work introduces a novel form of nonfeature utility, based on perceptions that an object was meaningfully (vs. ordinarily) used. I first develop a framework that conceptualizes meaningful usage as a violation of normative usage and identifies three inherent elements of usage (i.e., user, object, context). This enables instances of meaningful (vs. ordinary) usage to be formally defined according to the flexibility of the elements of usage across usage occasions. The empirical investigation is then focused on a particular form of meaningful usage?patterned usage, which is defined as one specific individual using one specific object in one specific context. Six experiments demonstrate that patterned usage is perceived as more meaningful than ordinary usage, leading to greater perceptions that the user?s essence is imbued in the object and greater object valuation. These results contribute to various areas of consumer information processing, including sources of nonfeature utility, psychological essentialism, and attribution-making/inherence judgments. I also provide practical implications via empirical evidence showing that perceiving usage as more meaningful improves consumers? product evaluations and experiences.
