Dog How Names Impact Control Perceptions

Getting a dog to keep you company in your downtown condo? You’ll want to attend to the size of the animal and the dog’s temperament. It’s important that the dog be easy for you to control, given the tight quarters in which you’ll live together and all the distractions when walking a dog in a metropolis.
     So you’ll probably place importance on the dog’s name as well. Right? A study by James Leonhardt and Cornelia Pechmann found that people tend to consider a name which is difficult to pronounce as implying a dog which is difficult to control.
     The researchers asked one group of study participants to imagine they sought a, “calm and obedient dog to live in a crowded urban apartment.” Another set of participants were asked to imagine, instead, that they wanted a, “wild and feisty dog to live on a remote rural property.” Each participant was then told the name of the dog being considered. For some participants, the name was Belland, and for the remainder, it was Baxtiod. Participants were then asked questions about the dog’s name and the likelihood of selecting that dog.
     Overall, the name Baxtiod was judged as more difficult to pronounce, and those participants who had been asked to imagine the urban setting reported higher likelihood of purchase of the dog with the name rated as easier to pronounce. Further analyses indicated this difference in preferences was due to the degree of need to control the dog. For the participants asked to imagine a dog for a low-control rural setting, the name made little difference.
     Similar findings were obtained when the item considered for purchase was golf balls (Melvern or Machakw) or winter tires (Nordman or Hakkapeliitta). If there’s a definite need for control, there’s a higher likelihood of purchase when the name is easier to pronounce. Sometimes the need for control arises because of circumstances of item use. In other cases, it arises as an aspect of the consumer’s personality.
     In an email reply to my inquiry about the study, Prof. Leonhardt wrote, “We may see greater preference for easy-to-pronounce names during the pandemic. They should seem safer, which is a feeling associated with controllability and familiarity.” You might choose an odd item name to portray distinctiveness or provoke discussion. But this research indicates risks in such a strategy when introducing a new, unfamiliar name during periods of social uncertainty.

Successfully influence the most prosperous & most loyal consumer age group. For the specific strategies & tactics you need, click here.

Click for more…

Make Your Business Name Easy to Say 

Count on Numbers in Product Names 

Circulate Item Names to Fit Circadian Rhythm