심적 시뮬레이션에 관한 본 연구는, 결과 시뮬레이션과 과정 시뮬레이션의 차별적 효과에 대해 살펴보았다. 연구 1에서는 심적시뮬레이션이 신제품 평가에 영향을 미치는데 있어 신제품의 혁신성 수준이 어떠한 조절 역할을 하는지 살펴보았는데, 혁신성이 상대적으로 높은 신제품 경우 결과-시뮬레이션 일 때 상대적으로 강한 혜택 지각과 약한 부정적 비용 지각이 활성화되기 때문에 제품 평가에 있어 긍정적인 효과를 보였다. 반면에 과정-시뮬레이션을 일 때 상대적으로 약한 혜택 지각과 강한 부정적 비용 지각이 활성화되어 제품 평가에 부정적 영향을 미쳤다. 연구 2에서는 연구 1의 결과가 인지욕구 수준에 의해 어떻게 조절되는지 살펴보았다. 인지욕구가 높은 집단에서는 연구 1처럼 혁신성이 높은 신제품의 경우 과정-시뮬레이션일 때 보다 결과-시뮬레이션일때 더 좋은 제품평가가 나타났다. 그러나 인지 욕구가 낮은 집단에서는 이러한 심적시뮬레이션 효과가 사라져 두 심적시뮬레이션 조건 간에 제품평가 차이가 없었다.
This research focused on two important theories which are innovative new product and mental simulation. Firms often try to improve and differentiate their products by introducing additional product features or attributes such as innovative, new, and novel technologies(Wood & Moreau, 2006). However, these innovative products have positive effects and negative effects simultaneously. Innovative new products are most often encountered at the marketing communications such as advertising and packaging. Consumers generally use this marketing communication context as a cue to make value inferences about innovative attributes, concluding that these attributes represent additional value or benefit provided by the manufacturer(Carpenter, Glazer & Nakamoto, 1994). Consumers also make negative inferences about innovative new product. Negative inferences could be a technical uncertainty and learning cost that influence negatively on product evaluations (Lazarus, 1991). Specifically, consumers make high learning cost inferences about high innovative attributes in high complexity products(Mukherjee & Hoyer, 2001). Mental simulation is the imitative representation of some events or series of events(Taylor & Schneider, 1989). Guided process thinking that imagines the specific steps or procedures needed to solve the constraints of adoption successfully, will quiet the anxiety and reduce the uncertainty. Conversely, guided outcome thinking that visualizes successful outcome and the reasons for adoption, will make the performance, symbolic and other potential benefits of adoption(Zhao, Hoeffler & Zauberman, 2007). Using theory of mental simulation(outcome simulation vs. process simulation), we intended to show how mental simulation influences on product evaluation across the level of new product innovativeness in study 1. And then we tried to investigate on the moderating role of need for cognition(NFC) on these influences in study 2. In the concrete, hypothesis 1 predicted that under high innovative new product, outcome simulation had a greater positive effect on product evaluation than process simulation. While under moderate innovative new product, product evaluations were not different across two mental simulation conditions. Hypothesis 2 predicted that when a high-NFC condition, outcome simulation had a greater positive effect on product evaluation than process simulation under high innovative new product. However, when a low-NFC condition, this effect could disappear and product evaluations across both mental simulations were not different. At the experiment, we manipulated participants` mental simulations while viewing texts, and also we found that under high innovative new product, outcome simulation might activate a stronger positive benefit perception(M=5.27, process simulation=3.83), a less negative cost perception (M=3.55, process simulation=5.22), and a greater positive evaluation(M=5.44, process simulation=3.92) about the product than process simulation. In study 2, we found that when a high-NFC condition, outcome simulation had a greater positive effect on product evaluation than process simulation((M=5.19 vs. M=3.39) under high innovative new product. While a low-NFC condition, this simulation effect disappeared and product evaluations across both mental conditions were not different. Finally, we addressed theoretical and practical implications of this study and discussed about the limitations and future research directions.