How does political ideology affect consumer behavior in both for- and non-profit contexts?

• Conservatives are more likely to express emotional attachment to brands and see human-like qualities in inanimate objects as means to reduce uncertainty in their environment (International Journal of Research in Marketing and Journal of Consumer Psychology).
• Conservatives like brand logos that appear symmetric (think Tesla), but liberals prefer those that appear asymmetric (think Coca-Cola) (Journal of Business Research).
• Liberals are less likely to be healthier because they score lower on personal responsibility (Personality and Individual Differences).
• Conservatives are less likely to donate their organs because it violates their beliefs about physical sanctity (Personality and Individual Differences).
• Reducing fixed-world beliefs can prompt conservatives to take action to mitigate the effects of climate change (Global Environmental Change).

How should marketing, health, and science communication be constructed and conveyed to best promote attitudinal and behavioral change for the better?

• Conservatives accept the use of vulgarity in some forms of marketing communications for some products, but not others (Australasian Marketing Journal).
• People care about privacy, but they care about privacy more when disease concerns including those about COVID-19 are high, and so emphasizing privacy can promote wearing face mask, staying at home, and maintaining social distancing (Computers in Human Behavior).
• Promoting attitudes and behaviors that protect oneself and others from COVID-19 require understanding the moral foundations that target recipients value (Personality and Individual Differences).
• Because they want to make themselves more attractive to women, straight men take greater financial risks when other “hot” guys are around, akin to an Abercrombie effect (Evolution and Human Behavior).

How can we prompt consumers to make green and environmentally-friendly choices and decisions?

• Making water appear human increases water conservation intentions by fostering perceptions of control (Resources, Conservation and Recycling).
• Promoting mindfulness can encourage sustainable tourism, a phenomenon I tested within the context of travel to Uluru in Australia (Current Issues in Tourism).
• Take care when communicating the extent of global warming because people process Celsius and Fahrenheit numerical (temperature) information differently (Journal of Environmental Psychology).
• How to encourage charity? Engaging in mindfulness can do so by promoting a focus on others (Journal of Business Ethics).