Research Interests
My research focuses on identifying cost-effective, accessible strategies that empower consumers and marketers to stand out and foster meaningful engagement in their social, professional, and digital lives.
Selected Abstracts
Huynh, Denny, Jordan Etkin, and Tanya Chartrand, “Behavioral Tracking as a Status Symbol,” under review at the Journal of Marketing Research.
Behavioral tracking is increasingly public. Across various products (e.g., Fitbit), platforms (e.g., Strava), games (e.g., Wordle), and apps (e.g., Duolingo), many consumers regularly share personal metrics (e.g., step count, hours slept) with others. Rapid growth in the popularity of wearable tracking devices has made self-tracking more shareable, visible, and conspicuous. Yet despite its public nature, little is known about the interpersonal consequences of self-tracking. How does self-tracking shape social judgments and user engagement? The current research proposes that self-tracking can serve as a “status symbol.” Across eight studies, we demonstrate that self-tracking increases perceptions of social status. This occurs due to what self-tracking suggests about self-control. Consumers infer that self-trackers have greater self-control, so they ascribe them higher status. Further, the studies identify key moderators of these effects (i.e., who does the tracking, why someone tracks, and when someone tracks), and importantly, downstream consequences for online user engagement. Together, the findings advance understanding of the consequences of behavioral tracking, alternative signals of social status, and have important implications for consumers (e.g., signaling status) and companies (e.g., increasing engagement with user-generated content).
Huynh, Denny, Jacqueline Pan, Katherine Du, and Keisha Cutright, “Repetitive and Competitive: When Repeated Consumption Increases Observer Expectations of Performance,” preparing for initial submission to the Journal of Consumer Research.
Consumers often engage in repeated consumption—listening to the same songs, eating the same meals, and wearing the same outfits. While repeated consumption has generally been found to lead to negative social perceptions, we propose that it can lead to positive performance perceptions. Across six pre-registered studies, we demonstrate that repeated consumption increases performance expectations. This occurs due to what repeated consumption suggests about cognitive focus. Consumers infer that actors who engage in repeated consumption are more focused on their main activity, so they expect them to perform better at the activity. Further, the studies identify key moderators of these effects (i.e., perceived intention of choice and cognitive flexibility required by the activity), as well as downstream consequences for monetary investments. Together, the findings advance understanding of the consequences from observed repeated consumption and cues that signal cognitive focus. Importantly, the findings have relevant implications for consumers (e.g., signaling performance to others) and service providers (e.g., the benefits of highlighting repeated consumption).
