소비자의 기억은 정확하지 않으며 과장되거나 왜곡되기도 한다. 본 연구는 두 차례의 실험을 통해 소비자 정보 처리 과정에서 발생하는 기억의 오류를 검증하고 이에 대한 이론적, 실무적 시사점을 제시하고자 한다. 연구 1은 사건이 발생한 브랜드 수와 시간적 거리에 따른 소비자의 오기억을 검증하고자 하였다. 실험은 3(브랜드 수: 1개, 5개, 15개) X 3(시간적 거리: 기사를 읽은 직후, 1주일 후, 2주일 후)의 혼합요인설계를 실시하였다. 피실험자가 기사 형식의 자극물을 읽고 난 후 사건이 발생한 브랜드에 대한 오회상과 오재인을 각각 측정하였으며 총 103명이 실험에 참여하였다. 연구 1의 결과 브랜드 수와 시간적 거리에 따른 오회상의 상호작용효과가 관찰되었으며 오재인의 경우에도 상호작용효과가 관찰되었다. 연구 2는 사건의 방향성, 브랜드 유사성, 시간적 거리에 따른 소비자의 인지적 오기억과 감정적 오기억을 검증하고자 했다. 실험은 2(사건의 방향성: 긍정, 부정) X 2(브랜드 유사성: 높음, 낮음) X 2(시간적 거리: 기사를 읽은 직후, 1주일 후)에 따른 혼합요인설계를 실시하였다. 연구 2는 피실험자가 기사형식의 자극물을 읽고 난 후 사건이 발생한 브랜드에 대한 회상과 감정을 측정하는 방식을 사용하였다. 총 67명이 실험에 참여하였으며 연구결과 사건의 방향성, 브랜드 유사성, 시간적 거리에 따른 오회상의 상호작용 효과가 관찰되었으며 감정적 오기억의 경우 유의미한 차이가 관찰되지 않았다. 본 연구의 결과를 바탕으로 소비자 정보 처리 과정에서 발생하는 기억의 오류에 대한 학문적 시사점 및 실무적 시사점을 도출하였다.
When a negative event occurs in brand A, people often recall that the event occurred in Brand B. Why do consumers do not correctly remember the brand that is involved in the event? In this study, we argue that the nature of human memory is not accurate. The information in our memory is often exaggerated or distorted. Failure to encode, store, or retrieve information engenders memory error called false memory. Interestingly, there is not much research on what conditions cause false memory among brands in the market. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine a) if brand overload and temporal distance affects false memory about negative events occurred in brands and b) if information valence, distance among brands, and temporal distance triggers false memory. We expected that memory error occurs when brands are overloaded in the encoding process. Also, when brands involved in the event share similar attributes, people will incorrectly remember brands. This memory error will intensify when brands are involved in positive events (e.g., supporting social causes) than negative events (e.g., brand scandal). These expectations were tested in two expectations. First experiment employed 3 (brand load: 1, 5, 15) X 3 (temporal distance: immediate, one week later, two weeks later) mixed design. Based on a series of pretest, a soymilk product that holds neutral product attitude was chosen. Then, the negative brand event was creased, based on the past cases in the industry. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions. Memory error was measured immediately, one week, and two weeks after exposure to the negative brand event scenario. A repeated measure analysis revealed the interaction effect of brand load and temporal distance on false memory. When people are exposed to the negative brand event that multiple brands were involved, false memory rate was likely to increase as time goes by. However, when a single brand was involved in the negative event, false memory rate was relatively consistent over time. In addition, false memory was greater when multiple brands were involved in an event, as compared to when a single brand was involved. In the second experiment, 2 (event valence: positive, negative) x 2 (brand distance: close, far) x 2 (temporal distance: immediate, 1 week) mixed design was employed to examine if similarities among multiple brands that are involved in either positive or negative events can influence false memory. From our pretest, a specialty coffee shop was selected to reflect potential participant purchase interest. Then, seventeen specialty coffee brands were categorized based on attribute similarities. Hollys, Tom and Toms Coffee, Caffenene, and Angelinus Coffee shared more similar brand attributes, whereas Twosome Place, Pascucci, Nescafe, and Caf? Bene shared less similar brand attributes. A repeated measure analysis revealed the interaction effect of event valence, brand distance, and temporal distance on false recall. When people were exposed to the positive brand event, false memory rate increase for similar brands was greater than for dissimilar brands. Reverse effect was found when people were exposed to the negative brand event. As expected, this effect was found only on false recall not on false affect. Our research shows that brand overload, event valence, and brand similarities can influence memory error. Our results provide a theoretical ground in consumer memory error and provide empirical additions to the existing false memory literature. It is important for marketers to monitor and consider appropriate marketing actions when a negative event occurs to a competing brand. When a negative event occurs in a competing brand, consumers can be often confused which brands are actually involved in the event. Interestingly, false memory about brands are signified when an event occurs in multiple brands at a time. This effect is not only limited to negative events. Greater memory error about brands involved in positive events such as sponsoring social cause is observed among similar brands. Thus, if brands share similar attributes and sponsor social causes, consumers are unlikely to remember which brands engage in social activities.