The Artification of Luxury: How Art Can Affect Perceived …
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product and the parent brand [66, 67]. They argued and demonstrated that both constructs can be positively influenced by the presence of art, leading to more favorable
evaluations of brand extension. On the one hand, the presence of art enhances brand
image through the spillover of luxury perception. On the other hand, it increases
the perceptions of category and conceptual fit by intensifying consumer’s cognitive
flexibility: Improving consumers’ capacity to integrate information in non-obvious
ways, art enables consumers to draw meaningful patterns among stimuli, even if
divergent.
7.3 The Content-Independent Influence of Visual Art
Along with the original demonstration of the art infusion effect existence, Hagtvedt
and Patrick [52] provided evidence about its content-independent nature. In other
words, they showed that the positive influence of art on product evaluations and
perceptions does not depend on the content of the artwork used to advertise the
product, but rather “on general connotations of luxury associated with visual art”
(p. 379). If it did, the art infusion effect would not be generalizable, since the valence
of product evaluation would depend on the positive or negative valence of the artwork
content. The independence of the art infusion effect from artwork content is explained
by the fact that art has “general connotations that are positive per se” (p. 381) and that
make it intrinsically different from any other sensory phenomena that, in turn, can
have positive or negative valence (such as smell, sound and non-art visual stimuli).
Neural responses to art images have also been investigated in order to test the
content-independent nature of the art infusion effect. By performing an event-related
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, Lacey et al. [68] demonstrated
that the exposure to art images, regardless of their content and style, activates regions
of the brain (i.e., ventral striatum, hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex) related to
reward circuitry, whose key function is to drive behavior and decision making under
conditions of uncertainty [69]. The same regions did not appear to be engaged in the
presence of non-art images.
Deepening the comprehension of the role of the art content in the art infusion
effect, Hagtvedt and Patrick [70] investigated across three studies the distinction
between art content and manner, providing evidence of the fact that, while “artwork
as art” is context-independent, “artwork as illustration” is context-dependent. Content
and manner represent two components of the artwork: While the former concerns
“what is depicted” and conveys information, the latter concerns “how it is depicted”
and distinguishes artworks from mere illustrations. Findings showed that, when the
artwork content is not stressed, it does not affect product evaluation. Conversely, when
the artwork is no longer perceived as art because of the shift of emphasis from manner
to content, product evaluation is affected by the fit between the artwork content and
the product. Moreover, the third study conducted by the authors demonstrated that
consumers’ mind-set can drive them to process the artwork as either art or mere
illustration. Since abstract mind-sets are “associated with higher-level construals
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product and the parent brand [66, 67]. They argued and demonstrated that both constructs can be positively influenced by the presence of art, leading to more favorable
evaluations of brand extension. On the one hand, the presence of art enhances brand
image through the spillover of luxury perception. On the other hand, it increases
the perceptions of category and conceptual fit by intensifying consumer’s cognitive
flexibility: Improving consumers’ capacity to integrate information in non-obvious
ways, art enables consumers to draw meaningful patterns among stimuli, even if
divergent.
7.3 The Content-Independent Influence of Visual Art
Along with the original demonstration of the art infusion effect existence, Hagtvedt
and Patrick [52] provided evidence about its content-independent nature. In other
words, they showed that the positive influence of art on product evaluations and
perceptions does not depend on the content of the artwork used to advertise the
product, but rather “on general connotations of luxury associated with visual art”
(p. 379). If it did, the art infusion effect would not be generalizable, since the valence
of product evaluation would depend on the positive or negative valence of the artwork
content. The independence of the art infusion effect from artwork content is explained
by the fact that art has “general connotations that are positive per se” (p. 381) and that
make it intrinsically different from any other sensory phenomena that, in turn, can
have positive or negative valence (such as smell, sound and non-art visual stimuli).
Neural responses to art images have also been investigated in order to test the
content-independent nature of the art infusion effect. By performing an event-related
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, Lacey et al. [68] demonstrated
that the exposure to art images, regardless of their content and style, activates regions
of the brain (i.e., ventral striatum, hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex) related to
reward circuitry, whose key function is to drive behavior and decision making under
conditions of uncertainty [69]. The same regions did not appear to be engaged in the
presence of non-art images.
Deepening the comprehension of the role of the art content in the art infusion
effect, Hagtvedt and Patrick [70] investigated across three studies the distinction
between art content and manner, providing evidence of the fact that, while “artwork
as art” is context-independent, “artwork as illustration” is context-dependent. Content
and manner represent two components of the artwork: While the former concerns
“what is depicted” and conveys information, the latter concerns “how it is depicted”
and distinguishes artworks from mere illustrations. Findings showed that, when the
artwork content is not stressed, it does not affect product evaluation. Conversely, when
the artwork is no longer perceived as art because of the shift of emphasis from manner
to content, product evaluation is affected by the fit between the artwork content and
the product. Moreover, the third study conducted by the authors demonstrated that
consumers’ mind-set can drive them to process the artwork as either art or mere
illustration. Since abstract mind-sets are “associated with higher-level construals