Anatomical depiction is a technique where the product is decomposed into components that are spatially arranged in a layer-by-layer manner to visually explicate its inner structure. The authors demonstrate that anatomical depiction, compared to non-anatomical depiction, enhances product valuation. This effect occurs because anatomical depiction elicits a ‘coming together’ of the inner components in consumers’ minds thereby evoking a gestalt image of the product – a process labeled simulated assemblage. The elicitation of simulated assemblage in turn boosts their confidence in the product’s performance. Two field experiments first demonstrate that anatomical depiction leads to greater engagement in online settings such as peer-to-peer selling and social media advertising. Subsequently, seven laboratory and online experiments show when and how anatomical depiction elicits simulated assemblage (Studies 1A–C), test the process underlying the effect of anatomical depiction on product valuation (Studies 2A–B), and delineate two boundary conditions, showing that the positive effect of anatomical (vs. non-anatomical) depiction attenuates for consumers higher (vs. lower) in technology anxiety (Study 3) and when consumers have a hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption goal (Study 4). Collectively, this work provides insights to firms on how and when to use anatomical depiction to enhance consumers’ confidence in and valuation of the product.

中文翻译：

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EXPRESS：解剖描述：展示产品的内部结构如何塑造产品估值


解剖描绘是将产品分解为在空间上逐层排列的组件，以直观地阐明其内部结构的技术。作者证明，与非解剖描绘相比，解剖描绘可以提高产品价值。之所以会出现这种效果，是因为解剖学描述引发了消费者心中内部组件的“聚集”，从而唤起了产品的格式塔图像——这一过程被称为模拟组装。模拟组装的引发反过来又增强了他们对产品性能的信心。两项现场实验首先证明，解剖学描绘可以提高人们对在线环境的参与度，例如点对点销售和社交媒体广告。随后，七个实验室和在线实验展示了解剖描绘何时以及如何引发模拟组装（研究 1A-C），测试了解剖描绘对产品评估影响的过程（研究 2A-B），并描绘了两个边界条件，表明对于技术焦虑程度较高（与较低）的消费者（研究 3）以及当消费者具有享乐（与功利）消费目标（研究 4）时，解剖（与非解剖）描绘的积极影响会减弱。总的来说，这项工作为公司提供了关于如何以及何时使用解剖描述来增强消费者对产品的信心和评价的见解。