Linking Thought and Behavior: Evidence for Process—Mode of Expression Congruence Effects

Prior research suggests that the influence of marketing cues on consumers’ behavior can occur as a result of either system 1 processes (i.e., associative, intuitive, impulsive processes) or system 2 processes (i.e., rule‐based, analytic, reflective processes). We demonstrate that how people express a behavior can influence whether the behavior reflects predominantly system 1 or system 2 processing. Specifically, we propose a process—mode of expression congruence effect, whereby less deliberate behaviors (e.g., physically grabbing something) are relatively more sensitive to system 1 processing, while more deliberate behaviors (e.g., writing down one’s preference) are relatively more sensitive to system 2 processing. Six studies provide support for process—mode of expression congruence, showing that the magnitude and direction in which an environmental cue influences a consumer’s behavior can depend on the deliberateness of the mode of expression.