Brent McFerran
Professor, Marketing
W.J. VanDusen Professor
Area Coordinator, Marketing
Segal
Room: SGL 3265
Phone: 778.782.5214
Email: bmcferra@sfu.ca
Credentials
BCom (University of Manitoba), PhD (University of British Columbia)Biography
Brent McFerran is W.J. VanDusen Professor of Marketing. His research examines social and interpersonal influences in consumer behavior, as well as moral judgments and behavior.
His research has been published in leading outlets in both marketing and psychology, and he was awarded the Society for Consumer Psychology's Early Career Contribution Award. He was also previously named a Scholar (2023) and a Young Scholar (2017) by the Marketing Science Institute. He is an Associate Editor at Journal of Consumer Research and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and was previously at Journal of Consumer Psychology. He currently serves on the editorial review boards of Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Retailing, and Marketing Letters.
He holds a B.Comm(Hons.) from the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D from the University of British Columbia.
For more information, CV, etc., see www.brentmcferran.com
Research Interests
Social and interpersonal influences; Moral psychology and prosocial behaviour.
Selected Publications
articles and reports
Campbell, C., Sands, S., McFerran, B., & Mavrommatis, A. (2023). Diversity representation in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-023-00994-8
Haws, K. L., Liu, P. J., McFerran, B., & Chandon, P. (2022). Examining Eating: Bridging the Gap between “Lab Eating” and “Free-Living Eating”. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. http://doi.org/10.1086/720448
Campbell, C., Sands, S., Treen, E., & McFerran, B. (2021). Fleeting, But Not Forgotten: Ephemerality as a Means to Increase Recall of Advertising. Journal of Interactive Marketing. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2021.06.001
Allard, T., & McFerran, B. (2021). Ethical Branding in A Divided World: How Political Orientation Motivates Reactions to Marketplace Transgressions. Journal of Consumer Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1270
Hamby, A., McFerran, B., & Dahl, D. W. (2021). Above the Scam: Moral Elevation Reduces Gullibility. Journal of Consumer Psychology. http://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1259
Olson, J. G., McFerran, B., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2021). How income shapes moral judgments of prosocial behavior. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 38(1), 120-135. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2020.07.001
Liu, P. J., McFerran, B., & Haws, K. L. (2020). Mindful Matching: Ordinal Versus Nominal Attributes. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(1), 134-155. http://doi.org/10.1177/0022243719853221
McFerran, B., Moore, S. G., & Packard, G. (2019). How should companies talk to customers online? MIT Sloan Management Review, 60(2), 68-71. https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-should-companies-talk-to-customers-online/
Haws, K. L., McFerran, B., & Liu, P. (2019, September). 'I'll have what she's having' - how and why we copy the choices of others. Conversation. https://theconversation.com/ill-have-what-shes-having-how-and-why-we-copy-the-choices-of-others-122682
Hagen, L., Krishna, A., & McFerran, B. (2019). Outsourcing responsibility for indulgent food consumption to prevent negative affect. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. http://doi.org/10.1086/701821
Packard, G., Moore, S. G., & McFerran, B. (2018). (I'm) happy to help (you): The impact of personal pronoun use in customer-firm interactions. Journal of Marketing Research, 55(4), 541-555. http://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.16.0118
Ahuvia, A., Garg, N., Batra, R., McFerran, B., & De Diesbach, P. B. L. (2018). Pride of ownership: An identity-based model. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 3(2), 216-228. http://doi.org/10.1086/697076
Karnani, A., McFerran, B., & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2017). Corporate Leanwashing and Consumer Beliefs About Obesity. Current Nutrition Reports, 6(3), 206-211. http://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-017-0210-1
Haws, K. L., McFerran, B., & Redden, J. P. (2017). The satiating effect of pricing: The influence of price on enjoyment over time. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27(3), 341-346. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2017.03.001
Wang, W., Krishna, A., & McFerran, B. (2017). Turning off the lights: Consumers' environmental efforts depend on visible efforts of firms. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(3), 478-494. http://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.14.0441
Moore, S. G., & McFerran, B. (2017). She said, she said: Differential interpersonal similarities predict unique linguistic mimicry in online word of mouth. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 229-245. http://doi.org/10.1086/690942
Kristofferson, K., Mcferran, B., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2017). The dark side of scarcity promotions: How exposure to limited-quantity promotions can induce aggression. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(5), 683-706. http://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucw056
Hagen, L., Krishna, A., & McFerran, B. (2016). Rejecting responsibility: Low physical involvement in obtaining food promotes unhealthy eating. Journal of Marketing Research. http://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.14.0125
Karnani, A., McFerran, B., & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2016). The obesity crisis as market failure: An analysis of systemic causes and corrective mechanisms. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 1(3), 445-470. http://doi.org/10.1086/686244
Olson, J. G., McFerran, B., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2016). Wealth and welfare: Divergent moral reactions to ethical consumer choices. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(6), 879-896. http://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv096
Lin, L., & McFerran, B. (2016). The (ironic) dove effect: Use of acceptance cues for larger body types increases unhealthy behaviors. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 35(1), 76-90. http://doi.org/10.1509/jppm.14.020
McFerran, B., & Argo, J. J. (2014). The entourage effect. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(5), 871-884. http://doi.org/10.1086/673262
McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Tracy, J. L. (2014). Evidence for two facets of pride in consumption: Findings from luxury brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(4), 455-471. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.03.004
Karnani, A., McFerran, B., & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2014). Leanwashing: A hidden factor in the obesity crisis. California Management Review, 56(4), 5-30. http://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2014.56.4.5
Gu, J., Mcferran, B., Aquino, K., & Kim, T. G. (2014). What makes affirmative action-based hiring decisions seem (un)fair? A test of an ideological explanation for fairness judgments. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(5), 722-745. http://doi.org/10.1002/job.1927
McFerran, B., & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2013). Lay Theories of Obesity Predict Actual Body Mass. Psychological Science, 24(8), 1428-1436. http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612473121
Aquino, K., McFerran, B., & Laven, M. (2011). Moral Identity and the Experience of Moral Elevation in Response to Acts of Uncommon Goodness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(4), 703-718. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0022540
McFerran, B., Dahl, D. W., Gorn, G. J., & Honea, H. (2010). Motivational determinants of transportation into marketing narratives. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(3), 306-316. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.06.017
McFerran, B., Dahl, D. W., Fitzsimons, G. J., & Morales, A. C. (2010). Might an overweight waitress make you eat more? How the body type of others is sufficient to alter our food consumption. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(2), 146-151. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.03.006
McFerran, B., Dahl, D. W., Fitzsimons, G. J., & Morales, A. C. (2010). I'll have what she's having: Effects of social influence and body type on the food choices of others. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(6), 915-926. http://doi.org/10.1086/644611
McFerran, B., Aquino, K., & Duffy, M. (2010). How personality and moral identity relate to individuals' ethical ideology. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(1), 35-56. http://doi.org/10.5840/beq20102014
Freeman, D., Aquino, K., & McFerran, B. (2009). Overcoming beneficiary race as an impediment to charitable donations: Social dominance orientation, the experience of moral elevation, and donation behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(1), 72-84. http://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208325415
books chapters and monographs
Olson, J. G., Morales, A. C., & Dahl, D. W. (2019). Identity-based perceptions of others’ consumption choices. In Reed II, A., & Forehand, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Identity Theory in Marketing (pp. 448-461). Edward Elgar Publishing (UK). http://doi.org/10.4337/9781788117739.00043
McFerran, B. (2015). "Social Norms, Beliefs, and Health". In Roberto, C. A., & Kawachi, I. (Eds.), Behavioral Economics and Public Health (pp. 133-161). Oxford University Press.
McFerran, B., Dahl, D. W., Fitzsimons, G. J., & Morales, A. C. (2015). How the body type of others impacts our food consumption. In Batra, R., Keller, P. A., Strecher, V. J., Batra, R., Keller, P. A., & Strecher, V. J. (Eds.), Leveraging Consumer Psychology for Effective Health Communications: The Obesity Challenge. Taylor & Francis Inc..