Do you want to talk about it? When word of mouth alleviates the psychological discomfort of self‐threat
研究发现，当消费者因负面信息感到自我威胁时，心理不适会抑制口碑传播；但如果品牌具有与受威胁自我相关的积极属性，口碑传播反而能有效缓解这种不适。
Abstract When consumers experience a self‐threat due to receiving negative information that calls the positivity of their self‐concept into question, psychological discomfort ensues, motivating consumers to seek a resolution. This research examines how consumers use word of mouth to overcome this discomfort and cope with a self‐threat. The psychological discomfort associated with a self‐threat generally influences consumers to refrain from spreading word of mouth in order to avoid the potential for further negative evaluations. However, a self‐threat can encourage the spread of word of mouth if consumers perceive a brand as possessing attributes positively associated with the threatened aspect of the self, signaling sufficiency in the threat domain. Furthermore, this research demonstrates that spreading word of mouth about a brand that signals sufficiency in the threat domain is an effective coping tactic that alleviates the psychological discomfort caused by the self‐threat. Overall, the present research deepens the current understanding of the relationships among self‐threat, symbolic brands, and word of mouth by revealing that a brand's symbolic associations shape the effect of the self‐threat on word of mouth.