Ken DeBono (debonok@union.edu)    

  Gilbert R. Livingston Professor of The Behavioral Sciences

  BA: Grinnell College  (www.grinnell.edu)

  Ph.D. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (www.umn.edu)  

My courses: Typically I teach Introduction to Psychology, Social Psychology, and a seminar on the Psychology of Religion.  Occasionally I will teach Statistics and a specialty course on Attitudes and Behavior.

Research interests:   My general interests are in the psychology of attitudes and persuasion.  In particular, I study the extent to which individual differences in self-monitoring (a personality construct) predict differences in various consumer-related behaviors. For example, I have found that some individuals (high self-monitors) are especially responsive to advertisements that stress the image one can obtain by using or possessing a product whereas other individuals (low self-monitors) are more persuaded by ads that focus on the quality of the product itself.  In addition, I have found that high self-monitors tend to judge the quality of a product as a function of its image-enhancing potential (e.g. is the product attractive?), but that low self-monitors are more likely to judge quality based on the actual performance of the product.

More recently I have begun a line of research looking at the impact that natural scenery, when used as a background, has on the effectiveness of advertisements.  In addition, I also have an interest in the different motivations underlying people’s religious behaviors and beliefs in a deity.

Representative Publications:

 Miarmi, L., & DeBono, K.G. (2007). The impact of distractions on heuristic processing:

         Internet ads and stereotype use. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 539-548.

 DeBono, K. G. (2006).  Self-monitoring and consumer psychology.  Journal of

        Personality, 74, 715-737.

 DeBono, K.G., Leavitt, A., & Backus, J. (2003). Product packaging and product

       evaluation: An individual difference approach. Journal of Applied Social

       Psychology, 33, 513-521.

 DeBono, K.G. (2000).  Attitude functions and consumer psychology: Understanding  

       perceptions of product quality. In G. Maio & J.M. Olson (Eds.), Why we evaluate:

      Functions of attitudes (pp. 195-221). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

 DeBono, K.G., & Krim, S. (1997).  Compliments and product perception: An individual

     difference perspective. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1359-1366

 DeBono, K.G. & Rubin, K. (1995). Country of origin and perceptions of product

     quality: An individual difference perspective. Basic and Applied Social Psychology,

     17, 239-247.