The current study examined the effect of narrative and structured review formats on individuals' evaluation of reviews and attitudes toward products. Study 1 provided participants with both types of reviews and measured their review preference and evaluation of reviews, while Study 2 provided either a narrative or a structured review and measured evaluation of reviews and attitudes toward products as well as their thinking styles. Contrary to the predictions, the findings of Study 1 and 2 indicated that the consumption condition (hedonic/utilitarian) did not moderate the effect of review formats on one's review preference, review evaluation or attitudes toward the product. In line with the author's prediction, Study 2 found that the consumption condition influenced individuals' thinking styles such that hedonic consumption induced more affective thoughts while utilitarian consumption evoked more cognitive thoughts. The findings of both studies were consistent and revealed that the hedonic consumption condition elevated positive review evaluation and attitudes toward products. The author discusses the implications of the results in detail in the paper.
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