Research.

Rhiannon’s program of research focuses on prosocial consumer behavior, with an emphasis on the roles of fairness and justice motives, psychological distance, and identity on prosocial action such as microlending, charitable giving, recycling, healthy eating, and purchasing products with ethical attributes.

Prosocial Behavior.

Prosocial behavior can be described as the actions and decisions that are made which benefit others beyond the self. Within the Mesler Lab, prosocial behavior research examines the underlying factors and motivations behind prosocial behavior. For example, a 2011 Journal of Marketing Research publication examined the relationships between loss- and gain-framed messaging, concrete and abstract mind-sets, and consumer recycling behavior.

Food & Eating Behavior.

At the Mesler Lab, food and eating behavior is investigated through the psychological factors, motivations, and determinants that predict different diet choices. An emerging focus within the Mesler Lab, a 2022 Appetite publication explored the relationship between masculinity-stress and red meat consumption.

Individual Differences & Marketplace Behavior.

Research in this area explores how individual characteristics, beliefs, and values interact with marketplace conditions. This is a wide focal area and much of the work in the Mesler Lab falls within this area. One of Rhiannon’s most cited pieces of research is within this area: a 2012 Journal of Marketing publication studies how injustice, justice sensitivity, and fair-trade support interact.

Academic Publications.

Open to Experiencing… Meat Alternatives? The HEXACO Personality Model and Willingness to Try, Buy, and Pay Among Omnivores.

Bates, Z. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2023.104830
This Meat or That Alternative? How Masculinity Stress Influences Food Choice When Goals are Conflicted.

Leary, R. B. et al.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1111681
Effects of Perceived Scarcity on COVID‐19 Consumer Stimulus Spending: The Roles of Ontological Insecurity and Mutability in Predicting Prosocial Outcomes.

Leary, R. B. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12452
Unhealthy Food Choices in Adulthood: The Role of Childhood Financial Adversity, Situational Scarcity, and Self-Control.

Mesler, R. M. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104433
The Impact of Masculinity Stress on Preferences and Willingness-to-Pay for Red Meat.

Mesler, R. M., Leary, R. B., & Montfor, W. J.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105729
Identity Salience Moderates the Effect of Social Dominance Orientation on COVID-19 ‘Rule Bending’.

Mesler, R. M. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103460
The Relationships Between Masculine Gender Role Discrepancy, Discrepancy Stress and Men's Health-Related Behavior.

Mesler, R. M., Leary, R. B., & Montford, W.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111205
“We” are in This Pandemic, but “You” can get Through This: The Effects of Pronouns on Likelihood to Stay-at-Home During COVID-19.

Tu, K. C., Chen, S. S., & Mesler, R. M.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X211044799
How Affective Displays and Self-Construal Impact Consumers’ Generosity.

Mesler, R. M., & Simpson, B.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10495142.2021.1939225
Teacher Mindset is Associated with Development of Students’ Growth Mindset.

Mesler, R. M., Corbin, C. M., & Martin, B. H.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101299
I Can Be Perfect! Implicit Mindset Moderates the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Consumers' Maladaptive Weight Management Behavior.

Chernishenko, J., Mesler, R. M., & Basil, D. Z.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111084
Economic Hardship, Ontological Insecurity, and Household Food Waste.

Ghafoorifard, N., Mesler, R. M., & Basil, M.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104402
Trait Self-Construal, Inclusion of Others in the Self and Self-Control Predict Stay-at-Home Adherence During COVID-19.

Tu, K. C., Chen, S. S., & Mesler, R. M.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110687
How Construals of Money Versus Time Impact Consumer Charitable Giving.

MacDonnell, R., & White, K.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucv042
Belief in a Just World: Consumer Intentions and Behaviors toward Ethical Products.

White, K., MacDonnell, R., & Ellard, J.
https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.09.0581
When Rewards Go Wrong: A Tale of Five Motivational Misdirects.

Steel, P. D. G. & MacDonnell, R.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21294
Is Telework Effective for Organizations? A Meta-Analysis of Empirical Research on Perceptions of Telework and Organizational Outcomes.

Harker-Martin, B., & MacDonnell, R.
https://doi.org/10.1108/01409171211238820
Bringing Group-Level Personality to the Electronic Realm: A Comparison of Face-to-Face and Virtual Contexts.

MacDonnell, R. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10887150802371773
Predicting Teleworker Success: The Role of Personality, Motivational, and Situational Characteristics.

Hambley, L. A. et al.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-005X.2009.00225.x
It's the Mind-Set That Matters: The Role of Construal Level and Message Framing in Influencing Consumer Efficacy and Conservation Behaviors.

White, K., MacDonnell, R., & Dahl, D. W.
https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.48.3.472

Media Mentions.

The Elusive Green Consumer.

Harvard Business Review.
“White and her colleagues Rhiannon MacDonnell and Darren Dahl found that in the context of residential recycling, a loss-framed message (“Think about what will be lost in our community if we don’t keep recycling”) works best when it’s combined with specific details about the behavior, such as when to put out the recycling cart, what materials are recyclable, and so forth. That’s because people in a loss-framed mindset tend to want concrete ways to deal with a problem…”

Read More

Research.

Prosocial Behavior.

Food & Eating Behavior.

Individual Differences & Marketplace Behavior.

Academic Publications.

Open to Experiencing… Meat Alternatives? The HEXACO Personality Model and Willingness to Try, Buy, and Pay Among Omnivores.

This Meat or That Alternative? How Masculinity Stress Influences Food Choice When Goals are Conflicted.

Effects of Perceived Scarcity on COVID‐19 Consumer Stimulus Spending: The Roles of Ontological Insecurity and Mutability in Predicting Prosocial Outcomes.

Unhealthy Food Choices in Adulthood: The Role of Childhood Financial Adversity, Situational Scarcity, and Self-Control.

The Impact of Masculinity Stress on Preferences and Willingness-to-Pay for Red Meat.

Identity Salience Moderates the Effect of Social Dominance Orientation on COVID-19 ‘Rule Bending’.

The Relationships Between Masculine Gender Role Discrepancy, Discrepancy Stress and Men's Health-Related Behavior.

“We” are in This Pandemic, but “You” can get Through This: The Effects of Pronouns on Likelihood to Stay-at-Home During COVID-19.

How Affective Displays and Self-Construal Impact Consumers’ Generosity.

Teacher Mindset is Associated with Development of Students’ Growth Mindset.

I Can Be Perfect! Implicit Mindset Moderates the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Consumers' Maladaptive Weight Management Behavior.

Economic Hardship, Ontological Insecurity, and Household Food Waste.

Trait Self-Construal, Inclusion of Others in the Self and Self-Control Predict Stay-at-Home Adherence During COVID-19.

How Construals of Money Versus Time Impact Consumer Charitable Giving.

Belief in a Just World: Consumer Intentions and Behaviors toward Ethical Products.

When Rewards Go Wrong: A Tale of Five Motivational Misdirects.

Is Telework Effective for Organizations? A Meta-Analysis of Empirical Research on Perceptions of Telework and Organizational Outcomes.

Bringing Group-Level Personality to the Electronic Realm: A Comparison of Face-to-Face and Virtual Contexts.

Predicting Teleworker Success: The Role of Personality, Motivational, and Situational Characteristics.

It's the Mind-Set That Matters: The Role of Construal Level and Message Framing in Influencing Consumer Efficacy and Conservation Behaviors.

Media Mentions.

The Elusive Green Consumer.