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Listen "When previous relationships limit the new (Kwak et al., 2025) | JAMS FT50"
Episode Synopsis
Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where groundbreaking academic research meets real-world impact. Today, we’re diving into a fascinating study published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science—one of the world’s most prestigious FT50 journals. This research shakes up what we think we know about secondhand shopping and human psychology.
Have you ever hesitated to buy a used item that seemed a little too… personal? Maybe it was a plush toy, a smartwatch, or even a car that just felt like it belonged to someone else. What if that hesitation wasn’t just about wear and tear, but something deeper—something psychological?
Today, we explore the work of Hyokjin Kwak, Marina Puzakova, Ann L. McGill, and Junhee Kim, who uncover a surprising reason why consumers shy away from anthropomorphized used products—products that seem to have a "soul" of their own. Using AI deep learning and rigorous experiments, they reveal how relationship-dissolution stigma—the same social bias we apply to breakups—affects our willingness to buy pre-owned items. But don’t worry, marketers—there’s a way to flip the script.
How can simply labeling an item as “certified pre-owned” erase this psychological bias? Can a seller’s attachment to a product actually make it more appealing? And what does this mean for the booming secondhand economy?
A huge thank you to the authors and Springer Nature for publishing this compelling research.
If you love diving into high-impact academic studies, make sure to subscribe to "Revise and Resubmit" on Spotify and follow our YouTube channel Weekend Researcher for even more insights. We’re also available on Amazon Prime and Apple Podcasts—so wherever you get your research fix, we’ve got you covered.
Reference
Kwak, H., Puzakova, M., McGill, A.L. et al. When previous relationships limit the new: The interplay between product anthropomorphism and used products. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-025-01086-5
Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@weekendresearcher
Support us on Patreon
https://patreon.com/weekendresearcher
Paper-Song: "Used & Broken"
"You ever look at something… and feel like it’s been through too much?"
"Would you take it, or leave it behind?"
They gave it a face, gave it a name
Now it’s sitting on the shelf like it’s drowning in shame
Somebody used it, somebody left
Now it carries all the scars of regret
Can’t erase what’s written in the past
Every scratch, every mark, it was built to last
But you see it like a ghost in the room
Like it’s whispering warnings of doom
("Will you take me? Or just break me?")
Torn apart, but I still remain
Through the fire, through the rain
Would you see me as something new?
Or am I nothing left to you?
("I’m not broken, I’m still alive")
Falling pieces, but I still survive
("You don’t want me, but I won’t fade")
Still screaming from the mess you made
Turn the page, wipe the dust
Still you look at me with no trust
Echoes of the past in your mind
Like I’m carrying someone else’s crime
You don’t see the fights I fought
You don’t know the hands I caught
You just see the weight of time
A product with a past left behind
(Screaming, low growl harmonies)
"Say my name, erase my pain!"
"Not a shadow, not a stain!"
"Would you dare to see me new?"
"Or am I just too used for you?"
("I’m not broken, I’m still alive")
Falling pieces, but I still survive
("You don’t want me, but I won’t fade")
Still screaming from the mess you made
"I was never just a thing…"
"You gave me a name, now you walk away."
"But I was never the one who changed…"
Have you ever hesitated to buy a used item that seemed a little too… personal? Maybe it was a plush toy, a smartwatch, or even a car that just felt like it belonged to someone else. What if that hesitation wasn’t just about wear and tear, but something deeper—something psychological?
Today, we explore the work of Hyokjin Kwak, Marina Puzakova, Ann L. McGill, and Junhee Kim, who uncover a surprising reason why consumers shy away from anthropomorphized used products—products that seem to have a "soul" of their own. Using AI deep learning and rigorous experiments, they reveal how relationship-dissolution stigma—the same social bias we apply to breakups—affects our willingness to buy pre-owned items. But don’t worry, marketers—there’s a way to flip the script.
How can simply labeling an item as “certified pre-owned” erase this psychological bias? Can a seller’s attachment to a product actually make it more appealing? And what does this mean for the booming secondhand economy?
A huge thank you to the authors and Springer Nature for publishing this compelling research.
If you love diving into high-impact academic studies, make sure to subscribe to "Revise and Resubmit" on Spotify and follow our YouTube channel Weekend Researcher for even more insights. We’re also available on Amazon Prime and Apple Podcasts—so wherever you get your research fix, we’ve got you covered.
Reference
Kwak, H., Puzakova, M., McGill, A.L. et al. When previous relationships limit the new: The interplay between product anthropomorphism and used products. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-025-01086-5
Youtube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@weekendresearcher
Support us on Patreon
https://patreon.com/weekendresearcher
Paper-Song: "Used & Broken"
"You ever look at something… and feel like it’s been through too much?"
"Would you take it, or leave it behind?"
They gave it a face, gave it a name
Now it’s sitting on the shelf like it’s drowning in shame
Somebody used it, somebody left
Now it carries all the scars of regret
Can’t erase what’s written in the past
Every scratch, every mark, it was built to last
But you see it like a ghost in the room
Like it’s whispering warnings of doom
("Will you take me? Or just break me?")
Torn apart, but I still remain
Through the fire, through the rain
Would you see me as something new?
Or am I nothing left to you?
("I’m not broken, I’m still alive")
Falling pieces, but I still survive
("You don’t want me, but I won’t fade")
Still screaming from the mess you made
Turn the page, wipe the dust
Still you look at me with no trust
Echoes of the past in your mind
Like I’m carrying someone else’s crime
You don’t see the fights I fought
You don’t know the hands I caught
You just see the weight of time
A product with a past left behind
(Screaming, low growl harmonies)
"Say my name, erase my pain!"
"Not a shadow, not a stain!"
"Would you dare to see me new?"
"Or am I just too used for you?"
("I’m not broken, I’m still alive")
Falling pieces, but I still survive
("You don’t want me, but I won’t fade")
Still screaming from the mess you made
"I was never just a thing…"
"You gave me a name, now you walk away."
"But I was never the one who changed…"
In God we trust