Wisdom from words: The psychology of consumer language

Abstract Language plays a fundamental role in every aspect of life. But only recently has research begun to understand the role of language in consumer behavior. This paper offers an integrative discussion of research on the language of consumer psychology. We review some of the main areas of inquiry and discuss some key methodological approaches (e.g., automated textual analysis) that have been crucial to the area's development. Further, we outline some broad issues and opportunities in the space and highlight potential directions for future research. We hope to encourage more consumer psychologists to consider the great potential in producing new conceptual and substantive wisdom from words.