Ouachita Stories

Dr. Chris Long, Ouachita Baptist University assistant professor of psychology, recently presented at the 2010 Association for Consumer Research North American Conference held in Jacksonville, Fla.

The conference hosted researchers, primarily with backgrounds in marketing or psychology, from schools all over the world to discuss consumer behavior.

“Most of the people there were from business schools at large universities,” Long said. “The other presenters on my panel were researchers from business schools at the University of Toronto, the University of Chicago, the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University, so my Ouachita Baptist University name tag stood out.”

Long presented “Brands Are Like Friends: Goals and Interpersonal Motives Influence Attitudes Toward Preferred Brands,” research he co-authored with current Ouachita student Christina Albee, a senior psychology major from Hannibal, Mo., as well as two Ouachita graduates, Philip Gable, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, and Courtney Boerstler, assistant professor of marketing at High Point University.

“Our research highlights ways in which people's interpersonal relationship tendencies are mirrored in their relationships with brands and products,” Long explained.

“Although I was nervous to be presenting alongside prominent researchers, a number of people were interested in our work and our ideas, and I made a lot of useful connections,” Long said. “For example, in the next year, it looks like OBU students and I will be working on projects we'll develop with research groups from Europe and the U.S. that I met at this conference.”

For more information, contact Dr. Chris Long at [email protected] or (870) 245-5105.

By Meg Gosser