Rusty Stough, Ph.D.
Rusty A. Stough joined the University of Maine in the fall of 2020. Prior to that, he was a Ph.D. student in marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His research focuses broadly on two areas: the consumption experience and the neurobiology of attention. For the consumption experience line of research, his work focuses on how people use and interact with products to have an experience, specifically focusing on products that are rented or borrowed. For the neurobiology of attention, he鈥檚 specifically looking at the role subconscious attention plays in processing of advertisement information. This research utilizes various biometric techniques to study how information is attended to and the downstream effects of subconscious processing.
Education
- Ph.D., Marketing, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- M.S., Marketing, University of Denver
- B.S., Chemistry, Geneva College
- B.S., Biology, Geneva College聽
Teaching Areas/Courses
MKT 410: Market Intelligence
Research Interests
Consumer Psychology, Neurobiology of Attention, Experiential Satisfaction, Access-Based Consumption, Television Advertising
Publications
Markovitch, D. G., Stough, R. A., & Huang, D. (2024). Consumer reactions to chatbot versus human service: an investigation in the role of outcome valence and perceived empathy. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 79, 103847.
Obenauer, W. G., Stough, R. A., Graham, C. M., & Catto, E. M. (2025). Is 鈥渂eing white鈥 a component of the superhero prototype? Perhaps, but research participants won鈥檛 tell you that. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.
Graham, C., & Stough, R. (2025). Consumer perceptions of AI chatbots on Twitter (X) and Reddit: an analysis of social media sentiment and interactive marketing strategies. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.
Huang, D., Markovitch, D. G., & Stough, R. A. (2024). “Can chatbot customer service match human service agents on customer satisfaction? An investigation in the role of trust.” Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 76, 103600.
Stough, R., & Graham, C. (2023). “Physical or digital media: the mediating role of psychological ownership.” Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, (ahead-of-print).
Keiper, M. C., Nachtigal, J., Lupinek, J. M., & Stough, R. A. (2023). “Marketing Analytics Curriculum Integration: An Exploration of Resource Availability for Faculty.” Journal of Marketing Education, 02734753231195591.
Stough, R. A., & Carter, E. P. (2023). “What was yours is (for now) mine: Prior user knowledge reduces product satisfaction but can improve experiential satisfaction in access鈥恇ased consumption.” Journal of Consumer Behaviour.
Polman, E., & Stough, R. A. (2023). “Homo indifferencus: Effects of unavailable options on preference construction.” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, e2326.
Dumas, J. E., & Stough, R. A. (2022). “When influencers are not very influential: The negative effects of social media verification.” Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(3), 614-624.
Shen, J. D., Rindfleisch, A., Cakanlar, A., Ordabayeva, N., Guo, Y. J., Lamberton, C., Stough, R. & Moreau, P. (2021). “Relationship Dynamics in the Era of the Sharing Economy.” ACR North American Advances.
Conferences
Presenter
2025 Retailing and Consumer Sciences Conference, Zagreb, Croatia
“Ugliness is Only Skin Deep: The Effects of Green Consumer Value on Ugly Product Evaluation”
2018 Albert Haring Symposium, University of Indiana-Bloomington
Discussant for peer work on satiation
2017 Future of Ownership Research Symposium, Vienna, Austria
鈥淵ou Are What You Borrow鈥
2017 Association for Consumer Research Conference, San Diego, CA.
鈥淭he Effects of Contagion on Access-based Consumption鈥
2017 Robert D. Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2016 Association for Consumer Research Conference, Berlin, Germany.
鈥淐hoosing an Inferior Option: The Case of Disappearing Inherited Options鈥
2016 Society for Consumer Psychology, St. Pete Beach, FL
鈥淐hoosing an Inferior Option: The Case of Disappearing Inherited Options鈥
2015 Society for Judgement and Decision Making, Chicago, IL
鈥淟ike But Please Don鈥檛 Share This: Digital Sharing Decreases Felt Ownership鈥
