TRANG MAI-MCMANUS
Dedicated to Lifelong Learning, Researching, and Teaching
PERSONAL SITE OF TRANG MAI-MCMANUS
Thinker. Researcher. Teacher.
Trang Mai-McManus is a PhD Candidate in Marketing at I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba, Canada. Trang believes in holistic learning, in-depth research and hands-on teaching. Drawing from thorough academic training and extensive research experience, she lectures, writes and speaks with an intellectual confidence and depth of understanding about a variety of consumer behavior topics.
BIO
I am a PhD Candidate in Marketing at the University of Manitoba. My adviser is Dr. Kelley Main. Prior to joining UofM, I worked as a quantitative maketing researcher for a marketing research firm in Ho Chi Minh City and a marketing officer for a Premedia company in Mumbai. I received my BA in International Business Administration from the Vietnam Foreign Trade University and transferred to PhD program in Marketing after one year in MSc program in Marketing at the University of Manitoba.
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My research has three mainstreams: Main stream one focuses on psychological processes driving consumer’s perception of information privacy and consequential behaviours (i.e., applying online identity theft protection countermeasures, private information sharing and donating, and revealing private information on social media). Main stream two focuses on the effects of individual’s body size on observer’s characteristic inference making. Main stream three focuses on the applications of Virtual Reality technology in advertising and disaster communication.
I am interested in phenomenon-driven questions related to consumer privacy strategy of firms, digital anthropology, and marketing message design.
PUBLISHED WORK
Academic Publications and Presentations
October, 2018
CAN SKINNIER BODY FIGURE SIGNAL HIGHER SELF-CONTROL, INTEGRITY, AND SOCIAL STATUS?
Trang Thanh Mai, Luming Wang, and Olya Bullard (2018) ,"I2. Can Skinnier Body Figure Signal Higher Self-Control, Integrity, and Social Status?", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 46, eds. Andrew Gershoff, Robert Kozinets, and Tiffany White, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 919-919.
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Currently, conventional wisdom as well as much of social psychology literature equates thinness with beauty and attractiveness in Western societies. We propose that a thin body signals valuable characteristics—self-control and integrity—that lead to the perception of social status because they represent social capital in a Western society.
October, 2018
Trang Thanh Mai, Olya Bullard, and Luming Wang (2018) ,"I10. Can Body Size Influence the Judgments of Warmth and Competence?", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 46, eds. Andrew Gershoff, Robert Kozinets, and Tiffany White, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 919-919.
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We propose that the effect of body size on social evaluation extends beyond the association between thinness and beauty. Specifically, we posit that body size has implications for warmth and competence judgments made by observers: a thin (vs. heavy) body signals competence, whereas a heavy (vs. thin) body signals warmth.
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March, 2020
CAN SKINNIER BODY FIGURE SIGNAL HIGHER SELF-CONTROL, INTEGRITY, AND SOCIAL STATUS?
Trang Mai-McManus, Luming Wang, and Olya Bullard (2020) ,"WF4. Can Skinnier Body Figure Signal Higher Self-Control, Integrity, and Social Status?", in NA - 2020 Huntington Beach Society for Consumer Psychology Proceedings 46, (forthcoming)
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Signaling of social status is often achieved by means of conspicuous consumption. This research shifts the focus from scarce and valuable goods and services to scarce and valuable individual human qualities, a new form of conspicuous consumption. A thinner (vs. heavier) body serves as a conspicuous symbol of social status. Specifically, thinner body figure results in a positive perception of social status, and that this perception is influenced by the belief in valuable human qualities such as self-control and integrity.
March, 2020
THE SMALLER THE SIZE, THE HIGHER THE PRICE? HOW SIZE-RANGE INFLUENCES BRAND-STATUS INFERENCES AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY
Trang Mai-McManus, Olya Bullard, and Luming Wang (2020) ,"WF5. The Smaller the Size, the Higher the Price? How Size-range Influences Brand-status Inferences and Willingness to Pay", in NA - 2020 Huntington Beach Society for Consumer Psychology Proceedings 46, (forthcoming)
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In the current research we demonstrate that consumers are willing to pay more for brands that carry smaller size-ranges because they infer smaller-size-range brands to be higher in status/luxury value. This happens because smaller-sized brands are worn by thinner consumers, and in Western society thinner people are often attributed higher social status—the extent to which they are respected and admired by others. This research has conceptual implications for the understanding of the meaning of thinness in Western cultures and practical implications for the managers of clothing brands.
August, 2020
HOW BODY SIZE CUES JUDGMENTS ON PERSON-PERCEPTION DIMENSIONS
Olya Bryksina, Luming Wang, and Trang Mai (2020) ,"How Body Size Cues Judgments on Person-Perception Dimensions", in Journal of Social Psychological and Personality Science, (forthcoming)
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Many people in Western societies pursue a thin body figure. Among the multiple reasons to lose weight, concerns about social perceptions play a prominent role in the desire to shed pounds. Previous research associates thinness with attractiveness, especially in Western societies. The current work demonstrates that moderate deviations from the average body size cue judgments on person-perception dimensions. Results from three studies show that whereas moderately thin (vs. heavy) individuals are rated as more competent, moderately heavy (vs. thin) people are rated as more warm. The studies present mediation and manipulation-based evidence that these effects occur because a thin (vs. heavy) body signals self-control—a construct instrumental in drawing competence inferences; it is also shown that a heavy (vs. thin) body signals emotional expressiveness—a construct that triggers inferences of warmth.
TEACHING
My professional experience in multiple marketing positions in the industry in various countries such as Vietnam and India equips me with a broad yet practical view that is useful in introducing students to real-life applications of marketing concepts as well as assisting them in the preparation process to become future competent and ethical marketers, skillful and high awareness of an ever changing and more and more diversified society. Three main philosophies that encompass my teaching are: (1) teaching must be real-life relevant and applicable, (2) teaching must be strengthened through self-directed and on-going learning, and (3) teaching must be socially responsible and committed to community (e.g., sustainability, diversity, and inclusiveness)
INTRODUCTORY COURSE
Summer 2020, Winter 2022, Spring 2022
Fundamentals in Marketing (MKT 2210)
