Article

Self‐Control for the Righteous: Toward a Theory of Precommitment to Indulgence

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Abstract

Prior research has examined consumers’ use of self‐control to avoid hedonic (myopic) temptations, such as overspending and smoking. In this research we investigate the opposite form of self‐control, whereby consumers force themselves to indulge and avoid default forms of spending on utilitarian necessities and/or savings. In particular, consumers who have difficulty choosing items that are perceived as indulgences or luxuries (e.g., a cruise) over necessities (e.g., saving for college education) and cash in everyday decisions may use precommitments to indulgence, especially when the psychological cost of such commitments is less concrete. These propositions were tested in a series of studies involving real and hypothetical choices as well as process measures. The results indicate that a substantial segment of consumers choose hedonic luxury rewards over cash of equal or greater value; consumers typically explain such choices based on the need to precommit to indulgence, to make sure that the award does not end up in the pool of money used for necessities. In addition, consistent with our analysis, the likelihood of precommitting to indulgence is enhanced when (a) the consequences of the decision will be realized farther in the future, (b) the odds of winning the reward are lower, and (c) consumers anticipate how they will use each possible award. We also show that awards representing indulgence are more effective than cash as incentives for participation in a (real) lottery. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

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... 선행연구들에 따르면, 친환경라벨은 다양한 분야에서 소비자들의 구매행동에 변화를 유도하는 것으로 나타났다 (e.g., Delmas & Lessem, 2014;Noblet, Teisl, & Rubin, 2006;Sammer & Wüstenhagen, 2006 (Truffer, Markard, & Wustenhagen, 2001 (Buckley, 2002), 환경문제를 상기시키는 역할을 한다고 볼 수 있다 (Bratt, Hallstedt, Robert, Broman, & Oldmark, 2011;Thøgersen, Haugaard, & Olesen, 2010 (Bougherara & Combris, 2009;Clemenz, 2010). 친환경라벨과 관련된 기존 연구에 따르 면 친환경라벨은 세탁기 (Sammer & Wüstenhagen, 2006), 해산물(Brecard, Hlaimi, Lucas, & Perraudeau, 2009), 공정무역커피 (Loureiro & Lotade, 2005), 와인 (Delmas & Lessem, 2014), 참치캔 (Teisl, Roe, & Hicks, 2002), 자동차 (Noblet et al., 2006), 항공 (Baumeister, Zeng, & Hoffendahl, 2020), 관광농업 (Chin, Chin, & Wong, 2018) Kivetz & Simonson, 2002a, 2002b, 초콜릿과 같은 제품도 쾌락재에 속할 수 있다. 반 면 실용재는 기능적이고 유용한 편익을 주로 제공한다 (Strahilevitz & Myers, 1998). ...
... 반 면 실용재는 기능적이고 유용한 편익을 주로 제공한다 (Strahilevitz & Myers, 1998). 따라서 실용소비는 대체 로 필수품과 관련되며 쾌락소비에 비해 정당화하기 쉽다는 특징을 지닌다 (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002a, 2002bOkada, 2005 (Havlena & Holbrook, 1986;Mano & Oliver, 1993;Shiv & Fedorikhin, 1999 ...
... ). 그러나 선행연구들에 따르면, 쾌락소비는 즐거움과 같은 긍정적 감정뿐만 아니라, 소비 행동을 정당화하기 어렵다는 점에 서 죄책감과 같은 부정적 감정을 야기시킬 수 있다(Kivetz & Simonson, 2002a, 2002b. 이러한 양가 감정은 지불 의 고통(pain of paying)으로 발현될 수 있으며(Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998), 이는 쾌락재 구매의사결정과정 에서 소비자들로 하여금 구매를 정당화할 수 있는 정보에 중점을 두게 한다(Okada, 2005). ...
... Thus, self-control and self-indulgence tend to stabilize over time (Kivetz & Simonson, 2002). Currently, incorporating self-indulgence combined with self-control in the context of masstige marketing has not been the focus of previous studies (Kumar et al., 2021;Kumar & Paul, 2018;Park et al., 2022;Paul, 2019). ...
... Selfindulgence is not an easy task to justify. Spending money on indulging oneself results in benefits that are difficult to quantify (Kivetz & Simonson, 2002;Okada, 2005). In addition, consumers must justify momentary pleasure over longer-term pleasure when self-indulging (Petersen et al., 2018). ...
... Finally, the investigation seeks to further understand middle-class lifestyles (Wang & Qiao, 2020). This study investigates self-indulgence to contribute to the literature on how consumers increase pleasure (Kivetz & Simonson, 2002;Laran, 2010;Okada, 2005;Petersen et al., 2018). ...
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Consumers must manage their experiences to achieve their goals. It is currently unclear how masstige products are involved in these experiences. This study experimentally examines the relationships between self‐control, self‐indulgence, intention to purchase a masstige product, and both short‐ and long‐term happiness. In total, 319 consumers participated in this experiment. This study compared four models addressing these relationships and concluded that a higher level of self‐control leads to a lower level of self‐indulgence and a weaker intention to purchase a masstige product. Additionally, a higher level of self‐indulgence leads to a stronger intention to purchase a masstige product. Finally, a higher level of short‐term happiness leads to a greater level of long‐term happiness and stronger intention to purchase a masstige product. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... These activities feel like work, are not necessarily enjoyable (Babin, Darden, and Griffin 1994), and frequently require effortful mental operations (Choi and Fishbach 2011). In general, utilitarian activities are perceived as "shoulds," and our society adheres to the value of completing such tasks promptly (Dhar and Nowlis 1999;Kivetz and Simonson 2002). While utilitarian activities bring functional benefits, hedonic activities are perceived as "wants"-activities that consumers desire and bring experiential enjoyment (Hirschman and Holbrook 1982;Hsee and Tsai 2008;Mano and Oliver 1993). ...
... This corroborates prior research that people justify their hedonic consumption when the gain is attributed to one's own effort (Kivetz and Simonson 2002;Mick and Demoss 1990). ...
... For instance, consumers may find it easier to justify buying luxury products by behaving virtuously before the purchase (Khan and Dhar 2006). And when consumers made greater effort to enroll in a reward program, they felt more justified and were more inclined to spend the reward points on luxuries items (Kivetz and Simonson 2002). Relatedly, prior research suggests that windfall money can be perceived as free money or "house money" and that the spending of windfall money might be perceived as a decrease in gain rather than the incurrence of a loss (Thaler and Johnson 1990). ...
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Consumers often gain extra free time unexpectedly. Given the increasing time pressure that consumers experience in their daily lives, it is important to understand how they spend windfall (or unexpected) free time, which we term found time. In a series of five laboratory experiments and naturalistic field studies, we found that consumers spend more of their free time on hedonic activities than on utilitarian activities when they gain the time unexpectedly (i.e., found time), but not when they know about the free time in advance. This pattern occurs consistently regardless of whether consumers gain the time from canceled work-related or leisure activities. In addition, our studies uncovered perceived busyness as a ubiquitous yet unexplored moderator for the windfall gain literature: the inclination to allocate found time to hedonic consumption decreases when consumers perceive themselves to be busy at the moment. We discuss several potential accounts for the effect of unexpectedness on time expenditure, including a perceived fit between the nature of found time (a fun windfall gain) and hedonic consumption, need for justification, and planning.
... The attitude-behavior model is the most utilized one for understanding consumption behaviors [76,77], and studies have argued that consumers who are conscious about environmental and social issues are likely to show sustainable behavior [78][79][80][81]. In addition, a consumer's pro-social status significantly affects their intentions for sustainable behavior [82]. ...
... Previous research suggests that choosing utilitarian over hedonic features can lead to consumers experiencing less feelings of guilt [78]. Consumers tend to justify their decisions based on utilitarian rather than hedonic attributes; therefore, opting for utilitarian features is viewed as a morally better choice than hedonic features, and consumers may feel less guilty prioritizing utilitarian attributes over sustainability. ...
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... DeMoss (1990a, 1990b) previously conceptualized self-gifts as a form of symbolic selfcommunication, focusing on conveying the affective self-regard and self-concepts. Much research has since embraced this conceptualization from which to examine other self-gifting domains, including contexts of self-gifting and related messages (Heath et al., 2011;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002), cultural dimensions of self-gifting (Tynan LIU ET AL. | 7 et al., 2010), emotive aspects of self-gifting (Heath et al., 2015) and the mood-regulatory functioning of self-gifts (Luomala & Laaksonen, 1999). Our findings expand this line of work by pointing to the pervasiveness and expressiveness of temporal selves in guiding and informing symbolic self-communications that have a direct bearing on the ways in which self-gifting is practiced and experienced. ...
... Finally, as our mothers look into the future and envisage their children progressing to school and adulthood, they generally foresee having more personal time, facilitating a return of more self-oriented self-gifting pursuits. In addition to a sense of deservingness (Cavanaugh, 2014;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002), it appears that these projected self-oriented self-gifting pursuits are significant in that they often trigger state nostalgia in terms of their desire to relive some aspects of bygone days, especially their nonmother identity, such as Nancy's needs for experiential gifts (Puente-Díaz & Cavazos-Arroyo, 2021) that will allow her to do creative stuff and craft as well as spend quality time with her husband and friends. The state nostalgia as experienced in projected self-gifting pursuits works to counteract feelings of self-discontinuity and helps our mothers restore/foster self-continuity through which they derive psychological well-being, meaning, and purpose (Sedikides et al., 2023). ...
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Prior literature has long established self‐gifts as a form of symbolic self‐communication that can be particularly meaningful and impactful for individuals to enhance self‐concept clarity and self‐definition during life transitions. However, little is known about how life transitions may bring about changes in the practices and meanings of self‐gifting. Drawing on individual interviews with 22 first‐time older mothers, this research uses temporal self‐appraisal theory as the theoretical lens and temporal landmarks as a sensitizing framework to explore how people's past, present, and future selves may unfold and interact in influencing their self‐gifting practices and meanings. Our findings contribute to a fuller understanding of the temporal nature of self‐gifting by highlighting the varying self‐gifting orientations that emerge from the interaction, reflecting changes in temporal self‐appraisals and how they enable a sense of self‐(dis)continuity for psychological well‐being. The temporal perspective of self‐gifts offers a theoretical framework for understanding how self‐gifts, a form of symbolic self‐communication, express, manage, or facilitate perceived self‐changes and the need for self‐continuity. The marketing implications and applications of the theoretical framework are also discussed.
... In more specific consumption situations, consumers further set up corresponding benefit and expenditure accounts for individual cultural consumption occasions, such as expenditure price accounts, time cost accounts during consumption, and pleasure gained from consumption accounts. It is worth noting that setting up cultural consumption mental account is a common practice among consumers, although most individuals tend to prioritize spending money on necessities while controlling their indulgence needs [6]. Therefore, the mental accounts for material consumption are often rigid, while those for cultural consumption are typically flexible, with people usually seeking cultural consumption after fulfilling material consumption needs. ...
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Behavioral economics emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Compared to traditional economics, its theory is based on bounded rationality and combines with disciplines like psychology to address the limitations of traditional economic theory, providing more convincing explanations for market phenomena. Behavioral economics covers a wide range of topics, and this paper focuses on the perspective of mental accounting to study cultural consumption. Cultural consumption is the endogenous driving force for the development of the cultural industry. The psychological factors behind cultural consumption are key to influencing consumption decisions. Adopting the mental accounting theory from behavioral economics, residents' cultural consumption mental account consist of three main categories: economic capital account, cultural capital account, and social capital account, as well as six sub-accounts: transaction cost account, sunk cost account, leisure and entertainment account, aesthetic value account, social interaction account, and identity differentiation account. These accounts can effectively explain the influence mechanism between utility changes and cultural consumption behavior decisions. Based on the connotation and mechanism of the cultural consumption mental account theory, formulating various bundled sales strategies, reducing the sunk costs of cultural consumption, and promoting the high-quality development of the cultural industry are important paths to expand residents' cultural consumption. By integrating insights from behavioral economics, this approach can provide more effective solutions to boost cultural consumption and drive the sustainable development of the cultural industry.
... Accordingly, some forms of leisure and associated pleasure are viewed as illicit or even illegal (Goulding et al. 2008). In line with this philosophy, leisure is often associated with laziness and lack of success, making it hard for U.S. consumers to justify choosing leisure activities over productive ones (Kivetz and Simonson 2002). ...
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Morality, appraisals of right and wrong, is central to consumers’ identities and decisions. Even everyday consumption choices can be subject to moral judgments and require moral justifications. When and how do consumers moralize formerly taken-for-granted consumption practices? Considering self-care consumption in the United States, which includes practices that range from bathing to dieting to meditating to vacationing, this paper examines the moralization of everyday consumption practices. This research reveals that consumption is likely to be moralized when there are culturally contested meanings of its core constructs, like “self” and “care,” leading cultural authorities to prescribe alternative ways to pursue the same consumption goal (ie, cultural scripts). Exposure to cultural scripts that clash with consumers’ moral intuitions about self-care consumption triggers moral introspection, an evaluation and re-calibration of those intuitions. Consumers then set moral boundaries of acceptable self-care consumption by (1) denouncing, such that they assume a position of moral righteousness; (2) positioning, to indicate moral inclusivity; (3) balancing, which implies moral licensing; or (4) ritualizing, in which case they express moral autonomy. This study advances consumer research by establishing that moral considerations intertwine with consumers’ identities and underlie the symbolic meanings of everyday consumption practices.
... High complexity conveys hedonism and is associated with attempts to tempt and manipulate consumers (Favier et al., 2019). Being tempted and hedonistic may trigger indulgent behaviors among consumers (Baumeister, 2002;Hu & Min, 2022;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002;Maehle et al., 2015;Ramanathan & Menon, 2006) such as overconsumption or excessive eating and drinking. These "increase" behaviors are contrary to the eco-friendly nature of "reduction." ...
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Consumers increasingly value eco‐friendly attributes of products. Packaging serves as a medium through which consumers perceive product attributes and products convey information. However, research on the impact of packaging visual complexity on a product's perceived eco‐friendliness has not been thoroughly examined. Four studies were conducted based on visual complexity metaphor theory to examine the impact of packaging visual complexity on the eco‐friendliness perception of products. The study also investigated the mediating role of naturalness and durability perception as well as the moderating effect of external environmental threats. The results indicate that the visual complexity of packaging directly or indirectly (through perceptions of naturalness and durability) affects the eco‐friendliness perception of products. Furthermore, under high environmental threats, consumers exhibit a stronger eco‐friendly perception and purchase intention towards products with simple packaging. Eco‐friendliness perception mediates the relationship between packaging visual complexity and purchase intentions. This study contributes to the literature on visual complexity metaphors and eco‐friendly packaging and complements our knowledge of how visual packaging characteristics influence the perception of product attributes. The results provide valuable insights for marketing managers on how to use the visual complexity of packaging design to effectively convey product information.
... For example, it is possible that consumers who chose a virtue might end up eating large quantities because they deplete their self-regulatory resources (Muraven and Baumeister, 2000); or they feel it is acceptable to do so (Scott et al., 2008). By contrast, it is also possible that consumers who chose a vice might decide to eat a small quantity of the chosen vice, which can be an example of planned indulgence (Kivetz and Simonson, 2002). Moreover, once a consumer starts eating a chosen food, many factors other than self-control (e.g., hunger, in Nederkoorn et al., 2009) can affect the quantity eaten (Yeomans, 1998;Sclafani, 2001;Wren et al., 2001;Mela, 2006;Wansink and Chandon, 2014), which suggests that one's self-control exertion can be changed at the consumption stage. ...
Article
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Observed choices between options representing a relative vice and a relative virtue have commonly been used as a measure of eating self-control in the literature. However, even though self-control operations may manifest across the post-choice consumption stage, either similarly or in different ways from the choice stage, most prior research has ignored consumption quantity of the chosen option. While the behavior of choosing a virtue instead of a vice does manifest self-control, we examine how this plays out in post-choice consumption. Specifically, we find that when processing resources are limited, after having chosen a virtue food, unrestrained eaters ironically consumed greater quantities and therefore more calories than restrained eaters (Study 1). This reflects more persistent self-control in the post-choice consumption stage among restrained eaters than unrestrained eaters, and occurs because choosing a virtue lowers accessibility of the self-control goal among unrestrained eaters relative to restrained eaters (Study 2), thereby increasing intake of the virtuous food. In contrast, subsequent to having chosen a vice, unrestrained eaters and restrained eaters did not show any such difference in intake (Study 1) or goal accessibility (Study 2). Together, these results reveal that persistence of self-control in the post-choice consumption stage depends on individuals’ dietary restraint and their initial exercise of self-control in the choice decision. The mere act of choosing a virtue satisfies unrestrained eaters’ self-control goal and leads to increased food intake, whereas the same act keeps the same goal activated among restrained eaters who reduce intake of the chosen virtue. Put differently, persistent self-control across choice and quantity decisions is observed only when those with a dietary goal show successful self-control enactment in the choice stage. We therefore highlight that the operation of self-control can be dynamic within a consumption episode, and thus, choice and post-choice quantity are both informative of self-control.
... Hedonistic consumption of items are termed as "the multi-sensory, fantasy and emotional aspects of consumers' interactions with products" (Bamossy & Solomon, 2016). The use of hedonic items is significantly connected to luxuries (Kivetz & Simonson, 2002a, 2002b. Researchers (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000;Voss et al., 2003) argue that certain products and services have both utilitarian and hedonic characteristics. ...
Article
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The article aims to provide a comprehensive examination of the extant literature on online hedonic consumers’ privacy. Further, the authors attempt to identify a gap in online hedonic consumer behaviour focusing on their privacy. The authors systematically reviewed the extant literature on online hedonic consumers and their various privacy-related issues. The discussion on ‘privacy’, ‘online shopping’, ‘hedonic consumption’ and ‘hedonic-motivation system (HMS)’ elucidated any confusion held by the researchers and readers. This review offered insight into the current status of research in this field and recognized the factor ‘privacy’ as a gap in the existing model of online hedonic consumer behaviour that could be properly explored in further scholarly empirical research. The exclusion of non-English language articles and the lack of inclusion of different kinds of hedonic products or services other than ‘online shopping’ were the limitations of this article. Managers and e-commerce vendors could utilize the findings of this review to address their hedonic consumers’ privacy for the growth of their online businesses. This review lays the groundwork to explore online hedonic consumers’ privacy in detail. To address the gaps identified through this study, the development of a new overarching model of online hedonic consumer behaviour is suggested for future researchers, which might provide a theoretical framework for scholars to further examine the effect of privacy on online hedonic consumers.
... The slack account becomes a catalyst for expanding the necessary funds to maintain self-control. A certain amount of slack account funds may possibly be allocated to adhere to a pre-commitment to choose an indulgence over a necessity (Kivetz and Simonson, 2002), or to take advantage of discounted products (Blattberg et al., 1995;Gupta, 1988) or simply to compensate for the lack of funds for the shopping list. ...
Article
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The evidence from field studies in retail environments suggests in-store slack is part of the consumer’s purchasing budget. These funds are used as a self-control mechanism so as not to exceed the budget. We propose a conceptualization of in-store slack as the difference between the expected cost of the basket and the total budget allocated for the present visit to the store. Then, we explain this slack from the composition of the customer’s basket in three branches of a supermarket chain. Using data taken from a field study, we found evidence that in-store slack is used fundamentally for unplanned purchases, which is consistent with the notion that these funds are used to finance products where the decision to purchase is made in-store. We also found evidence of unused budgetary resources being transferred to in-store slack to finance unplanned products. This supports the idea that consumers are flexible when managing their mental accounts.
... However, Migone (2007) viewed it as a "highly wasteful and discriminatory pattern of consumption that predominates in current capitalist models". Whereas the use of Utilitarian items is noticeably linked to necessities and use of Hedonic items is significantly connected to luxuries (Kivetz & Simonson, 2002a, 2002b, consumers benefit from the consumption of both Utilitarian and Hedonic items. The Utilitarian-Hedonic distinction therefore-is not limited to the product level. ...
Article
The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the literature on Online Hedonic Consumers’ Privacy Paradox and Privacy Awareness. Furthermore, the authors attempt to identify a gap that can be addressed in the future by developing a comprehensive and integrated model on Online Hedonic Consumer Behaviour that focuses on their Privacy Awareness. The authors conducted a systematic literature review of the extant literature. The discussion on “Privacy”, “Privacy Paradox” and “Privacy Awareness” elucidated the differences among them, thereby helping to remove any confusions held by the researchers and readers. This review offered insight into the current status of research in this field and recognized the factor “Privacy Awareness” as a gap in the existing model on Online Hedonic Consumer Behaviour that could properly be explored in further scholarly empirical research. Managers and E-Commerce vendors could utilize the findings of this review to address their Hedonic Consumer Privacy Awareness for the growth of their online businesses. This paper lays a groundwork to explore Online Hedonic Consumer Privacy Awareness in detail. A new integrated model is suggested, which will lead to the development of a theoretical framework for researchers to further examine the mediation effect of Privacy Awareness.
... Consumers would give priority to functional attributes over hedonic attributes when choosing products, and consumers would feel stronger guilt and anxiety when choosing products with hedonic attributes [63]. The intrinsic reason why people had difficulty giving up utilitarian products in favor of hedonic products was that it was more difficult for people to find good reasons for their consumption of hedonic products [64], while it was easier to buy utilitarian products [65]. A promotional environment that was favorable to public acceptance of hedonic products would reduce the guilt associated with hedonic products [66]. ...
Article
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Green consumption is expected to become a new driving force for sustainable economic growth. The production cost of green products leads to the existence of a green premium, which affects the willingness to pay for green consumption. Moreover, willingness to pay is influenced by the product’s own attributes, such as its hedonic and utilitarian attributes. Our study used the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique to investigate how product attributes and premiums affect information processing and subsequent decision-making by comparing consumers’ acceptance of hedonic and utilitarian green products with different levels of premiums. Behavioral results indicated that consumers were more willing to pay premiums for utilitarian attributes than for hedonic attributes. ERPs results showed that hedonic attributes induced a greater P2 component, suggesting that price increases for hedonic products elicited more cognitive attention in the early cognitive stage and that the high premium condition did not match the hedonic attributes. In the late cognitive stage, where the utilitarian attribute induced higher N4, the consumers used the green consumption concept as a reason to reduce the negative emotions generated by the hedonic attribute and thus were more willing to accept the green premium for the hedonic product. The findings can be used to explain the psychological and neural activities of consumers at different stages when faced with the degree of product attribute-premium and help companies optimize their pricing strategies by using green products’ attributes.
... See e.g. Kivetz and Simonson (2002), Dahl et al. (2003) and Khan and Dhar (2006). costs a lot, and have the incentive to try new products that would appeal, at least initially, to only a small number of people (e.g. ...
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This paper examines whether, and if so when, luxury tax is justifiable. After a characterization of luxury tax, I critically examine several arguments that have been or can be made in defence of luxury tax, including Ng’s diamond good argument and a variation of Frank’s positional good argument. I put forward an alternative, expressive argument, according to which luxury tax can help to create and sustain social norms that discourage conspicuous luxury consumption and display of wealth. I explain several ways in which luxury tax fails to achieve the expressive goal and brings about unintended consequences.
... Understanding the processes the two coping strategies cue can help marketers predict the effects of identity threat coping on indulgent consumption. Consistent with prior research, we define indulgent consumption (hereinafter indulgence or indulgent choices) as yielding to unnecessary inclinations, desires, and instant gratification-a behavior that has been associated with the consumption of hedonics, luxuries, and other temptations, which offer short-term benefits (in the form of pleasure or gratification) but limited long-term benefits (in the form of education or ability to pursue one's goals) (Akamatsu & Fukuda, 2022;Baumeister, 2002;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002;Lee et al., 2016;Mukhopadhyay & Johar, 2009;Read et al., 1999;Tezer & Sobol, 2021). ...
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The ability to cope with social identity threats is a crucial consumer capacity. But are all coping methods equally beneficial? Our work examines two dominant coping strategies—where individuals either highlight positive dimensions of the self (self‐focus strategy), or where they emphasize other out‐groups' worse performance (others‐focus strategy). We demonstrate that while the two strategies are equally effective at repairing the threatened identity, the others‐focus strategy leads to greater indulgent consumption for those who hold the threatened identity strongly. We also provide evidence of the underlying mechanism, showing that accessibility drives the differences in the indulgent consumption consequences of these coping strategies, which makes it possible for marketers to externally alter such effects. Specifically, we show that if marketers externally raise the accessibility of outgroups‐related concepts, for example, via an advertising message or environmental design, the impact of the others‐focus strategy on indulgence is diminished.
... Principally, the products with higher utility have been preferred by customers (Chitturi, Raghunathan and Mahajan, 2007). A study (Kivetz and Simonson, 2002) has also suggested that users give higher considerations to the product's functionality. This behaviour can be predicted as the fulfilment of their needs can be achieved through the utilitarian aspect of a product's design (Higgins, 1997;Chernev, 2004). ...
Chapter
Wearable products require additional considerations in design for utilitarian and aesthetic requirements. The wearable designs which are exposed to others while wearing need a fashion value for being trendy, therefore, widely appreciated by the audience. During the pandemic (Covid-19), face masks are considered to be mandatory for outdoors and indoor gatherings. Traditional surgical masks are quite useful; however, the design requires significant improvements for ergonomics and aesthetics. Users also demand a redesign of a face mask with improved ergonomics while performing sports and cardio activities along with the enhanced fashion value. A 3d sports face mask bracket has been designed with improved ergonomics during sports activities. Special considerations have been given to incorporate significant fashion and aesthetic values for a wider range of customizations and user appreciation. The design of the bracket has been developed to fit perfectly on the face without ear loops and neck supports for enhanced user experience and comfort.Keywords3d Face bracketAestheticsFashion valueWearable productsUser appreciationFace mask ergonomics
... It further complements studies into factors that mitigate or strengthen escalation of commitment. Specifically, indicate that the development of explicit budgets (Heath 1995) and predetermined stopping rules (Boulding et al. 1997), just as monitoring (Kirby and Davis 1998;McNamara et al. 2002), pre-commitment measures (Schelling 1978(Schelling , 1984Kivetz and Simonson 2002) and performance contingency planning may reduce escalation of commitment. Our study adds to these studies by pointing to the importance of stakeholders and the entrepreneur's family situation in understanding escalation of commitment. ...
... Among the most severe are citizen rights loss and financial loss, while a number of effects for the respondents' mental state is less visible: dissatisfaction, despair, frustration, irritation, anger, fear, burden, and "conflicts that impact the entire body". Previous research has shown that so-called prevention goals, that is, strategies to avoid negative emotions, are considered to be more important than promotion goals, which are strategies that promote positive emotions [14], [15]. It should hence be a high-priority goal to avoid the above difficulties in any online service. ...
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This work discusses how to build online public services and feedback mechanisms such that they are usable and are actually used, while fulfilling the requirements for EU’s Web Accessibility Directive, security, and privacy. By means of an online survey among impaired users of the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration’s online services, it is analyzed which challenges these users experience with public services and feedback processes as of today, and how both can be designed for better and more inclusive online services.
... However, these and related studies focus predominantly on negative consumer feelings associated with increased indulgence. For instance, some researchers focus on guilt, regret, and lack of responsibility (Kivetz and Simonson 2002;Ramanathan and Williams 2007), whereas others focus on shame, embarrassment, and fear of failing to achieve budgetary goals (Haws and Poynor 2008;Keinan and Kivetz 2008;Kivetz and Keinan 2006). Our study diverges from the extant literature and extends it by linking the positive affective response derived from indulgence with conspicuous luxury consumption. ...
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Once the preserve of the elite, many luxury brands are now targeting the rapidly rising global middle classes. This ‘democratization of luxury,’ understood as the perceived reduction in distinctiveness, exclusivity, and self-differentiation of luxury goods due to wider availability and access, has changed the luxury industry landscape substantially and yet it remains an underexplored phenomenon in academic research. Building on the theory of network effects, our study focuses on how democratization influences the relationship between conspicuous signaling and luxury purchase intentions. Analysis of primary data (n = 1,156) from luxury consumers in developed (USA and Spain) and developing (China and India) markets with distinctly differing economic trajectories reveal the varying negative moderating influence of democratization. These negative effects of luxury democratization are more pronounced in developing markets (Study 1). Further, the findings highlight that consumer indulgence can help mitigate negative externalities associated with luxury democratization (Study 1) and its underlying mechanism through positive affect (Study 2). Taken together, our multi-method approach sheds new light on consumer perceptions of luxury democratization and offers actionable implications for international luxury firms on managing this challenge in developed and developing markets.
... Future research might explore whether moral cleansing is more or less effective among individuals who chronically under indulge (Haws & Poynor, 2008;Kivetz & Simonson, 2002)-would such people be more or less likely to feel licensed by mint-based oral cleansing? Future research could also explore conditions under which positive rather than negative feedback effects (e.g., when consuming mint would reduce subsequent taboo food consumption). ...
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Previous research attributes vulnerability to financial hardship either to structural inequities or to poor financial behavior. Less attention has been paid to the role of social psychological factors or to the relative contribution of demographics, behavior, and social psychology in understanding an individual's vulnerability to financial hardship. While studies have examined psychosocial factors in financial outcomes, we argue that these factors represent a missing perspective in the construction of interventions to lessen vulnerability. We further argue that a holistic perspective considering all three factors is needed to address vulnerability to financial hardship. Capitalizing on the richness of the CFPB National Financial Well‐Being Survey data (n = 6,394), we examine the unique contribution of psychosocial factors in explaining an individual's financial vulnerability over and above demographics and behaviors. Using four different measures of financial hardship, we find that all three types of factors play important roles in understanding vulnerability to financial hardship. Our findings suggest that more holistic measures and interventions are needed to enhance consumer financial well‐being. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Bridging the gap between the mental accounting and identities/roles literatures, the present research examines how the extent to which an individual’s life roles (e.g., “employee” and “spouse”) are integrated (i.e., have more flexible and permeable psychological boundaries between them) moderates the fungibility of mentally-accounted funds. Specifically, individuals with more integrated roles are more able to circumvent the constraints typically imposed by mental budgeting and earmarking and are therefore more likely to use funds allocated or budgeted for the purposes of one role to service the needs/wants of another role. This holds regardless of whether funds have been (i) allocated to a broader, role-specific mental account for future expenditures or (ii) earmarked for a specific purchase. Evidence is found that the effect of role integration arises because those with more integrated roles feel that making purchases for one role using funds allocated or budgeted for the other role is more justifiable.
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How do anticipated short-term costs affect the likelihood of engaging in an activity that has long-term benefits. Five studies investigated the factors that determine (a) how anticipated short-term costs elicit self-control efforts and (b) how self-control efforts eventually diminish the influence of short-term costs on behavior. The studies manipulated short-term costs (e.g., painful medical procedures) and assessed a variety of self-control strategies (e.g., self-imposed penalties for failure to undergo a test). The results show that short-term costs elicit self-control strategies for self rather than others, before rather than after behavior, when long-term benefits are important rather than unimportant and when the costs are moderate rather than extremely small or large. The results also show that the self-control efforts help people act according to their long-term interests.
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This article concerns a class of experimental manipulations that require people to generate explanations or imagine scenarios. A review of studies using such manipulations indicates that people who explain or imagine a possibility then express greater confidence in the truth of that possibility. It is argued that this effect results from the approach people take in the explanation or imagination task: They temporarily assume that the hypothesis is true and assess how plausibly it can account for the relevant evidence. From this view, any task that requires that a hypothesis be treated as if it were true is sufficient to increase confidence in the truth of that hypothesis. Such tasks cause increased confidence in the hypothesis at the expense of viable alternatives because of changes in problem representation, evidence evaluation, and information search that take place when the hypothesis is temporarily treated as if it were true.
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The dominant approach to the study of dynamic preference is to generate preference change by manipulating aspects of decision-problem presentation (problem description, task procedure, contextual options). The predisposing approach instead manipulates the decision maker's mental state while holding problem presentation constant. Three illustrative studies are outlined here. The first modified preferences for ambitious consumption by manipulating subjects' consumption energy. The second modified preferences for immediate consumption by manipulating subjects' hedonic resources. The third modified preferences for consumption itself by manipulating subjects' desire proneness. Whereas framing is thought to affect perception, predisposing apparently can affect tastes and so involves a special kind of preference dynamism.
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In this article, the authors examine how consumer choice between hedonic and utilitarian goods is influenced by the nature of the decision task. Building on research on elaboration, the authors propose that the relative salience of hedonic dimensions is greater when consumers decide which of several items to give up (forfeiture choices) than when they decide which item to acquire (acquisition choices). The resulting hypothesis that a hedonic item is relatively preferred over the same utilitarian item in forfeiture choices than in acquisition choices was supported in two choice experiments. In a subsequent experiment, these findings were extended to hypothetical choices in which the acquisition and forfeiture conditions were created by manipulating initial attribute-level reference states instead of ownership. Finally, consistent with the experimental findings, a field survey showed that, relative to market prices, owners of relatively hedonic cars value their vehicles more than do owners of relatively utilitarian cars. The authors discuss theoretical implications of these reference-dependent preference asymmetries and explore consequences for marketing managers and other decision makers.
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The construction of a framework of the multiple consumer benefits of a sales promotion is discussed. Through a series of measurement studies, the authors find that monetary and nonmonetary promotions provide consumers with different levels of 3 hedonic benefits (opportunities for value expression, entertainment and exploration) and 3 utilitarian benefits (savings, higher product quality, and improved shopping convenience). To address the second question, the researchers develop a benefit congruency framework, which argues that a sales promotion's effectiveness is determined by the utilitarian or hedonic nature of the benefits it delivers and the congruence these benefits have with the promoted product. Among other results, 2 choice experiments show that as predicted for high-equity brands monetary promotions are more effective for utilitarian products than for hedonic products.
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A new model of consumer behavior is developed using a hybrid of cognitive psychology and microeconomics. The development of the model starts with the mental coding of combinations of gains and losses using the prospect theory value function. Then the evaluation of purchases is modeled using the new concept of “transaction utility.” The household budgeting process is also incorporated to complete the characterization of mental accounting. Several implications to marketing, particularly in the area of pricing, are developed.
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This article focuses on the bundling of products with promised contributions to charity. Two lab experiments and one field study are conducted that compare the effectiveness of promised donations to charity in promoting "practical necessities" (e.g., a box of laundry detergent) to their effectiveness in promoting "frivolous luxuries" (e.g., a hot fudge sundae). The results suggest that charity incentives are more effective-in-promoting frivolous products than in promoting practical products. This research extends prior work on the effects of bundling complementary positive outcomes into the domain of affect-based complementarity with product-charity bundles. Copyright 1998 by the University of Chicago.
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Consumers often set budgets for categories of expenses (e.g., entertainment) and track expenses against their budget. Because budgets cannot perfectly anticipate consumption opportunities, people may earmark too much or too little money for a particular category. This leads them to overconsume or underconsume goods in that category. The results of three studies suggest that consumers do indeed set budgets and that budgeting may lead to underconsumption. To show that consumers track expenses, the studies demonstrate that budgeting effects are larger for purchases that are highly typical of their category. Such purchases reduce the amount people spend in a category and block the purchase of other typical items. The studies control for satiation and income effects; thus, budgeting adds predictive power to standard economic consumer theory. Copyright 1996 by the University of Chicago.
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This article reports the results of a study meant to portray a detailed picture of self-gift experiences in four contexts, focusing notably on reward and therapeutic self-gifts. Extending prior conceptual discussions, the findings suggest that self-gifts are a form of personally symbolic self-communication through special indulgences that tend to be premeditated and highly context bound. Discussion centers on theoretical implications and future directions for self-gift research. Overall, self-gifts represent a complex class of personal acquisitions that offer intriguing insights on self-directed consumer behavior. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
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The differential attention model and the cognitive elaboration model suggest vivid information has certain properties that exert greater influence on attitudinal judgments than does nonvivid information. To test these models, subjects evaluated alternatives described in terms of vivid and nonvivid attributes and elaborated on the material in high and low elaboration conditions. Our results demonstrate disproportionate influence for vivid versus nonvivid attributes included in the same description only in the high elaboration condition. Findings suggest that cognitive elaboration may be a necessary condition to produce an effect for vividness on attitudes.
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In this far-ranging and innovative study Christopher Berry explores the meanings and ramifications of the idea of luxury. Insights from political theory, philosophy and intellectual history are utilised in a sophisticated conceptual analysis that is complemented by a series of specific historical investigations. Dr Berry suggests that the value attached to luxury is a crucial component in any society's self-understanding, and shows how luxury has changed from being essentially a negative term, threatening social virtue, to a guileless ploy supporting consumption. His analytic focus upon the interplay between the notions of need and desire suggests that luxuries fall into four categories - sustenance, shelter, clothing and leisure - and these are exemplified in sources as diverse as classical philosophy and contemporary advertising.
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Although frequency programs (FPs) have become ubiquitous in the marketplace and a key marketing-mix tool for promoting customer relationship and loyalty, little is known about the factors that determine how such programs are evaluated by consumers. The authors investigate the impact of the level of effort participants must invest to obtain the reward on the types of rewards they prefer and, consequently, on the decision to join the FP. In particular, the authors propose that higher required effort shifts consumer preferences from necessity to luxury rewards, because higher efforts reduce the guilt that is often associated with choosing luxuries over necessities. A series of studies with approximately 3100 consumers demonstrated that (1) higher program requirements shift preferences in favor of luxury rewards, (2) this effect is also observed when consumers choose between luxury and necessity rewards (of the same value) that they themselves proposed, and (3) the effect of program requirements on reward preferences is stronger among consumers who tend to feel guilty about luxury consumption and among those for whom the effort is invested in the context of work rather than pleasure. In addition, contrary to an alternative explanation based on the notion that higher requirements signal higher value of luxury rewards, the authors show that (1) when the program requirements are held constant but the individual consumer's effort is higher, the shift in preference toward luxuries is still observed and (2) increasing the monetary cost of participating in the FP decreases consumer preferences for luxury rewards. The authors discuss the theoretical implications of this research and the practical implications with respect to the design, targeting, and promotion of FPs.
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This text book was originally published in 1963. It is now in its 12rth edition and re-titled Economics and co-authored with Alec Chrystal. It was originally written to promote the Poppperian view that empirically interesting proposition must be potentially testable i.e., capable of being confronted with conflicting evidence. This in contrast to the then-prevailing view in the UK that was stated by Robbins in the Nature and Significance that theories are tested by examining the intuitive plausibility of their assumptions. Greatly changed over the decades, the 4th edition is be best one to catch the thrust and content of the original.. .
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Pigeons were trained to peck either of two response keys for food reinforcement on equated aperiodic schedules. The distribution of responding at the two keys was studied as reinforcement was delayed for various durations. The relative frequency of responding at each key was shown to match the relative immediacy of reinforcement, immediacy defined as the reciprocal of the delay of reinforcement.
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Two consumer strategies for the purchase of multiple items from a product class are contrasted. In one strategy (simultaneous choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys several items on one shopping trip and consumes the items over several consumption occasions. In the other strategy (sequential choices/sequential consumption), the consumer buys one item at a time, just before each consumption occasion. The first strategy is posited to yield more variety seeking than the second. The greater variety seeking is attributed to forces operating in the simultaneous choices/sequential consumption strategy, including uncertainty about future preferences and a desire to simplify the decision. Evidence from three studies, two involving real products and choices, is consistent with these conjectures. The implications and limitations of the results are discussed.
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The authors propose that consumers' preferences are systematically affected by whether they make direct comparisons between brands (e.g., a choice task) or evaluate brands individually (e.g., purchase likelihood ratings). In particular, "comparable" attributes, which produce precise and easy-to-compute comparisons (e.g., price), tend to be relatively more important in comparison-based tasks. Conversely, "enriched" attributes (e.g., brand name), which are more difficult to compare but are often more meaningful and informative when evaluated on their own, tend to receive relatively greater weight when preferences are formed on the basis of separate evaluations of individual options. Consistent with this analysis, systematic preference reversals were observed in a series of studies, which tested the proposed explanation on the basis of attribute-task compatibility, demonstrated that the findings generalize across preference elicitation tasks and attributes that have the characteristics prescribed by their theory, and examined rival accounts. The authors discuss the theoretical implications of this research and explore its consequences for the measurement of buyers' preferences and for marketers' pricing, merchandising, distribution, and communications strategies.
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Self-control is a promising concept for consumer research, and self-control failure may be an important cause of impulsive purchasing. Three causes of self-control failure are described. First, conflicting goals and standards undermine control, such as when the goal of feeling better immediately conflicts with the goal of saving money. Second, failure to keep track of (monitor) one's own behavior renders control difficult. Third, self-control depends on a resource that operates like strength or energy, and depletion of this resource makes self-control less effective. Trait differences in self-control predict many behaviors. Implications for theory and research in consumer behavior are discussed.
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People have self-control problems: We pursue immediate gratification in a way that we ourselves do not appreciate in the long run. Only recently have economists considered the behavioral and welfare implications of such time-inconsistent preferences. This paper outlines a simple formal model of self-control problems, applies this model to some specific economic applications, and discusses some general lessons and open questions in the economic analysis of immediate gratification. We emphasize the importance of the timing of the rewards and costs of an activity, as well as a person's awareness of future self-control problems. We identify situations where knowing about self-control problems helps a person and situations where it hurts her, and also identify situations where even mild self-control problems can severely damage a person. In the process, we describe specific implications of self-control problems for addiction, incentive theory, and consumer choice and marketing. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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This paper presents a problem which I believe has not heretofore been analysed2 and provides a theory to explain, under different circumstances, three related phenomena: (1) spendthriftiness; (2) the deliberate regimenting of one’s future economic behaviour— even at a cost; and (3) thrift. The senses in which we deal with these topics can probably not be very well understood, however, until after the paper has been read; but a few sentences at this point may shed some light on what we are up to.
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This paper defines hedonic consumption as those facets of consumer behavior that relate to the multisensory, fantasy and emotive aspects of product usage experience. After delineating these concepts, their theoretical antecedents are traced, followed by a discussion of differences between the traditional and hedonic views, methodological implications of the latter approach, and behavioral propositions in four substantive areas relevant to hedonic consumption-mental constructs, product classes, product usage and individual differences. Conclusions concern the usefulness of the hedonic perspective in supplementing and extending marketing research on consumer behavior.
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The hedonic principle that people approach pleasure and avoid pain has been the basic motivational principle throughout the history of psychology. This principle underlies motivational models across all levels of analysis in psychology from the biological to social. However, it is noted that the hedonic principle is very basic and is limited as an explanatory variable. Almost any area of motivation can be discussed in terms of the hedonic principle. This chapter describes two different ways in which the hedonic principle operates—namely, one with a promotion focus and other with a prevention focus. These different ways of regulating pleasure and pain, called “regulatory focus,” have a major impact on people's feelings, thoughts, and actions that is independent of the hedonic principle per se. The chapter also presents some background information about another regulatory variable, called the “regulatory reference.” A self-regulatory system with a positive reference value essentially has a desired end state as the reference point.
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Hypothesized that windfall gains are spent more readily than other types of assets. Three questionnaire studies supported this hypothesis and led to the conclusion that the unanticipated nature of windfall gains is responsible for their heightened proclivity to be spent. This hypothesis was then tested in 2 studies using actual money. In both studies, 1 group of male undergraduates was told 1 to 5 days before an experiment that they would be paid for their participation, whereas another group was told about the money only after they arrived at the experiment. In the 1st cash study, those who were given no forewarning of the money bet significantly more during a gambling game than did those who anticipated the payment. In the 2nd cash study, those who did not anticipate the money spent more money at a basketball game than did those who anticipated the money. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
In contrast to logical criteria of rationality, which can be assessed entirely by reference to the system of preferences, substantive criteria of rational choice refer to an independent evaluation of the outcomes of decisions. One of these substantive criteria is the experienced hedonic utility of outcomes. Research indicates that people are myopic in their decisions, may lack skill in predicting their future tastes, and can be led to erroneous choices by fallible memory and incorrect evaluation of past experiences. Theoretical and practical implications of these challenges to the assumption of economic rationality are discussed.
Book
Originally published in 1976, this classic work helped to establish the legitimacy of understanding economic behaviour in psychological terms. Its central theme was that, despite the economic abundance that Americans enjoyed in the mid-twentieth century, they were at heart dissatisfied with much of their lives. Mainstream economics could not account for this kind of reaction and Scitovsky sought to explain it in theories that combined economics with psychology. Scitovsky has revised the last chapter and added a new chapter dealing with some contemporary aspects. In addition, Robert Frank, author of Choosing the Right Pond (OUP, 1985) has written a foreword.
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In the standard economic account of consumer behavior the cost of a purchase takes the form of a reduction in future utility when expenditures that otherwise could have been made are forgone. The reality of consumer hedonics is different. When people make purchases, they often experience an immediate pain of paying, which can undermine the pleasure derived from consumption. The ticking of the taxi meter, for example, reduces one's pleasure from the ride. We propose a “double-entry” mental accounting theory that describes the nature of these reciprocal interactions between the pleasure of consumption and the pain of paying and draws out their implications for consumer behavior and hedonics. A central assumption of the model, which we call prospective accounting, is that consumption that has already been paid for can be enjoyed as if it were free and that the pain associated with payments made prior to consumption (but not after) is buffered by thoughts of the benefits that the payments will finance. Another important concept is coupling, which refers to the degree to which consumption calls to mind thoughts of payment, and vice versa. Some financing methods, such as credit cards, tend to weaken coupling, whereas others, such as cash payment, produce tight coupling. Our model makes a variety of predictions that are at variance with economic formulations. Contrary to the standard prediction that people will finance purchases to minimize the present value of payments, our model predicts strong debt aversion—that they should prefer to prepay for consumption or to get paid for work after it is performed. Such pay-before sequences confer hedonic benefits because consumption can be enjoyed without thinking about the need to pay for it in the future. Likewise, when paying beforehand, the pain of paying is mitigated by thoughts of future consumption benefits. Contrary to the economic prediction that consumers should prefer to pay, at the margin, for what they consume, our model predicts that consumers will find it less painful to pay for, and hence will prefer, flat-rate pricing schemes such as unlimited Internet access at a fixed monthly price, even if it involves paying more for the same usage. Other predictions concern spending patterns with cash, charge, or credit cards, and preferences for the earmarking of purchases. We test these predictions in a series of surveys and in a conjoint-like analysis that pitted our double-entry mental accounting model against a standard discounting formulation and another benchmark that did not incorporate hedonic interactions between consumption and payments. Our model provides a better fit of the data for 60% of the subjects; the discounting formulation provides a better fit for only 29% of the subjects (even when allowing for positive and negative discount rates). The pain of paying, we argue, plays an important role in consumer self-regulation, but is hedonically costly. From a hedonic perspective the ideal situation is one in which payments are tightly coupled to consumption (so that paying evokes thoughts about the benefits being financed) but consumption is decoupled from payments (so that consumption does not evoke thoughts about payment). From an efficiency perspective, however, it is important for consumers to be aware of what they are paying for consumption. This creates a tension between hedonic efficiency and what we call decision efficiency. Various institutional arrangements, such as financing of public parks through taxes or usage fees, play into this tradeoff. A producer developing a pricing structure for their product or service should be aware of these two conflicting objectives, and should try to devise a structure that reconciles them.
Article
Recent research has demonstrated that choices between gambles are systematically influenced by the way they are expressed. Kahneman and Tversky's Prospect Theory (Kahneman, D., A. Tversky. 1979. Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica 47(2) 363--391.) explains many of these "framing" effects as shifts in the point of reference from which prospects are evaluated. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the reference point concept to intertemporal choice. Three experiments demonstrate that when people choose between immediate and delayed consumption, the reference point used to evaluate alternatives can significantly influence choice. The first study elicited relative preference for immediate and delayed consumption using three methods, each of which differently framed choices between alternatives offering identical end-state consumption. The conventional discounted utility model predicts that the three methods of elicitation should yield similar estimates of time preference, but preferences were found to differ in accordance with a reference point model. The second and third studies extend and replicate the results from the first, the third using real rather than hypothetical choices.
Article
Research extending over twenty years in behavioral decision theory has led to the development of two important research streams—mental accounting and reason-based choice. This paper explores recent research on the role of mental accounting and reason-based choice in the construction of consumer preferences. Evidence suggests that the principles of mental accounting often regulate the purchase and consumption of luxuries and that reasons may play an important part in this process. In particular, buying and consuming luxury goods tends to call for reasons and justification and can evoke intra-personal conflict that might be resolved with the aid of mental accounting. Moreover, reasons can serve as important building blocks in the formation and grouping of mental accounts. The current paper also discusses the construction of preferences as a process where, in certain cases, consumers choose reasons rather than options. Among other things, focusing on reasons can lead to discrepancies between decisions and consumption experiences, preference intransitivity, and unconventional choices. Directions for future research are discussed.
Article
Mental accounting is an oft-discussed type of decision framing in which individuals are hypothesized to form psychological accounts of the advantages and disadvantages of an event or option. Most discussions of mental accounting have focused on the consequences of framing decisions in this manner rather than on the processes underlying mental accounting. Close examination of these processes suggests they are the same as the processes described in categorization, schema, and script theories. The present manuscript provides insights into the processes hypothesized to underlie mental accounting. This is accomplished by documenting the conceptual equivalence of selected categorization and mental accounting principles and by using empirical data to illustrate the similarity of the principles. In doing so, a mental account is treated as a type of category.
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This paper considers the role of reasons and arguments in the making of decisions. It is proposed that, when faced with the need to choose, decision makers often seek and construct reasons in order to resolve the conflict and justify their choice, to themselves and to others. Experiments that explore and manipulate the role of reasons are reviewed, and other decision studies are interpreted from this perspective. The role of reasons in decision making is considered as it relates to uncertainty, conflict, context effects, and normative decision rules.
Article
The economic theory of the consumer is a combination of positive and normative theories. Since it is based on a rational maximizing model it describes how consumers should choose, but it is alleged to also describe how they do choose. This paper argues that in certain well-defined situations many consumers act in a manner that is inconsistent with economic theory. In these situations economic theory will make systematic errors in predicting behavior. Kanneman and Tversey's prospect theory is proposed as the basis for an alternative descriptive theory. Topics discussed are: undeweighting of opportunity costs, failure to ignore sunk costs, scarch behavior choosing not to choose and regret, and precommitment and self-control.
Article
Why do consumers sometimes act against their own better judgment, engaging in behavior that is often regretted after the fact and that would have been rejected with adequate forethought? More generally, how do consumers attempt to maintain self-control in the face of time-inconsistent preferences? This article addresses consumer impatience by developing a decision-theoretic model based on reference points. The model explains how and why consumers experience sudden increases in desire for a product, increases that can result in the temporary overriding of long-term preferences. Tactics that consumers use to control their own behavior are also discussed. Consumer self-control is framed as a struggle between two psychological forces, desire and willpower. Finally, two general classes of self-control strategies are described: those that directly reduce desire, and those that overcome desire through willpower. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.