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The Asymmetrical Effects of Emotional Loneliness vs. Social Loneliness on Consumers’ Food Preferences
Abstract
Loneliness, or perceived isolation, has been shown to engender unhealthy food consumption and obesity. In this research, we present loneliness as a multi-faceted phenomenon, comprised of social loneliness (stemming from deprivation of a broad social network or group membership) and emotional loneliness (stemming from lack of an intimate emotional attachment). Across four experiments conducted in online and lab settings, we find that different types of loneliness have asymmetrical effects on individuals' food attitudes and actual consumption, mediated by self-regulation. The research has significant implications to public health, consumer well-being, and social campaigns.
... The results of our study confirmed not only the emotional patterns of food consumption but also the emotional nature of snack consumption. Both positive and negative emotions shape food consumption, but negative ones have a greater impact, consistent with the findings of Saine and Zhao (2021). Cluster analysis revealed four patterns of emotional eating, three of which (WE, NE, and PE), covering over 78% of the respondents, indicate the influence of emotions (Figure 1). ...
Emotions are the effect but also the cause of eating behaviors, including the purchase and consumption of snacks. As snacks become an increasingly prevalent segment of the food industry, their consumption has been linked to rising rates of overweight, obesity, and diet-related diseases. Understanding how emotional valence influences consumer attitudes and behaviors toward snacks is therefore crucial. This study explores the relationship between emotional eating and the propensity to consume unhealthy snacks, both sweet and salty. A survey of 707 representative participants revealed distinct emotional patterns in snack consumption, with choices significantly influenced by consumers' emotional states and personal preferences. Furthermore, individuals who frequently opted for unhealthy snacks typically exhibited poorer health and financial profiles.
... In response to this expansion, scholars have sought to understand solo versus group diners' decision-making processes (Han et al., 2022;Shin et al., 2018). Studies show that solo dining is associated with a relative lack of social connectedness (Garg et al., 2007;Her & Seo, 2018;Ratner & Hamilton, 2015;Saine & Zhao, 2021); as such, solo diners tend to exhibit a stronger need for belongingness and are susceptible to cues signaling opportunities for social affiliation (Hwang et al., 2020;Shin et al., 2018). ...
Restaurants post alluring images of their food offerings on social media and online ordering platforms. However, the marketing literature has offered limited guidance on how consumers process and respond to online food images and effective visual design strategies. From a sensory imagery perspective, this research examines color saturation as a marketing strategy that shapes consumers’ responses to online food images. Findings from two experimental studies demonstrate that food images presented with high (vs. low) color saturation can effectively boost consumers’ purchase intention. Furthermore, the effects of color saturation are influenced by visual distance (distal vs. proximal) and consumption context (solitary vs. social). More specifically, the advantage of high color saturation is attenuated when a food item appears visually proximal or when social consumption is anticipated. Serial mediation analyses suggest that heightened freshness and tastiness perceptions drive the color saturation effect. Visual design strategies for marketing online food images are discussed.
... The research literature distinguishes between social loneliness and emotional loneliness (Weiss, 1973;Wright et al., 2006), and suggests that the negative effect of emotional loneliness on a person's functioning is stronger than that of social loneliness. Therefore, emotional loneliness may reinforce negative arousal (Saine & Zhao, 2021) and be more strongly associated with emotional problems, such as an unhealthy self-perception and social withdrawal (Qualter & Munn, 2002). It has also been shown that as compared to social loneliness, emotional loneliness is more strongly associated with difficulty solving behavior problems (Ernst & Cacioppo, 1999;Russell et al., 1984) and lack of life satisfaction (Salimi, 2011). ...
The study explored vice-principals’ interpretations of their loneliness experiences in the workplace. The following questions guided the research: (1) How do vice-principals perceive the consequences of their loneliness in regard to their personal and professional lives? (2) In what ways do vice-principals perceive that their loneliness experiences are manifested? Based on 19 semi-structured interviews with Israeli school vice-principals, six categories illustrating the consequences of loneliness in the workplace were found. More than half of the vice-principals highlighted emotional consequences, and primarily noted that their loneliness was largely expressed as feeling a lack of belonging. The other vice-principals highlighted functional consequences and primarily indicated that their loneliness was marked by an absence of emotional support. Empirical and practical suggestions are discussed.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effects of both transient and chronic loneliness on consumers’ variety-seeking (VS) behavior and to identify the various underlying mechanisms involved.
Design/methodology/approach
Four studies were adopted to clarify how transient and chronic loneliness affect consumers’ VS behavior.
Findings
Both transient and chronic loneliness promote consumers’ VS behavior. More importantly, the effect of transient loneliness on VS behavior is driven by perceived loss of control, whereas the effect of chronic loneliness on VS behavior is driven by need for uniqueness and sensation-seeking.
Research limitations/implications
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the differential roles of transient and chronic loneliness on VS behavior, which may open new avenues for future research. First, future research could investigate moderators that influence the impacts of transient and chronic loneliness on VS behavior. Second, future research could examine different participant populations and use cognitive neuroscience techniques to further verify the differential roles of these two types of loneliness on VS behavior.
Practical implications
This research contributes to marketing practice by providing practical guidance on how to effectively design different marketing strategies to promote VS for consumers with different types of loneliness. For consumers with transient loneliness, marketers can benefit from a concerted focus on improving consumers’ sense of control. Yet, for consumers with chronic loneliness, marketing strategies that improve consumers’ need for uniqueness will be more effective.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature on loneliness and consumer behavior, which has largely overlooked the distinct roles of different types of loneliness (i.e. transient vs chronic loneliness) in influencing consumer behavior. Specifically, this paper conducted a comparative analysis of the impacts of transient and chronic loneliness on consumers’ VS behavior and proposed that transient and chronic loneliness promote consumers’ VS behavior through divergent underlying mechanisms.
Sosyal medya kullanımı ve psikolojik iyi oluş göstergeleri etrafında yoğunlaşan son dönem iletişim araştırmalarına, bir katkı sunmayı amaçlayan bu çalışmada, Konya’da 18 yaş ve üzeri 694 kişiyle çevrim içi anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Anket formunda; katılımcıların yalnızlık düzeyi, olumlu olumsuz deneyim düzeyi, sosyal medya kullanımı ve bireysel nitelikleri belirlemeye yönelik ölçeklere yer verilmiştir. Katılımcıların %53,5’i kadın (N=371), %46,5’i erkektir (N=323). Katılımcılar düşük düzeyde yalnızlık hissetmektedir ( =2,0542). Katılımcılar yüksek düzeyde olumlu ( =3,5843) ve orta düzeyde olumsuz deneyim düzeyine ( =2,7015) sahiptir. Katılımcılar günlük ortalama 41,27 dakika sosyal medya kullanmaktadır. Katılımcıların olumlu deneyim düzeyi ile yalnızlık düzeyi arasında negatif ilişki görülmektedir. Katılımcıların olumsuz deneyim düzeyi ile yalnızlık düzeyleri arasında pozitif korelasyon bulunmaktadır. Twitter, YouTube ve Instagram kullanımı olumlu deneyim düzeyi ile negatif, olumsuz deneyim düzeyiyle pozitif ilişkilidir. YouTube kullanımı ile yalnızlık düzeyi arasında pozitif korelasyon vardır. Arkadaşlar kurma ve oyun oynama amacıyla sosyal medya kullanımı ile yalnızlık düzeyi arasında pozitif korelasyon bulunmaktadır. Katılımcıların eğitim düzeyleri arttıkça olumlu duyguları azalmakta, olumsuz duyguları artmaktadır. Lisans ve lisansüstü eğitim seviyesinde olumlu deneyim düzeyi düşük, olumsuz deneyim düzeyi diğer eğitim seviyelerine göre yüksektir. Öğrencilerin yalnızlık düzeyi anlamlı bir şekilde diğer mesleklere göre daha yüksektir. Diğer yandan öğrencilerin olumlu deneyim düzeyi diğer meslek gruplarına göre düşükken, öğrencilerin olumsuz deneyim düzeyi ise diğer meslek grupların göre daha yüksektir.
Purpose
This study aims to explore the phenomenon of visceral food pleasure, described as a unitary experience that, after an initial sense of pleasure and relief generated by the satisfaction of eating impulses, is followed by negative feelings – such as guilt and worry – linked to the consumption of hedonic or unhealthy foods.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory approach has been adopted. In particular, the critical incident technique among 87 individuals has been used to extract insights about visceral food pleasure.
Findings
Contrary to previous research results, this study shows that viscearl food pleasure is not a unitary phenomenon, identifying four types of different facets, two of which have a negative valence in terms of felt emotions post-consumption and psychological well-being (i.e. the “greedy” and the “maladaptive” experiences). More importantly, the other two facets are associated with positive consequences in terms of emotions felt post-consumption and perceived psychological well-being (i.e. the “social” and the “fair sin” experiences).
Practical implications
Companies that provide food experiences can prime meanings that influence consumers’ perceptions of the episode to elicit positive emotions post-consumption and psychological well-being.
Social implications
Promoting a more holistic view of food consumption and psychological well-being can free consumers from negative emotions during food consumption episodes. Priming a particular meaning can be a way to do that. However, as visceral experience can still lead to health issues, this must be combined with an education process that makes consumers aware of their food habits.
Originality/value
This research challenges the idea that visceral food experiences are always negative. Indeed, when associated with particular meanings (i.e. social and reward), they have a positive valence post-consumption.
Three studies examined the effects of randomly assigned messages of social exclusion. In all 3 studies, significant and large decrements in intelligent thought (including IQ and Graduate Record Examination test performance) were found among people told they were likely to end up alone in life. The decline in cognitive performance was found in complex cognitive tasks such as effortful logic and reasoning: simple information processing remained intact despite the social exclusion. The effects were specific to social exclusion, as participants who received predictions of future nonsocial misfortunes (accidents and injuries) performed well on the cognitive tests. The cognitive impairments appeared to involve reductions in both speed (effort) and accuracy. The effect was not mediated by mood.
Prior research has shown that psychological threat can provoke consumers to desire, seek out, and acquire products that symbolize accomplishment in the domain of the threat. Although such within-domain compensation can serve as a psychological salve to repair the self, the current research suggests that sometimes this form of compensation can have ill effects. Specifically, engaging in within-domain compensation can trigger ruminative thinking about the threat. As a consequence, performance in subsequent tasks that require self-regulation is undermined. In support of this hypothesis, multiple experiments demonstrate that within-domain compensation impairs subsequent self-regulation on behaviors ranging from resisting tempting but unhealthy food to performing cognitively taxing tasks. Evidence that within-domain compensation fosters ruminative thought, as well as documentation of boundary conditions, is provided.
Objective
Social Baseline Theory (SBT) proposes that close relationships aid in metabolic resource management and that individuals without significant relationships may experience more demands on their own neural metabolic resources on a daily basis when solving problems, remaining vigilant against potential threats and regulating emotional responses. This study tests a hypothesised consequence derived from SBT: relative social isolation leads to increased levels of sugar intake.
Methods
Based on cross-sectional, self-reported data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (N = 90 084), information on social integration and the consumption of both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened sodas and juices was obtained from a large number of women in early pregnancy. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess whether loneliness, marital status, relationship satisfaction, advice from others than partner, and cohesion at work is associated with consumption of sodas and juices.
Results
Perceived loneliness was associated with elevated intake of all sugary beverages, while relationship satisfaction was negatively associated with all sugary beverages. Being married or cohabitating, having supportive friends, and having a sense of togetherness at work were associated with lower intake of two out of three sugar-containing beverages. These associations were significant, even after controlling for factors such as body mass index, weight related self-image, depression, physical activity, educational level, age and income. In comparison, a statistically significant relationship emerged between relationship satisfaction and artificially sweetened cola. No other predictor variables were significantly associated with any type of artificially sweetened beverage.
Conclusions
This study indicates that loneliness and social integration influence the level of consumption of sugary beverages. The results support the hypothesis derived from the Social Baseline Theory that relative social isolation leads to increased levels of sugar intake.
Social exclusion has been shown to produce a number of different responses. This research examines the proposition that social exclusion may produce either self-focused or prosocial responses, depending on which needs are threatened. Different types of social exclusion threaten different needs, which in turn produce distinct outcomes (differential needs hypothesis). Social exclusion in the form of being implicitly ignored increased conspicuous consumption, whereas being explicitly rejected increased helping and donation behavior. However, when efficacy needs (power, meaningful existence) were bolstered, the effects of being ignored were eliminated, whereas when relational needs (self-esteem) were bolstered, the effects of being rejected were eliminated. The results indicate that certain types of social exclusion produce prosocial responses, whereas others produce self-focused and attention-getting responses.
Marketers, educators, and caregivers often refer to instrumental benefits to convince
preschoolers to eat (e.g., “this food will make you strong”). We propose that preschoolers infer
that if food is instrumental to achieve a goal, it is less tasty, and therefore they consume less of it.
Accordingly, we find that preschoolers (3-5.5 years old) rated crackers as less tasty and
consumed fewer of them when the crackers were presented as instrumental to achieve a health
goal (studies 1-2). In addition, preschoolers consumed fewer carrots and crackers when these
were presented as instrumental to knowing how to read (study 3) and count (studies 4-5). This
research supports an inference account for the negative impact of certain persuasive messages on
consumption: preschoolers who are exposed to one association (e.g., between eating carrots and
intellectual performance) infer another association (e.g., between carrots and taste) must be
weaker.
This research examines the effects of social exclusion on a critical aspect of con-sumer behavior, financial decision-making. Specifically, four lab experiments and one field survey uncover how feeling isolated or ostracized causes consumers to pursue riskier but potentially more profitable financial opportunities. These daring proclivities do not appear driven by impaired affect or self-esteem. Rather, inter-personal rejection exacerbates financial risk-taking by heightening the instrumen-tality of money (as a substitute for popularity) to obtain benefits in life. Invariably, the quest for wealth that ensues tends to adopt a riskier but potentially more lucrative road. The article concludes by discussing the implications of its findings for behavioral research as well as for societal and individual welfare.
Despite the popularity of social networks and technologies that intend to enhance social interaction, more Americans feel lonely now than before. This research examines how loneliness affects consumers’ responses to consensus-related social cues in marketing contexts. Results from three studies show that lonely consumers prefer minority-endorsed products, whereas nonlonely consumers prefer majority-endorsed products. However, this pattern occurs only when consumers’ product preferences are kept private. When product preferences are subject to public scrutiny, lonely consumers shift their preferences to majority-endorsed products. Results also reveal the underlying mechanisms. Minority-endorsed products fit better with the feelings of loneliness, and this fit mediates the effect of loneliness and endorsement type (i.e., majority vs. minority endorsement) on product evaluations in private consumption contexts. Yet, when their preferences are subject to public scrutiny, lonely consumers are concerned about being negatively evaluated by others, and this concern causes them to conform to the majority.
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Sadness influences consumption, leading individuals to pay more to acquire new goods and to eat more unhealthy food than they would otherwise. These undesirable consumption effects of sadness can occur without awareness, thus representing more than just conscious attempts at “retail therapy.” In an experiment with real food consumption, the present paper examines the hypothesis that sadness' impact on consumption could be attenuated if the choice context counteracted appraisals of helplessness and enhanced a sense of individual control. Results revealed that: (1) sadness elevates self-reports of helplessness in response to the emotion-inducing situation, (2) helplessness mediates the sadness–consumption effect, and (3) inducing a sense of control (via choice) attenuates sadness' effect.
Food marketing is often singled out as the leading cause of the obesity epidemic. The present review examines current food marketing practices to determine how exactly they may be influencing food intake, and how food marketers could meet their business objectives while helping people eat healthier. Particular attention is paid to the insights provided by recently published studies in the areas of marketing and consumer research, and those insights are integrated with findings from studies in nutrition and related disciplines. The review begins with an examination of the multiple ways in which 1) food pricing strategies and 2) marketing communication (including branding and food claims) bias food consumption. It then describes the effects of newer and less conspicuous marketing actions, focusing on 3) packaging (including the effects of package design and package-based claims) and 4) the eating environment (including the availability, salience, and convenience of food). Throughout, this review underscores the promising opportunities that food manufacturers and retailers have to make profitable "win-win" adjustments to help consumers eat better.
When people's deeply ingrained need for social connection is thwarted by social exclusion, profound psychological consequences ensue. Despite the fact that social connections and consumption are central facets of daily life, little empirical attention has been devoted to understanding how belongingness threats impact consumer behavior. In four experiments, we tested the hypothesis that social exclusion causes people to spend and consume strategically in the service of affiliation. Relative to controls, excluded participants were more likely to buy a product symbolic of group membership (but not practical or self-gift items), tailor their spending preferences to the preferences of an interaction partner, spend money on an unappealing food item favored by a peer, and report being willing to try an illegal drug, but only when doing so boosted their chances of commencing social connections. Overall, results suggest that socially excluded people sacrifice personal and financial well-being for the sake of social well-being.
This research examines potential explanations of why consumers have difficulty making personal financial decisions that will be most beneficial in the long run. Within the decision context of retirement savings, results from an experiment suggest that self-regulatory state, future orientation, and financial knowledge can influence consumer evaluations and intentions related to retirement investments (i.e., a 401(k) plan). Findings suggest that consumers who express higher levels of future orientation are more likely to participate in a retirement plan, an effect moderated by self-regulatory state. Results also suggest that financial knowledge and orientation toward the future can interact to influence the likelihood of 401(k) plan participation. Among consumers with a basic level of financial knowledge, future-oriented consumers expressed a greater likelihood to participate in a retirement plan than less future–oriented consumers. However, in the absence of knowledge, consumers’ orientation toward the future did not influence the likelihood of 401(k) plan participation.
Although incidental affect has been shown to influence both attitude and purchase behavior, it has not been extended to actual consumption. This research investigates whether specific affective states influence food consumption and whether this influence is moderated by factors such as information and the nature of the product (hedonic versus less hedonic). The authors show that an integrative mood management and mood evaluation framework accounts for this relationship more effectively than a self-regulation explanation. A preliminary test and two lab studies show that people eat larger amounts of hedonic foods (buttered popcorn and M&M's) when they are in a sad state than when they are in a happy state and that this effect is attenuated when nutritional information is present. In contrast, they tend to eat larger amounts of a less hedonic product (raisins) when they are in a happy state than when they are in a sad state. The authors discuss implications for responsible marketers, health professionals, and health conscious consumers in the context of campaigns and individual efforts.
The individual self comprise unique attributes, the relational self comprises partner-shared attributes, and the collective
self comprises ingroup-shared attributes. All selves are fundamental components of the self-concept, with each being important
and meaningful to human experience and with each being associated with health benefits. Are the selves, however, equally important
and meaningful? We review a program of research that tested four competing theoretical views suggesting that the motivational
hub of human experience is (a) the individual self, (b) the relational self, (b) the collective self, or (c) determined by
contextual or cultural factors. The research furnished support to the view that the individual self is the primary form of
self-definition. We discuss alternative explanations and implications. We end with the introduction of a theoretical model,
the boomerang model, that has the potential to integrate the diverse literature on the topic.
KeywordsSelf–Individual self–Relational self–Collective self–Feedback
The brain occupies a special hierarchical position in human energy metabolism. If cerebral homeostasis is threatened, the brain behaves in a “selfish” manner by competing for energy resources with the body. Here we present a logistic approach, which is based on the principles of supply and demand known from economics. In this “cerebral supply chain” model, the brain constitutes the final consumer. In order to illustrate the operating mode of the cerebral supply chain, we take experimental data which allow assessing the supply, demand and need of the brain under conditions of psychosocial stress. The experimental results show that the brain under conditions of psychosocial stress actively demands energy from the body, in order to cover its increased energy needs. The data demonstrate that the stressed brain uses a mechanism referred to as “cerebral insulin suppression” to limit glucose fluxes into peripheral tissue (muscle, fat) and to enhance cerebral glucose supply. Furthermore psychosocial stress elicits a marked increase in eating behavior in the post-stress phase. Subjects ingested more carbohydrates without any preference for sweet ingredients. These experimentally observed changes of cerebral demand, supply and need are integrated into a logistic framework describing the supply chain of the selfish brain.
As a social species, humans rely on a safe, secure social surround to survive and thrive. Perceptions of social isolation, or loneliness, increase vigilance for threat and heighten feelings of vulnerability while also raising the desire to reconnect. Implicit hypervigilance for social threat alters psychological processes that influence physiological functioning, diminish sleep quality, and increase morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this paper is to review the features and consequences of loneliness within a comprehensive theoretical framework that informs interventions to reduce loneliness. We review physical and mental health consequences of loneliness, mechanisms for its effects, and effectiveness of extant interventions. Features of a loneliness regulatory loop are employed to explain cognitive, behavioral, and physiological consequences of loneliness and to discuss interventions to reduce loneliness. Loneliness is not simply being alone. Interventions to reduce loneliness and its health consequences may need to take into account its attentional, confirmatory, and memorial biases as well as its social and behavioral effects.
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.
Consumers rated several qualitative attributes of ground beef that framed the beef as either ???75% lean??? or ???25% fat.??? The consumers' evaluations were more favorable toward the beef labeled ???75% lean??? than that labeled ???25% fat.??? More importantly, the magnitude of this information framing effect lessened when consumers actually tasted the meat. We discuss these results in terms of an averaging model, which suggests that a diagnostic product experience dilutes the impact of information framing.
How can the hedonistic assumption (i.e., people's willingness to pursue pleasure and avoid pain) be reconciled with people choosing to expose themselves to experiences known to elicit negative feelings? We assess how (1) the intensity of the negative feelings, (2) positive feelings in the aftermath, and (3) the coactivation of positive and negative feelings contribute to our understanding of such behavior. In a series of four studies, consumers with either approach or avoidance tendencies (toward horror movies) were asked to report their positive and/or negative feelings either after (experiment 1) or while (experiments 2, 3A, and 3B) they were exposed to a horror movie. We demonstrate how a model incorporating coactivation principles and enriched with a protective frame moderator (via detachment) can provide a more parsimonious and viable description of the affective reactions that result from counterhedonic behavior. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
This research investigated impulse buying as resulting from the depletion of a common-but limited-resource that governs self-control. In three investigations, participants' self-regulatory resources were depleted or not; later, impulsive spending responses were measured. Participants whose resources were depleted, relative to participants whose resources were not depleted, felt stronger urges to buy, were willing to spend more, and actually did spend more money in unanticipated buying situations. Participants having depleted resources reported being influenced equally by affective and cognitive factors and purchased products that were high on each factor at equal rates. Hence, self-regulatory resource availability predicts whether people can resist impulse buying temptations. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.
The tendency for people with high self-esteem to make inflated assessments and predictions about themselves carries the risk of making commitments that exceed capabilities, thus leading to failure. Ss chose their performance contingencies in a framework where larger rewards were linked to a greater risk of failure. In the absence of ego threat, Ss with high self-esteem showed superior self-regulation: They set appropriate goals and performed effectively. Ego threat, however, caused Ss with high self-esteem to set inappropriate, risky goals that were beyond their performance capabilities so they ended up with smaller rewards than Ss with low self-esteem. The results indicate the danger of letting egotistical illusions interfere with self-regulation processes.
This study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of an environmental intervention for improving diet by comparing the impact of health messages, lowered prices, and their combination on the purchase of healthy food items in a restaurant. Price decreases alone, rather than a combination of price decreases and health messages, were associated with a higher level of increased purchases of some healthy food items as compared with control items over a 4-month period. Price decreases may be a more powerful means than health messages of increasing consumption of healthy foods. Health messages may have paradoxical effects if foods labeled as healthy are assumed to taste bad.
Four experiments tested the idea that social exclusion leads to (unintentionally) self-defeating behavior. Exclusion was manipulated by telling some people that they were likely to end up alone later in life. This randomly assigned feedback caused people to take irrational, self-defeating risks (Experiments 1 and 2), choose unhealthy, rather than healthy, behaviors (Experiment 3), and procrastinate longer with pleasurable activities rather than practicing for an upcoming test (Experiment 4). A control group, who heard that their future would be marred by frequent accidents, did not show these self-defeating patterns. Thus, the effect goes beyond just hearing bad news. Emotional distress did not significantly mediate these effects across 3 different mood measures.
Six experiments showed that being excluded or rejected caused decrements in self-regulation. In Experiment 1, participants who were led to anticipate a lonely future life were less able to make themselves consume a healthy but bad-tasting beverage. In Experiment 2, some participants were told that no one else in their group wanted to work with them, and these participants later ate more cookies than other participants. In Experiment 3, excluded participants quit sooner on a frustrating task. In Experiments 4-6, exclusion led to impairment of attention regulation as measured with a dichotic listening task. Experiments 5 and 6 further showed that decrements in self-regulation can be eliminated by offering a cash incentive or increasing self-awareness. Thus, rejected people are capable of self-regulation but are normally disinclined to make the effort.
Individuals often rely on their affect for information. However, positive or negative affect may not be informative for individuals who are more prone to feel affect of this particular valence in general, unless they chronically monitor their internal states. A series of studies demonstrates that differences in individuals’ internal versus external focus of attention and in trait affective valence associated with their approach versus avoidance motivation determine reliance on affect as information. Specifically, our findings show that while positive affect is used as an input in product satisfaction judgments regardless of individuals’ approach versus avoidance motivation, negative affect is used only by individuals with a predominant approach motivation.
This article uses the functionalist perspective of emotion to demonstrate that the influence of sadness on indulgent consumption depends on the presence of a hedonic eating goal. Sadness heightens a person’s sensitivity to the potentially harmful consequences of indulgent consumption, which decreases indulgence when a hedonic eating goal is salient. As sadness is often associated with a loss, this protective function is geared toward preventing future losses. The execution of this function is mitigated by feelings of safety, a counterforce to concerns about the harmful consequences of goal pursuit. Alternatively, when a hedonic eating goal is not salient, or a salient goal does not have harmful consequences, sadness results in emotion regulation (i.e., indulging as a means of feeling better). This conceptualization and findings show that the effects of emotions on indulgent consumption can be goal-dependent, and that emotions can aid consumers in the balancing of long-term goals and well-being.
Research has consistently demonstrated that psychological threats to the self have a wide variety of consequences for consumer behavior. The present research introduces a novel perspective to this topic by proposing that psychologically distinct domains of threat may have a common underpinning in the coping strategies they evoke. Specifically, this paper presents the argument that distinct domains of threat can be linked to either approach motivations that foster more problem-focused coping or avoidance motivations that foster more emotion-focused coping. Multiple experiments offer systematic support for these propositions. Implications for both the psychological self-threat literature and the coping literature are discussed.
This research is the first to test the hypothesis that consumers face a “material trap” in which materialism fosters social isolation which in turn reinforces materialism. It provides evidence that materialism and loneliness are engaged in bidirectional relationships over time. Importantly, it finds that loneliness contributes more to materialism than the other way around. Moreover, it finds that materialism’s contribution to loneliness is not uniformly vicious but critically differs between specific subtypes of materialism. That is, valuing possessions as a happiness medicine or as a success measure increased loneliness, and these subtypes also increased most due to loneliness. Yet seeking possessions for material mirth decreased loneliness and was unaffected by it. These findings are based on longitudinal data from over 2,500 consumers across 6 years and a new latent growth model. They reveal how materialism and loneliness form a self-perpetuating vicious and virtuous cycle depending on the materialism subtype.
Levels of loneliness are relatively stable across most of adult life, but correlates of loneliness show age differences. We review evidence of age differences in associations between loneliness and individual differences in health behaviors, stress exposure, physiological stress responses, appraisal and coping, and restorative processes. The effects of each of these pathways endow loneliness with the capacity to accelerate the rate of physiological decline with age. Additional research across the lifespan is required to understand the nature of accrued loneliness effects on health behavior and physiology in the short and long term.
Eating out of the home is becoming more prevalent and although many aspects have been studied, emotions remain an under-researched area, despite having been shown to play a significant role in food consumption. The aim of this research, therefore, is to evaluate how emotions affect dietary choice and meal acceptability in a realistic eating environment. Diners (n = 408) in a student cafeteria completed a Pre-meal Emotional Status questionnaire, then chose and paid for their meal before finding a table/seat where it could be consumed. Once finished, they returned with their plate and completed a similar questionnaire. Results show that the rank order of emotions, as described by 47 words (expressions), demonstrate a greater propensity of positive over negative emotions. They were altered by eating a hot main meal where, in the main, they tended to be flattened. The variables, gender, eating alone or with others, age and year of study, were considered important, pre to post-meal. Males appear to be more positively disposed than females; the negative emotions, less clear by gender; eating alone heightens positive emotions; older subjects are more heightened negatively before a meal, which is flattened post-meal consumption; first year students’ emotions are heightened positively both pre and post-meal. Emotions had no influence on which meal (traditional, pizza, pasta and jacket potato with filling) was selected, although there was a weak association between the meals eaten and subsequent emotion. In general, positive emotions induced higher meal acceptability; negative emotions lowered acceptability scores; the variables, gender, eating alone or with others and age had no influence on meal acceptability, although year of study did.
Individuals often rely on their affect for information. However, positive or negative affect may not be informative for individuals who are more prone to feel affect of this particular valence in general, unless they chronically monitor their internal states. A series of studies demonstrates that differences in individuals' internal versus external focus of attention and in trait affective valence associated with their approach versus avoidance motivation determine reliance on affect as information. Specifically, our findings show that while positive affect is used as input in product satisfaction judgments regardless of individuals' approach versus avoidance motivation, negative affect is used only by individuals with a predominant approach motivation.
Despite the vast public policy efforts to promote the consumption of healthy foods and the public's growing concern with weight management, the proportion of overweight individuals continues to increase. An important factor contributing to this obesity trend is the misguided belief about the relationship between a meal's healthiness and its impact on weight gain, whereby people erroneously believe that eating healthy foods in addition to unhealthy ones can decrease a meal's calorie count. This research documents this misperception, showing that it is stronger among individuals most concerned with managing their weight—a striking result given that these individuals are more motivated to monitor their calorie intake. This finding has important public policy implications, suggesting that in addition to encouraging the adoption of a healthier lifestyle among overweight individuals, promoting the consumption of healthy foods might end up facilitating calorie overconsumption, leading to weight gain rather than weight loss.
The major patterns of self-regulatory failure are reviewed. Underregulation occurs because of deficient standards, inadequate monitoring, or inadequate strength. Misregulation occurs because of false assumptions or misdirected efforts, especially an unwarranted emphasis on emotion. The evidence supports a strength (limited resource) model of self-regulation and suggests that people often acquiesce in losing control. Loss of control of attention, failure of transcendence, and various lapse-activated causes all contribute to regulatory failure.
Describes loneliness as a natural response of the individual to certain situations and not as a form of weakness. Emotional and social isolation (as 2 distinct forms of loneliness) are delineated, as well as feelings of emptiness, anxiety, restlessness, and marginality. Examples from case studies are included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
examines the working-models component of attachment theory in some detail, considering what it meant to J. Bowlby and has meant to subsequent attachment theorists, how it is similar to and different from other conceptions of social–cognitive structures (e.g., schemas and scripts), and how it might be productively researched / begin with a brief overview of attachment theory, showing how it led to seminal research on individual differences in relational orientations / describe the role played in the theory by internal working models and explain how these models are related to discourse processes in close relationships / summarize research on infant and adult attachment, showing that it can be organized around the internal working-models construct
use emotion regulation as an example of important psychological domains in which working models operate / conclude with suggestions for future research on attachment and internal working models (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
What if being lonely were a bigger problem than we ever suspected? Based on John T. Cacioppo's pioneering research,
Loneliness explores the effects of this all-too-human experience, providing a fundamentally new view of the importance of social connection and how it can rescue us from painful isolation. His sophisticated studies relying on brain imaging, analysis of blood pressure, immune response, stress hormones, behavior, and even gene expression show that human beings are simply far more intertwined and interdependent—physiologically as well as psychologically—than our cultural assumptions have ever allowed us to acknowledge. Bringing urgency to the message, Cacioppo's findings also show that prolonged loneliness can be as harmful to your health as smoking or obesity. On the flip side, they demonstrate the therapeutic power of social connection and point the way toward making that healing balm available to everyone. Cacioppo has worked with science writer William Patrick to trace the evolution of these tandem forces, showing how, for our primitive ancestors, survival depended not on greater brawn but on greater commitments to and from one another. Serving as a prompt to repair frayed social bonds, the pain of loneliness engendered a fear response so powerfully disruptive that even now, millions of years later, a persistent sense of rejection or isolation can impair DNA transcription in our immune cells. This disruption also impairs thinking, will power, and perseverance, as well as our ability to read social signals and exercise social skills. It also limits our ability to internally regulate our emotions—all of which can combine to trap us in self-defeating behaviors that reinforce the very isolation and rejection that we dread.
Loneliness shows each of us how to overcome this feedback loop of defensive behaviors to achieve better health and greater happiness. For society, the potential payoff is the greater prosperity and social cohesion that follows from increased social trust. Ultimately,
Loneliness demonstrates the irrationality of our culture's intense focus on competition and individualism at the expense of family and community. It makes the case that the unit of one is actually an inadequate measure, even when it comes to the health and well-being of the individual. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The significance of childhood peer rejection and aggression as predictors of adolescent disorder was tested on 1147 children who were followed longitudinally from Grade 3 through Grade 10. Growth curve analyses of parent- and self-reported problems suggested that boys who were both aggressive and rejected in third grade had profiles of increasingly severe internalizing and externalizing problems across three assessment points in adolescence. Other groups showed either decreasing symptom patterns from Grade 6 to 10 or had consistently lower problem profiles. The longitudinal patterns were more complex for the girls. Childhood peer rejection was the only predictor of stable disorder as reported by parents, whereas self-reported externalizing problems were best predicted by childhood aggression.
This paper presents the development and initial validation of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA), a multidimensional measure of loneliness. The results from principal components analyses support Weiss' (1973; The experience of emotional and social isolation Cambridge: MIT Press) conception that social and emotional loneliness are distinct states. They also indicate that emotional loneliness can be broken into two types: romantic and family emotional loneliness. All subscales have high internal consistencies, with Cronbach alphas ranging from 0.89 to 0.93. Examination of the SELSA's relationship to several other criteria, including the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and dating frequency, indicate it has good concurrent, discriminant and convergent validity.
This article examines the link between loneliness and eating disorders. This concept is evaluated through a systematic review of the literature that links loneliness and eating disorders and through a survey of themes connecting the 2 conditions. Eating disorders-including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders that are not otherwise specified, which include binge eating disorder-are challenging health issues. Each of these diagnoses specifically relates to loneliness. This negative emotion contributes to and fuels eating disorder symptoms. Negative interpersonal relationships, both real experiences and individuals' skewed perceptions, exacerbate eating disorders and feelings of loneliness. Characteristics that have been associated with loneliness clearly relate to eating disorders. Understanding this relationship is vital, so that we can appreciate our patients' struggles and work to target these intense emotions within the treatment setting. We need to be aware of the power of loneliness as it applies to individuals in general and specifically to those struggling with disordered eating.
Health-care experts believe that increases in portion sizes served by food vendors contribute to the obesity epidemic. This paper shows that food vendors can profit handsomely by using supersizing strategies where regular portion sizes are priced sufficiently high to discourage price-conscious consumers from selecting them, and the prices for enlarging food portions are set so low that these customers are tempted to order the larger portion sizes and overeat. Setting aside the impact of obesity on health-care costs, we show that using supersizing to steer customers toward consuming excessive amounts of food can destroy value from a social perspective; thus this social value destruction trap adds another justification for pressuring food vendors to reduce supersizing for unhealthy food. As a public policy response, we consider how "moderating policies" may counter these effects through measures designed specifically to encourage eating in moderation by applying supersizing bans, taxes, and warnings.
Three experiments examine how power affects consumers' spending propensities. By integrating literatures suggesting that (a) powerlessness is aversive, (b) status is one basis of power, and (c) products can signal status, the authors argue that low power fosters a desire to acquire products associated with status to compensate for lacking power. Supporting this compensatory hypothesis, results show that low power increased consumers' willingness to pay for auction items and consumers' reservation prices in negotiations but only when products were status related. The link between powerlessness and compensatory consumption has broad implications both for consumers' health and well-being and for understanding the psychological state of power. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
Earlier work in consumer research has documented the effect of appetitive stimuli (e.g., chocolate cookies) on a related consumption domain (e.g., eating). We argue that appetitive stimuli can lead to a change in temporal orientation and affect subsequent consumption impatience across domains. In a series of experiments, we find that consumers exposed to appetitive stimuli are more present oriented, more likely to choose smaller-sooner rewards or vice options, and more likely to make unplanned purchase decisions. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
Loneliness is a complex set of feelings encompassing reactions to unfulfilled intimate and social needs. Although transient for some individuals, loneliness can be a chronic state for others. Prior research has shown that loneliness is a major risk factor for psychological disturbances and for broad-based morbidity and mortality. We examined differences between lonely and socially embedded individuals that might explain differences in health outcomes. Satisfying social relationships were associated with more positive outlooks on life, more secure attachments and interactions with others, more autonomic activation when confronting acute psychological challenges, and more efficient restorative behaviors. Individuals who were chronically lonely were characterized by elevated mean salivary cortisol levels across the course of a day, suggesting more discharges of corticotropin-releasing hormone and elevated activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocorticol axis. An experimental manipulation of loneliness further suggested that the way in which people construe their self in relation to others around them has powerful effects on their self concept and, possibly, on their physiology.
Earlier studies on stress and obesity have not considered coping in situations involving stress. This study examines the associations between stress-related eating and drinking and obesity and the factors predicting this behavior. Predictive factors include risk factors for adult obesity, longitudinal socioeconomic status, and perceived social support.
A longitudinal, population-based study of 2,359 men and 2,791 women born in 1966 in Northern Finland was conducted.
The body mass index at 31 years was highest among stress-driven eaters and drinkers, especially among women. Stress-driven eaters tended to eat sausages, hamburgers and pizza, and chocolate more frequently than other people. Stress-driven eaters consumed more alcohol than other people. The best predictors of stress-related eating and drinking among men age 31 years were being single or divorced, a long history of unemployment, an academic degree, and a low level of occupational education. Among women, the best predictor was a lack of emotional support.
Programs aimed at preventing and treating obesity should cover the way in which people deal with emotions, ways of achieving greater emotional support, and strategies for handling stress caused by unemployment or work.
Coping models of binge eating propose that stress and/or negative affect trigger binge eating, which serves to shift attention to the binge and its consequences. The current study tested these general assumptions using 14-day daily diary data collected from 66 first-year university females. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling results showed that increased stress, negative affect, and weight concerns were associated with an increased likelihood of reporting symptoms of binge eating within days. Elevated weight concerns predicted next-day binge eating and binge eating predicted greater next-day negative affect. Discussion focuses on implications for coping models of binge eating.
An empirical exploration of digital media strategies and connectedness level. Academy of Marketing Science full paper
- R Saine
- G Matos
- M Zhao
Saine, R., Matos, G., and Zhao, M. (2020). An empirical exploration of digital media
strategies and connectedness level. Academy of Marketing Science full paper.
The dieter’s paradox
- Chernev