The Influence of Contextual Decision-Making on Consumer Self-Control Public

Abstract

Self-control has been widely studied as an important mechanism for achieving goals and avoiding regret. To date, it has been examined primarily as a personality trait or as a resource that impacts all decisions relatively equally. Common life events suggest that the context of consumer decision making can play a large role in how and when self-control can be exercised more or less effectively. This dissertation examines three distinct contexts that involve consumers using wish lists when shopping, evaluating calorie information when dining out, and pursuing self-improvement goals in a social context. Each of these studies demonstrates certain situational factors surrounding the decision that can have an ironic effect on judgments with important implications for self-control. The first essay examines the use of wish lists to defer potential purchases. Many online retailers enable consumers to postpone a purchase by placing a desired item onto a wish list. Goal-directed choice theory predicts that deferring a purchase in such a manner should increase the desire to acquire the item. In contrast, this research demonstrates that using a wish list can lead to decreased purchase intent for the wish-listed products. The second essay focuses on how calorie evaluation can impact perceptions of food healthiness. Legislation and common wisdom suggest that as people become more exposed to calorie information, they should become more confident in their ability to judge the healthiness of food items. In contrast, this research demonstrates that evaluating calories can lead to decreased confidence and more moderate judgments of the healthiness of food items. The third essay examines the potential drawbacks of pursuing goals in a social context. Social influence is commonly presumed to facilitate goal pursuit, but social comparisons and other mechanisms may sometimes hinder, rather than facilitate, people reaching their goals. Taken together, these three essays contribute to the understanding of consumer decision theory and multi-stage decision making with important implications for self-control.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................1
Background.........................................................................2
Research Objectives.............................................................3

2 ESSAY 1: THE DESIRE TO ACQUIRE WISH LIST ITEMS......5
Abstract.............................................................................5
Introduction........................................................................5
Theoretical Background.........................................................7
Experiment 1a....................................................................15
Experiment 1b....................................................................18
Experiment 2......................................................................20
Experiment 3......................................................................24
Experiment 4......................................................................28
Experiment 5......................................................................32
Experiment 6......................................................................35
General Discussion..............................................................38

3 ESSAY 2: THE UNCERTAINTY EFFECT OF CALORIES..........44
Abstract.............................................................................44
Introduction........................................................................44
Theoretical Background.........................................................45
Experiment 1.......................................................................53
Experiment 2.......................................................................58
Experiment 3.......................................................................60
Experiment 4.......................................................................64
Experiment 5.......................................................................66
Experiment 6.......................................................................70
Experiment 7.......................................................................73
General Discussion...............................................................76

4 ESSAY 3: SOCIAL INFLUENCE AND GOAL PURSUIT............84
Abstract..............................................................................84
Introduction.........................................................................84
Theoretical Background..........................................................86
Study 1...............................................................................94
Study 2...............................................................................98
Study 3...............................................................................101
Study 4...............................................................................105
Study 5...............................................................................109
General Discussion................................................................112

REFERENCES......................................................................116

APPENDICES
A Purchase Likelihood (Essay 1)..............................................127
B Purchase Likelihood with Different Labels (Essay 1).................128
C Desirability and Feasibility Ratings (Essay 1)..........................129
D Example Stimuli from Experiment 1 (Essay 2)........................130
E Example Stimuli from Nutrition Label Study (Essay 2)..............131
F Trait Motivational Orientation Measures (Essay 3)...................132
G Situational Motivational Orientation Measures (Essay 3)...........133

About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Business
Degree	PhD
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Business Administration, Marketing
Mot-clé	Self-Control Decision-Making Consumer Psychology
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Hamilton, Ryan, Emory University
Committee Members	Iacobucci, Dawn, Vanderbilt University Barsalou, Lawrence, Emory University Williams, Melissa, Emory University

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