Amir, O., &Ariely, D. (2007). Decisions by rules: The case of unwillingness to pay for beneficial delays. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(1), 142-152.

Since the emergence of neoclassical economics, individual decision making has been viewed largely from an outcome-maximizing perspective. Building on previous work, the authors suggest that when people make payment decisions, they consider not only their preferences for different alternatives but also guiding principles and behavioral rules. The authors describe and test two characteristics pertaining to one specific rule that dictates that consumers should not pay for delays, even if they are beneficial: rule invocation and rule override. The results show that money can function as the invoking cue for this rule, that the reliance on this rule can undermine utility maximization, and that this rule may be used as a first response to the decision problem but can be overridden. The article concludes with a discussion of more general applications of such rules, which may explain some of the seemingly systematic inconsistencies in the ways consumers behave.

 

 

Amir, O., &Ariely, D. (2007). Decisions by rules: The case of unwillingness to pay for beneficial delays. Journal of Marketing Research, 44(1), 142-152.

https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.44.1.142  

 

Nelson, L. D., &Meyvis, T. (2008). Interrupted consumption: Disrupting adaptation to hedonic experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 654-664.

Six studies demonstrate that interrupting a consumption experience can make pleasant experiences more enjoyable and unpleasant experiences more irritating, even though consumers avoid breaks in pleasant experiences and choose breaks in unpleasant experiences. Across a variety of hedonic experiences (e.g., listening to noises or songs, sitting in a massage chair), the authors observe that breaks disrupt hedonic adaptation and, as a result, intensify the subsequent experience.

 

 

Nelson, L. D., &Meyvis, T. (2008). Interrupted consumption: Disrupting adaptation to hedonic experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 45(6), 654-664.

https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.45.6.654

 

 

 

Shu, S. B., &Gneezy, A. (2010). Procrastination of enjoyable experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(5), 933-944.

The tendency to procrastinate applies not only to aversive tasks but also to positive experiences with immediate benefits. The authors propose that models of time discounting can explain this behavior, and they test these predictions with field data and experiments. A multicity study shows that people with unlimited time windows delay visiting desirable landmarks; however, procrastination is reduced when the window of opportunity is constrained. Similarly, people procrastinate in redeeming gift certificates and gift cards with long deadlines more than those with short deadlines, resulting in overall lower redemption rates. These results run counter to participants’ predictions and typical models of impulsive behavior.

 

 

Shu, S. B., &Gneezy, A. (2010). Procrastination of enjoyable experiences. Journal of Marketing Research, 47(5), 933-944.

https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.47.5.933  

Brown, K. W., &Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74(2), 349-368.

Happiness and ecological well-being are often portrayed as conflictual pursuits, but they may actually be complementary. In samples of adolescents (Study 1) and adults (Study 2), we tested this proposition and examined the role of three factors in promoting both subjective well-being (SWB) and ecologically responsible behavior (ERB). In both studies, individuals higher in SWB reported more ERB. An intrinsic value orientation (Studies 1 and 2) and dispositional mindfulness (Study 2) related to higher SWB and ERB, while a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity (Study 2) related to higher ERB. Further analyses showed that the compatibility of SWB and ERB was explained by intrinsic values and mindfulness. These findings offer clues to a sustainable way of life that enhances both personal and collective well-being.

 

 

Brown, K. W., &Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74(2), 349-368.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-8207-8

 

 

Kurtz, J. L. (2008). Looking to the future to appreciate the present: The benefits of perceived temporal scarcity. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1238-1241.

Both psychological research and conventional wisdom suggest that it can be difficult to attend to and derive enjoyment from the pleasant things in life. The present study examined whether focusing on the imminent ending of a positive life experience can lead to increased enjoyment. A temporal distance manipulation was used to make college graduation seem more or less close at hand. Twice a week over the course of 2 weeks, college students were told to write about their college life, with graduation being framed as either very close or very far off. As predicted, thinking about graduation as being close led to a significant increase in college-related behaviors and subjective well-being over the course of the study. The present research provides support for the counterintuitive hypothesis that thinking about an experience’s ending can enhance one’s present enjoyment of it.

 

 

Kurtz, J. L. (2008). Looking to the future to appreciate the present: The benefits of perceived temporal scarcity. Psychological Science, 19(12), 1238-1241.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02231.x  

 

Koo, M., et al. (2008). It& #39;s a wonderful life: Mentally subtracting positive events improves people& #39;s affective states, contrary to their affective forecasts.

The authors hypothesized that thinking about the absence of a positive event from one’s life would improve affective states more than thinking about the presence of a positive event but that people would not predict this when making affective forecasts. In Studies 1 and 2, college students wrote about the ways in which a positive event might never have happened and was surprising or how it became part of their life and was unsurprising. As predicted, people in the former condition reported more positive affective states. In Study 3, college student forecasters failed to anticipate this effect. In Study 4, Internet respondents and university staff members who wrote about how they might never have met their romantic partner were more satisfied with their relationship than were those who wrote about how they did meet their partner. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the literatures on gratitude induction and counterfactual reasoning.

 

 

Koo, M., Algoe, S. B., Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2008). It’s a wonderful life: Mentally subtracting positive events improves people’s affective states, contrary to their affective forecasts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1217-1224.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0013316  

Walker, W. R., &Skowronski, J. J. (2009). The fading affect bias: But what the hell is it for?.

This article reviews research examining the fading affect bias (FAB): The finding that the intensity of affect associated with negative autobiographical memories fades faster than affect associated with positive autobiographical memories. The FAB is a robust effect in autobiographical memory that has been replicated using a variety of methods and populations. The FAB is linked to both cognitive and social processes that support a positive view of the self. Accordingly, we speculate that one function of the FAB may be to induce individuals to be positive and action‐oriented so that they may better face and master life challenges.

 

 

Walker, W. R., &Skowronski, J. J. (2009). The fading affect bias: But what the hell is it for?. Applied Cognitive Psychology: The Official Journal of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 23(8), 1122-1136.

https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1614

 

 

Wirtz, D., Kruger, J., Scollon, C. N., &Diener, E. (2003). What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice.

When individuals choose future activities on the basis of their past experiences, what guides those choices? The present study compared students’ predicted, on-line, and remembered spring-break experiences, as well as the influence of these factors on students’ desire to take a similar vacation in the future. Predicted and remembered experiences were both more positive—and, paradoxically, more negative—than on-line experiences. Of key importance, path analyses revealed that remembered experience, but neither on-line nor anticipated experience, directly predicted the desire to repeat the experience. These results suggest that although on-line measures may be superior to retrospective measures for approximating objective experience, retrospective measures may be superior for predicting choice.

 

 

Wirtz, D., Kruger, J., Scollon, C. N., &Diener, E. (2003). What to do on spring break? The role of predicted, on-line, and remembered experience in future choice. Psychological Science, 14(5), 520-524.

https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.03455

 

 

Carter, T. J., &Gilovich, T. (2010). The relative relativity of material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1), 146-159.

When it comes to spending disposable income, experiential purchases tend to make people happier than material purchases (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003). But why are experiences more satisfying? We propose that the evaluation of experiences tends to be less comparative than that of material possessions, such that potentially invidious comparisons have less impact on satisfaction with experiences than with material possessions. Support for this contention was obtained in 8 studies. We found that participants were less satisfied with their material purchases because they were more likely to ruminate about unchosen options (Study 1); that participants tended to maximize when selecting material goods and satisfice when selecting experiences (Study 2); that participants examined unchosen material purchases more than unchosen experiential purchases (Study 3); and that, relative to experiences, participants’ satisfaction with their material possessions was undermined more by comparisons to other available options (Studies 4 and 5A), to the same option at a different price (Studies 5B and 6), and to the purchases of other individuals (Study 5C). Our results suggest that experiential purchase decisions are easier to make and more conducive to well-being.

 

 

Carter, T. J., & Gilovich, T. (2010). The relative relativity of material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(1), 146-159.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017145  

Rosenzweig, E., &Gilovich, T. (2012). Buyer& #39;s remorse or missed opportunity? Differential regrets for material and experiential purchases.

Previous research has established that experiential purchases tend to yield greater enduring satisfaction than material purchases. The present work suggests that this difference in satisfaction is paralleled by a tendency for material and experiential purchases to differ in the types of regrets they elicit. In 5 studies, we find that people’s material purchase decisions are more likely to generate regrets of action (buyer’s remorse) and their experiential purchase decisions are more likely to lead to regrets of inaction (missed opportunities). These results were not attributable to differences in the desirability of or satisfaction provided by the two purchase types. Demonstrating the robustness of this effect, we found that focusing participants on the material versus experiential properties of the very same purchase was enough to shift its dominant type of regret. This pattern of regret is driven by the tendency for experiences to be seen as more singular—less interchangeable—than material purchases; interchangeable goods tend to yield regrets of action, whereas singular goods tend to yield regrets of inaction.

 

 

Rosenzweig, E., & Gilovich, T. (2012). Buyer’s remorse or missed opportunity? Differential regrets for material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(2), 215-223.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024999