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Consumers and marketers often post photos of experiential consumption online. While prior research has studied how human presence in social media images impacts viewers' responses, the findings are mixed. The present research advances the current understanding by incorporating viewers' need for self-identity into their response model. Six studies, including an analysis of field data (14,725 Instagram photos by a top travel influencer) and five controlled experiments, find that the presence (vs. absence) of another human in the photo of an identity-relevant experience (e.g. a vacation, a wedding) can lower viewers' liking and preference for the venue (i.e. the vacation destination, the wedding venue) in the photo. This effect is mediated by viewers' feelings of others' ownership of the venue and moderated by the relevance of the experience to the viewer's self-identity as well as the distinctiveness of the human in the photo. This research is the first to investigate the impact of human presence in shared photos through the lens of psychological ownership and the identity-signaling function of ownership. The findings offer practical insights into when marketers should avoid human presence in advertisements and how to mitigate the negative impact of human presence in online photos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether watching a movie, sports game, or musical performance, consumers often seek entertainment experiences that are produced by one or more individuals. And although consumers often witness producers acting spontaneously , little is known about the preference for spontaneity in entertainment. Six studies, including real consumer-relevant decisions and a Facebook field experiment, reveal that consumers prefer spontaneity (vs. planned behavior) across several entertainment contexts, as spontaneous producers seem more authentic than planned producers. At the same time, however, spontaneous actions are also believed to beget lower-quality outcomes, suggesting that consumers generally prefer spontaneity even despite the possibility of reduced quality. Subsequent experiments examine the characteristics of the entertainment context and the producer to provide further insight into how consumers manage the authenticity–quality tradeoff: by shaping when and why spontaneity is associated with increased authenticity and decreased quality expectations, as well as the relative importance of these dimensions, higher-stakes contexts (e.g. when consumers' outcomes are enmeshed with the producer's), negative inferences about spontaneity (e.g. laziness, lack of concern), and low-competence producers attenuate the effects. Together, this research advances knowledge about spontaneity and authenticity and has implications for those seeking to produce appealing entertainment experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThe rapid growth of the virtual reality (VR) gaming industry has underscored the importance of psychological and experiential factors in maintaining sustained engagement. Based on the self-determination theory and experiential consumption perspective (ECP), this research proposed a conceptual framework incorporating gamer-avatar identification and experiential factors as key determinants of VR games continuance usage intention and considered the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance. We gathered 385 valid responses from Chinese VR gamers. The research model, analyzed via AMOS and SPSS, showed that gamer-avatar identification significantly affects continuance usage intention, with immersion and perceived authenticity serving as crucial mediators. In addition, uncertainty avoidance moderates these relationships. In contrast, perceived value did not mediate this relationship, challenging traditional consumer behavior theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the transformative role of experience identification in connecting online communities to offline experiences. This study also aims to understand if consumers in the pre-experience stage can identify with an experience and how this influences their subsequent evaluations, focusing on the impact of online community participation. Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical model, based on social identity theory, is tested using a two-study approach. Study 1 involves first-time cruisers in an online cruise community. Study 2 extends the findings to a broader range of travel experiences, including both first-time and repeat travelers. Findings: Results suggest that experiential consumers can identify with an experience in the pre-experience stage through two key community participation variables – experience imagination and emotional significance. Experience identification directly influences loyalty, which subsequently impacts word-of-mouth and satisfaction post-experience. Practical implications: Service providers should leverage forums, brand communities and social media platforms to enhance interactivity between experienced and first-time customers. Strategies are presented to foster user interaction and interconnectedness, boosting consumer satisfaction and loyalty and providing a competitive advantage from the outset of the customer journey. Originality/value: Despite the recognized importance of experiential consumption, the marketing literature has largely focused on the actual consumption experience, overlooking the pre-experience stage. This research highlights the critical role of the pre-experience stage, showing that the value of an experience begins before the service encounter and continues after it ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most research on hospitality management emphasizes the significance of customer experience, primarily focusing on the interactions between service providers and customers. However, the emergence of a sharing economy has extended service provision beyond traditional interactions. This study focuses on the importance of customer experience in the context of peer-to-peer (P2P) service transactions. It investigates the experiential values of meal sharing from the perspectives of both hosts and guests. Adopting a means-end chain approach, 25 semi-structured interviews using the soft laddering technique were conducted to analyze the narratives by detecting a variety of attributes, salient consequences, and ultimate personal values of the meal-sharing experiences and the hierarchical linkages among them. Although economic benefits are often cited as key factors in P2P services, this study revealed that social and food well-being and unique experiences are the primary experiential values of meal sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternative food network research has referred to farm shops but rarely examined them in detail. This article argues that farm shops are not simply places of exchange but are complex, immersive, sensory‐rich places of meaning and experience. These arguments are developed through a study that adopts an interpretive/embodied perspective on conventions and applies them through a multi‐methods approach, incorporating autoethnography, interviews, a questionnaire and website analysis. The influence of farm shop interiors and farm context were investigated through thematic analysis. It was found that consumers desired a rustic interior aesthetic, an external ambience enabling exploration and an opportunity to escape time poverty through consumption. Farm shop owners endeavoured to provide a rich multi‐sensory interactive consumption experience, encompassing both enterprise buildings and surrounding farm sites. It is argued that use of 'farm‐site' consumption experiences distinguishes these enterprises from each other, contributes to consumer immersion and positively contributes to the collective identity of 'farm shops'. Furthermore, the provision of retroscaped experiential consumption promises resilience from supermarket co‐optation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the consumption of climbing tourists to Norway and Sweden to show how consumers are captured by collective story worlds in communal consumption. Whereas prior marketing research has been preoccupied with narrative transportation as a mental imagery process, we suggest a sociology of narrative approach that focuses on the institutional shaping of communities within which consumers engage in cultural formation with a shared social and historical context. Our empirical findings show that consumers in the climbing community experience two distinct story worlds, with different ethos, conventions and content rules, that structure why and how stories are told. We extend existing knowledge within marketing through a multifaceted understanding of how collective narratives operate and present a sociocultural model of story world tension in communal consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the composition and nature of the social value of tourism. The empirical data consists of 49 in-depth interviews with nature-based tourists. The inductive findings complement the current conception of social value presented by consumer value typologies, measured by value scales and evidenced in consumer value-framed tourism research. Hence, in addition to other-oriented and instrumental status and esteem dimensions, the social value of tourism also includes self-oriented components that are both intrinsic and extrinsic. This finding demands a broader conceptualisation – an extended view of social value – in tourism research and management. It captures the diverse manifestations that range from status and esteem to enjoying the company of others and feeling inclusion in a community of like-minded people as well as learning and safety. This extended view is illustrated with a novel, three-dimensional approach to the Typology of Consumer Value (Holbrook, 1999b), which provides an integrated and intelligible understanding of the richness of social value in tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychological Science is the property of Psychological Science Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the relationships between consumption values and car-sharing service adoption in Korean users. We used structural equation modeling to analyze data from 266 Korean individuals who had experience with car-sharing services. The results showed that functional value, social value, and conditional value positively predicted the use intention of car-sharing services. We also found that car-sharing use intention was positively related to the use behavior of car-sharing services. The findings suggest that both proximal and distal factors of consumption values explain the experimental use of car-sharing services. This study yields theoretical and practical insights into understanding the role of consumption values in customer use intention and behavior in the context of collaborative and experimental car-sharing service consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze leisure involvement and voluntary simplicity as antecedents of leisure satisfaction and the relationship with experiential consumption. To this end, we conducted a survey with 815 Brazilian runners and cyclists, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Age, education, and income were also investigated as moderators in the relationship between leisure involvement and leisure satisfaction. The main results showed that leisure involvement positively influenced leisure satisfaction and voluntary simplicity of its practitioners. Voluntary simplicity positively influenced leisure satisfaction and experiential consumption. The moderation test showed that the relationship between leisure involvement and leisure satisfaction is stronger for higher age, education, and income. We concluded that leisure involvement could be a path to a simple living choice, one source for a more sustainable world. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for practitioners, policymakers, and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although consumer culture has been studied extensively for its propagation of comforting signs, symbols, and experiences that reassure us of our selves and other marketable fictions, it is also conducive to unsettling effects and affects, many of which are unintended, undesired, and unavailable for introspection. Departing from Freud's theory of the uncanny and borrowing from commentaries by cultural critics Mark Fisher and Adam Kotsko, we diagnose the unsettling's relationship with four affective-experiential categories which contribute to its hybrid makeup: the weird, the eerie, the creepy, and the awkward. Drawing upon a phenomenological rubric of presence–absence, we characterise the weird as competing co-presences which disturb the borders between things; the eerie as absence of the expected or presence of the unexpected; the creepy as excess presence; and the awkward as excess absence. These "four corners of the unsettling" provide an alternative perspective on the discomforting character of consumer culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research demonstrated the effectiveness of referral programs in boosting firm performance. However, referrers' evaluations of such programs are under-examined. This study fills this gap by conducting two studies. Study 1 finds that psychological closeness between a referrer and a referee enhance the referrer's evaluation of the program. Study 2 reveals that the relationship between such psychological closeness and the referrer's evaluation is contingent on referral reward type (material vs. experiential). This study advances previous research in referral marketing by drawing on the experience recommendation theory and construal level theory. Referral marketing managers shall note that encouraging existing customers to refer their close others is particularly effective when referral messages highlight material rewards, instead of experiential rewards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiential purchases (focused on doing rather than having) provide more satisfaction than material goods. Here, we examine a different downstream consequence of spending money on experiences: fostering social connection. Consumers reported feeling more kinship with someone who had made a similar experiential purchase than someone who had made a similar material purchase—a result tied to the greater centrality of experiences to one's identity. This greater sense of connection that experiences provide applied even when someone else had made a similar, but superior purchase. Participants also reported feeling more connected to others in general, not just those who have made the same purchase, when reflecting on experiential consumption—and these feelings of connection were expressed in a greater desire to engage in social activities when participants considered their experiential purchases than when they considered their material purchases. Together, these results demonstrate that experiential consumption enhances people's social connection quite broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the nature of adaptations made on an experiential product, a TV series, that enters a foreign market, and investigates the perceptions of foreign consumers concerning the adapted experiential product in two parts. The first part content analyses the nature of adaptations based on comparisons of the contents of the original and adapted versions of the TV series, while the second part content analyses consumers' perceptions of the adapted TV series based on their social media entries. The first part reveals three broad categories of adaptations, namely contextual, cultural, and competitive. The second part indicates that the familiarity with the original TV series and the distinct genre were influential on consumers' evaluation of and satisfaction with the adapted TV series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conceptualizes the phenomenon of historizing the present, defined as emphasizing the historical significance of present events and treating the present from the perspective of history. The authors identify four modes of historizing the present (emphasizing that: (1) the present will shape history; (2) the present is a unique moment in history; (3) the present will be remembered in history; (4) the present echoes history) and demonstrate how historizing can be employed by marketers of for‐profit and nonprofit organizations in a variety of contexts. The paper examines the psychological implications of appreciating the historical significance of the present and outlines a research agenda for studying the downstream behavioral consequences of historizing the present across diverse substantive consumer domains. It concludes with an examination of the broader societal implications of historizing the present as well as its implications for consumer well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes, particularly negative attitudes toward experiential goods, are difficult to change. As a result, people tend to choose and consume experiential goods fromtheir preferred subcategory (e.g., prefer impressionist art so primarily choose to view impressionist paintings) while disregarding options from less preferred subcategories (e.g., ignore cubist or surrealist paintings). This research investigates the consequences of reflection while consuming experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Namely, an initial, negative reflexive response can be overridden by a reflective appraisal which increases appreciation for experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Six studies show how a reflective appraisal differs from a reflexive response (i.e., a reflective appraisal has more cognitive and affective thoughts than evaluative thoughts, respectively), that reflective appraisals can supplant reflexive responses to experiential goods in less preferred subcategories, and that reflective appreciation training encourages reflective appraisal. A reflective appraisal improves the intent to consume, enhances appreciation of the consumption, and increases the consumption of novel experiential goods in less preferred subcategories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study investigates the importance consumers place on four restaurant dining facets (design, ambience, sociability, food and beverage) to ascertain how these elements contribute to memorable dining experience (MDEs). Restaurant formality and restaurant dining involvement were explored as additional influencing factors within the context of MDEs. Data were collected using an online survey administered to a sample of American diners. Through a measurement model approach, all four facets were found to define restaurant dining environment under MDEs. The findings provide meaningful insights to restaurant managers about how the dining environment of a restaurant can influence consumers' experience in terms of co-creating memorability. These insights are particularly relevant in the post-pandemic era, when the way consumers interact with restaurant environments may change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the construct of psychological ownership, the feeling that a target, or a part of that target, is "mine," to the arts consumption literature. I suggest that the features of experiential consumption identified by Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) create both a challenge and an opportunity for the arts to inspire the development of consumer psychological ownership. Specifically, arts experiences have the potential to fulfill multiple needs that underlie psychological ownership, particularly the relatively understudied need for stimulation. I describe multiple routes via which consumers can develop both individual psychological ownership of arts experiences and collective psychological ownership of artists and arts organizations. Finally, I offer suggestions for how arts organizations can engage with consumers to enhance the development of psychological ownership, enabling them to gain access to the many beneficial outcomes of consumer psychological ownership for both the consumer and the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes, particularly negative attitudes toward experiential goods, are difficult to change. As a result, people tend to choose and consume experiential goods from their preferred subcategory (e.g., prefer impressionist art so primarily choose to view impressionist paintings) while disregarding options from less preferred subcategories (e.g., ignore cubist or surrealist paintings). This research investigates the consequences of reflection while consuming experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Namely, an initial, negative reflexive response can be overridden by a reflective appraisal which increases appreciation for experiential goods from less preferred subcategories. Six studies show how a reflective appraisal differs from a reflexive response (i.e., a reflective appraisal has more cognitive and affective thoughts than evaluative thoughts, respectively), that reflective appraisals can supplant reflexive responses to experiential goods in less preferred subcategories, and that reflective appreciation training encourages reflective appraisal. A reflective appraisal improves the intent to consume, enhances appreciation of the consumption, and increases the consumption of novel experiential goods in less preferred subcategories.

Although the marketing literature has extensively studied consumer‐brand identification, scholars have not fully explored its well‐being benefits. Drawing from the social identity approach and the bottom‐up theory of subjective well‐being, we examine how consumer‐brand identification can be a source of happiness in experiential consumption settings. We conduct two studies to test the proposed research model. In Study 1, results from 322 fans of a professional football team show that consumer happiness positively mediates the association between consumer‐brand identification and overall happiness. We subsequently conduct a partial‐least‐square multigroup analysis with three groups (nonpurchase, one‐time‐purchase, and repeat‐purchase) based on purchase frequency during the season. The results reveal that the path coefficient between consumer‐brand identification and consumer happiness is stronger in the one‐time‐purchase group than in the nonpurchase group. In Study 2, we reexamine the proposed model while accounting for the effects of core product quality. Results from 500 fans of a professional baseball team support Study 1's findings. Overall, our findings add to the knowledge surrounding the well‐being benefits of consumer‐brand identification and demonstrate the role of experiential consumption in facilitating happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to develop and test a model that explains the motivations for the behavior of disclosing the consumption of experiences on social media, considering the effect of materialism. Theoretical approach: the reasons given by the literature for the use of social media and materialism are adopted to understand the increasingly popular behavior of disclosing experiential consumption. Method: the study is based on a sequential mixed methods approach. First, a qualitative study was carried out with social media users. Subsequently, conceptual models were tested by PLS-SEM. Results: the conspicuous consumption online refers to the final construct of the explanatory model of the behavior of disclosing the experiential consumption in social media. The dissemination of experiences is used to build a positive identity and for the creation interpersonal relationships. From the conceptual models analyzed, it is admitted that materialism can play different roles in the explanatory model of the behavior of disclosing the consumption of experiences in social media. Conclusions: when verifying the conspicuity in consumption and exposition of experiences, it is assumed that consumers are focusing more on symbolic meanings than on satisfying psychological needs when adhering to experiential consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: to develop and test a model that explains the motivations for the behavior of disclosing the consumption of experiences on social media, considering the effect of materialism. Theoretical approach: the reasons given by the literature for the use of social media and materialism are adopted to understand the increasingly popular behavior of disclosing experiential consumption. Method: the study is based on a sequential mixed methods approach. First, a qualitative study was carried out with social media users. Subsequently, conceptual models were tested by PLS-SEM. Results: the conspicuous consumption online refers to the final construct of the explanatory model of the behavior of disclosing the experiential consumption in social media. The dissemination of experiences is used to build a positive identity and for the creation interpersonal relationships. From the conceptual models analyzed, it is admitted that materialism can play different roles in the explanatory model of the behavior of disclosing the consumption of experiences in social media. Conclusions: when verifying the conspicuity in consumption and exposition of experiences, it is assumed that consumers are focusing more on symbolic meanings than on satisfying psychological needs when adhering to experiential consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of individual psychological ownership, or an individual’s sense of ownership toward an object, was proposed in the context of organizational theory in the early 2000s. Since then, this concept has been widely applied in marketing research, since it led to marketing outcomes such as increased purchase intention and willingness to pay for the product. In addition, the concept of collective psychological ownership—a group’s sense of ownership toward an object—was proposed outside the marketing field. It has been suggested that this concept may have different consequences from those of individual psychological ownership with regard to issues such as organizational effectiveness. However, there are few studies that attempt to apply this concept to the marketing field. This paper reviews studies on individual and collective psychological ownership and examines the possibility that collective psychological ownership may be applicable in marketing research on consumer community and experiential consumption.

Copyright of South Architecture / Nanfang Jianzhu is the property of South Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Along with increasing competition in cultural industries, museums have emerged as a research subject of the marketing field. Accordingly, two research streams, experiential consumption-oriented and customer experience management-oriented studies, have evolved. Experiential consumption-oriented studies focused on the experience types and outputs that occur in the museum. On the other hand, customer experience management-oriented studies discussed service-related stimuli in the museum. Although these studies offered diverse findings, they remained insufficient in identifying types and outcomes of experiences that emerge in the museum comprehensively. Thereby, this study developed a detailed conceptual model that includes experience types and outputs by employing a systematic literature review on experiential consumption-oriented studies. The findings contribute to the museum and marketing literature and related professionals. Especially, an innovative perspective is offered to the literature by identifying environment-based experiences, which were previously neglected, as experience type along with the visitor-based experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article serves as a call for exploring the nature of fantasies and their role in the arts. Using phenomenological introspection, the article identifies three core features of art fantasizing: goal-directedness, the inclusion of ideologies, and self-involvement. By using the unique characteristics of art fantasizing as a basis, the author suggests that scholars may create a fantasy-based framework to gain a better understanding of the role of consumer fantasies in the arts. The article concludes that such a model might also provide guidance to arts managers on how to leverage the fantasizing phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionIn recent years, experiential consumption, which refers to purchases involving hedonic experiences, has been gathering attention in marketing research. Experiential consumption is closely related to cognitive biases, and among them, we focus on the IKEA effect, which is a cognitive bias in which the maximum willingness to pay (WTP) for a product is high because the experience of assembling the product is highly valued. Since no studies have examined the neural mechanism behind the IKEA effect, here we present the first study exploring the neural substrates of the IKEA effect using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). During the WTP evaluation, we expect the attachment to and memory retrieval of DIY products to be the cognitive mechanism for the IKEA effect.MethodsThirty healthy students, of which 24 were confirmed to have undergone the IKEA effect, were asked to perform a WTP evaluation task after assembling three types of do-it-yourself (DIY) products and handling three types of Non-DIY products. Their cerebral hemodynamic responses during the evaluation were measured using fNIRS. In order to adjust for temporal variability of cortical responses among participants, a personalized adaptive general linear model (GLM) analysis was adopted. Then, one-sample t-tests were performed for each DIY and Non-DIY condition for the obtained β values, and a paired t-test was performed between DIY and Non-DIY conditions.ResultsWe identified brain regions, including the left-inferior frontal gyrus (L-IFG) and left-middle frontal gyrus (L-MFG), which were probably related to cognitive processing related to the IKEA effect. Among them, the L-MFG exhibited more activation during the DIY condition than during the Non-DIY condition.ConclusionTo our knowledge, the current study is the first to reveal the neural basis of the IKEA effect. The cortical activation during evaluation of WTP for DIY and Non-DIY products exhibited marked differences. In addition to the R-IFG activation often reported for WTP evaluations, we revealed that other regions, in particular the L-IFG and L-MFG, were activated during the DIY condition. These areas are considered to be related to memory and attachment, which would serve as reasonable cognitive constituents for the IKEA effect. In conclusion, this study suggests that the value of experiential consumption can be assessed using fNIRS-based neuroimaging and provides a novel approach to consumer neuroergonomics. It is predicted that visualization the value of experiential consumption will create marketing opportunities for more and more companies and the visualization will become an indispensable method in the future.

A lack of a sense of belonging in the host country has become one of the most common challenges facing international migrants in today's sociopolitical environment. Our two online experiments with 881 international migrant workers in the United States jointly demonstrate that, to cope with their lack of a sense of belonging in the host country, international migrants may spend money suboptimally: more on material purchases but less on experiential and prosocial purchases. More importantly, our studies suggest that prosocial purchases are more effective than experiential purchases in increasing international migrants' subjective well‐being. This is because prosocial purchases can lead to both relatedness need satisfaction and beneficence, with each independently contributing to international migrants' subjective well‐being. Our research suggests that public policymakers should address the social exclusion international migrants experience when moving to a new country because it can have a negative impact on their subjective well‐being. Our research further suggests that one way to mitigate social exclusion is to encourage international migrants to spend money on others rather than themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IntroductionConsidering the theory of self-escape, this research systematically investigates the effect of stress on consumers' preference for experiences vs. material possessions.MethodsWe conducted one survey and two experiments to demonstrate the effect of stress on individuals' relative preference for experiential vs. material consumption and its psychological mechanism.ResultsThe findings of the three studies revealed that stress increases consumers' preference for experiences over material possessions. Additionally, self-escape motivation plays a mediating role between stress and preference for experiential consumption (vs. material consumption). Stress as a self-threat triggers individuals' motivation to escape from negative self-concept, and experiences can help individuals temporarily escape from negative self-recognition and provide more leisure value than material possessions. Therefore, individuals increase their consumption preference for experiences. Furthermore, we observed that the type of experiences plays a moderating role between stress and preference for experiential consumption (vs. material consumption). Specifically, compared with low cognitive resource demanding experiences, the effect of stress on experiential consumption disappears when experiences have a high demand for cognitive resources.DiscussionThese findings extend the research on stress, experiential consumption and material consumption and provide significant advice for public mental health.

Two studies grounded in experiential consumption theory - law of apparent reality and model of emotion-driven choice - test path models exploring determinants and outcomes of superstitious beliefs. Based on a survey of 218 US undergraduates, Study#1 suggests yearning-for-the-past as an antecedent of superstitious beliefs, which in turn relates positively to horoscope importance. Based on a survey of 247 US adults, Study#2 again shows yearning-for-the-past as a determinant of superstitious beliefs and explores previously untested superstitious belief consequences. Study#2 results imply resistance-to-change, buying-brands-due-to-family-traditions, obsessiveness, and intention-to-buy-luck-laden-products, as outcomes that relate positively to superstitious beliefs. These studies extend the consumer behaviour literature on nostalgia, superstition, and resistance to novelty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Consumer & Consumption Research / Tüketici ve Tüketim Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Beta Basim Yayin Dagitim and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Science Technology & Industry / Keji he Chanye is the property of Chinese Society of Technology Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although relevant to the study of consumer responses to advertising, researchers have largely overlooked the effect of positive psychology's mindsets, such as belief in good luck, happiness, and flourishing, on attitude-toward-advertising-in-general (AG). Two path models tested with 247 U.S. adults (Study #1) and 680 U.S. undergraduate students (Study #2) explore these AG mindset antecedents. Study #1 shows (1) a direct positive effect between belief in good luck and flourishing, (2) belief in good luck indirectly influences flourishing through life satisfaction and happiness, and (3) flourishing relates positively to AG. Study #2, a self-replication-with-extension, shows (1) flourishing alone relates positively to AG, and (2) flourishing serves as a mediator between the studied mindsets and AG. Thus, it behooves advertisers to run promotional campaigns that encourage a flourishing mindset among consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite mounting support documenting the long-term benefits of consuming experiences versus material possessions, some consumers appear to reject the 'experiential recommendation.' Applying a life history theory perspective, we conducted seven studies to examine how unpredictability and harshness during childhood may translate into a decreased propensity to consume novel experiences in adulthood. Adults who experienced unpredictable and harsh childhood environments tended to devalue experiential options (studies 1A and 1B). A perceived lack of control over one's life outcomes that translates into greater difficulty in evaluating experiential opportunities mediated the relationship between childhood background and devaluing experiential options (studies 3, 4A-C). Furthermore, prior or incidental experience with novel experiential options moderated the link between perceived lack of control over life outcomes and difficulty evaluating experiential purchase options (study 4B). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines middle-class consumption and lifestyle during the transition to adulthood in the United States. Based on analysis of qualitative data from interviews with emerging adults between adolescence and settled adulthood, we argue that middle-class emerging adulthood is marked by a focus on exploratory experience consumption: the consumption of novel experiences with cultural capital potential. This tacit, embodied orientation is rooted in a habitus developed during entitled childhoods but is also shaped by an anticipated shortage of opportunities for exploration after they marry and have children. Accordingly, middle-class emerging adults voraciously consume exploratory experiences in the present with their imagined future selves in mind. The class basis for this orientation is examined through our analysis of interviews with working-class emerging adults whose lifestyles are characterized not by exploratory experience consumption but by a desire for the familiar, a fear of the unknown, and a longing for stability. The discussion focuses on how the middle-class consumer orientation toward exploratory experiences reinforces class (dis)advantage, life trajectories, and inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we comprehend people who pay for an experience marketed as painful? On one hand, consumers spend billions of dollars every year to alleviate different kinds of pain. On the other hand, millions of individuals participate in extremely painful leisure pursuits. In trying to understand this conundrum, we ethnographically study a popular adventure challenge where participants subject themselves to electric shocks, fire, and freezing water. Through sensory intensification, pain brings the body into sharp focus, allowing individuals to rediscover their corporeality. In addition, painful extraordinary experiences operate as regenerative escapes from the self. By flooding the consciousness with gnawing unpleasantness, pain provides a temporary relief from the burdens of self-awareness. Finally, when leaving marks and wounds, pain helps consumers create the story of a fulfilled life. In a context of decreased physicality, market operators play a major role in selling pain to the saturated selves of knowledge workers, who use pain as a way to simultaneously escape reflexivity and craft their life narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]