In a series of experiments, with a total sample of over 2,400 participants, this thesis investigates how various threats that customers may encounter influence the customers’ subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Furthermore, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors in certain consumer contexts are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in these very contexts. Paper I takes an evolutionary approach and investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by exposure to physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II takes a reactance-based approach and examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, a larger number of products. Paper III investigates whether threats to customers’ self-control in one domain influence choice behavior and consumption preferences in another unrelated domain. More specifically, the paper examines whether exposure to attractive opposite-sex faces (and hence a subtle activation of sexual desire and its associated pleasure-seeking mindset) makes individuals more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods.      The main findings of this work can be summarized as follows: Consumer threats result in compensatory consumption, not only in the specific domain under threat, but also in unrelated or only symbolically similar domains. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to consumer lay beliefs and even the predictions made by marketing professors and other scholars, which suggests that people are generally unaware of the impact that certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers who want to make informed choices and resist various influence attempts as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers who want to influence customers. / In a series of experiments, this thesis investigates how threats that customers may encounter influence their subsequent purchase and choice behaviors. Moreover, this thesis examines whether individuals’ predicted behaviors are congruent with customers’ actual behaviors in certain consumer contexts. Paper I investigates whether a status threat to male customers, induced by physically dominant men, results in compensatory consumption of products that signal status through price or size. Paper II examines whether customers whose freedom to touch has been threatened compensate by touching, and ultimately purchasing, more products. Paper III investigates whether attractive opposite-sex faces threaten individuals’ self-control, thereby making them more motivated to choose and consume unhealthy-but-rewarding foods. The results reveal that consumer threats do indeed lead to compensatory consumption. Such compensatory responses are in direct contrast to lay beliefs and even predictions made by marketing professors, suggesting that people are generally unaware of the impact certain threats have on their behavior. These results should be as interesting for customers trying to make informed choices as for marketers, advertisers, and retail managers trying to influence customers.

This research introduces the unique context of immoral inaction—situations in which consumers have the opportunity to engage in virtuous behaviors but opt against doing so. Through five studies I demonstrate that in such contexts, embarrassment—a negatively valenced self-conscious moral emotion evoked by the perception that one's behavior is worthy of judgment by others—interacts with the use of approach-motivated coping strategies to lead consumers to engage in prosocial compensatory behaviors. Though extant literature suggests that marketers seeking to evoke prosocial behaviors should employ communications and promotions framed to elicit consumers' guilt, such studies are based in contexts whereby individuals feel guilty and/or embarrassed because of something they have done, not for something they did not do. This research suggests that that the condition of immoral inaction serves to evoke a contrasting psychological mechanism that reverses these findings, making embarrassment a more effective driver of desired outcomes when marketers seek to promote overcoming past inactions. These findings are discussed in light of their implications for research and application.

abstract: When consumers fail in their environmental, dieting, or budgeting goals, they may engage in a consumer confession about their goal-inconsistent behavior. This dissertation seeks to understand how confessions about consumer goal transgressions affect subsequent consumer motivation and behaviors. Results from a series of five experiments reveal that after reflecting about a past transgression, Catholics who confess (vs. do not confess) about the focal transgression are more motivated to engage in subsequent goal-consistent consumer behaviors. However, results reveal no such effects for Non-Catholics; Non-Catholics are equally motivated to engage in goal-consistent consumer behaviors regardless of whether or not they confessed. Catholics and Non-Catholics differ on the extent to which they believe that acts of penance are required to make amends and achieve forgiveness after confession. For Catholics, confessing motivates restorative, penance-like behaviors even in the consumer domain. Thus, when Catholics achieve forgiveness through the act of confession itself (vs. a traditional confession requiring penance), they reduce their need to engage in restorative consumer behaviors. Importantly, results find that confession (vs. reflecting only) does not provide a general self-regulatory boost to all participants, but rather that confession is motivating only for Catholics due to their beliefs about penance. Together, results suggest that for consumers with strong penance beliefs, confession can be an effective strategy for getting back on track with their consumption goals. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2015

Cette thèse, constituée de trois essais, porte sur les concepts interdépendants de matérialisme et de consommation compensatoire. Le premier essai passe en revue les différentes conceptualisations du matérialisme, ainsi que ses causes et ses conséquences. J’analyse comment les différentes conceptualisations peuvent expliquer les variations des travaux de recherche et je propose un cadre conceptuel général pour analyser la recherche sur le matérialisme. Je présente également les travaux sur la notion de consommation compensatoire qui renvoie à l'utilisation et à la possession de biens matériels pour faire face aux menaces portant sur l’identité personnelle. Pour conclure ce premier essai, j’ouvre le débat sur l’opportunité de plusieurs travaux de recherche portant sur la consommation compensatoire. Dans les deux essais suivants, j’approfondis plus particulièrement les questions liées à la consommation compensatoire.Dans le deuxième essai, je reviens sur les recherches montrant que dédommager des aspects menacés de l'identité personnelle avec des produits symboliques (c'est-à-dire la consommation compensatoire intra-domaine) provoque des personnes pour ruminer les menaces sur leur identité personnelle et diminue leur ressources de maîtrise de soi.Je constate qu'une telle diminution arrive uniquement lorsque les produits sont explicitement liés avec les aspects menacés de leur identité personnelle et non quand ils sont implicitement liés avec les aspects menacés.Le troisième essai se focalise sur l'efficacité de la consommation compensatoire intra-domaine et plus précisément sur la possibilité de restaurer les éléments endommagés de l'identité personnelle. Mes résultats montrent que la restauration de l'identité personnelle est contrariée lorsque les individus sont rétribués avec des produits ayant des liens explicites avec les aspects menacés de leur identité personnelle et non lorsque ces liens sont implicites. Les liens explicites rappellent aux consommateurs les menaces et empêchent le processus de réparation de l'identité personnelle. Je teste également une condition limite de ces résultats et montre que lorsque la menace sur l’identité personnelle est implicite (par exemple, subtile ou non évidente), même les produits ayant des liens explicites peuvent permettre la réparation de l'identité personnelle. / This dissertation comprises three essays that pertain to the interelated constructs of materialism and compensatory consumption. In Essay 1, I review research on the conceptualizations, causes, and consequences of materialism, analyze how adopting different conceptualizations may account for variations in research outcomes, and suggest a broad framework for analyzing materialism research. I also introduce research on compensatory consumption, which refers to the use and possession of material goods to address self-identity threats. In the end, I discuss some ideas for future research, particularly those related to compensatory consumption. In the next two essays, I investigate specific questions on compensatory consumption. In Essay 2, I revisit extant research that shows that compensating with products symbolic of threatened aspects of self-identity (i.e., within-domain compensatory consumption) causes threat-related rumination and depletes self-control resources of individuals. I find that such depletion occurs only when products are explicitly connected to the threatened aspects of self, and not when they are implicitly connected to the threatened aspects. In Essay 3, I examine the efficacy of within-domain compensatory consumption, that is, whether it restores self-identity on aspects damaged by a self-threat. I find that self-identity repair is thwarted when threatened individuals compensate with products having explicit connections to the threatened identity domain, but not when these connections are kept implicit. Explicit, but not implicit, connections remind consumers of the threat, thereby impeding self-repair. I also test a boundary condition to these finding, and show that when the self-threat itself is implicit (e.g., subtle, non-obvious), even products with explicit connections can provide self-repair.

[pt] Famílias de baixa renda representam aproximadamente 53 por cento da população brasileira e vivenciam situações econômicas e sociais distintas às vivenciadas por classes mais abastadas. Seu comportamento de consumo vem ganhando mais atenção da academia e do meio empresarial. Para examinar como pessoas de diferentes extratos sociais percebem a atividade de compra, atribuindo-lhe maior ou menor valor hedônico, conduziu-se um survey a uma amostra não probabilística, composta por consumidores de baixa e de alta renda. Os resultados encontrados sugerem que há diferença, entre consumidores de baixa e alta renda, quanto ao valor hedônico atribuído à atividade de compra. / [en] Low income families represent approximately 53 per cent of the Brazilian population and experience different social and economic situations compared with higher social classes. The consumption behavior of this segment is gaining more attention from academia and in the business environment. In order to examine how different income people assign more or less hedonic value to the shopping activity, a survey was conducted on a non-probabilistic sample of low and high income consumers. Results suggest that there are differences in relation to the hedonic value attributed to shopping activity by low-and high-income consumers.

[pt] Consumidores que se identificam como tendo menos poder em relação a outros indivíduos, em determinada situação social, tendem a engajar-se em alguma forma de consumo compensatório, para eliminar a sensação aversiva (RUCKER; GALINSKY, 2008). Baseado em evidências na literatura de que um estado psico-lógico de baixo poder aumenta o desejo de adquirir produtos relacionados a status, este estudo tem como propósito verificar se experiências de consumo que conferem de status, como vencer uma corrida de rua, podem ser forma de consumo compensatório para indivíduos em estado de baixo poder. Ademais, este efeito compensatório deve ser mais intenso para eventos de corrida prestigiados. Medindo os estados de alto e de baixo poder por manipulação episódica e por classe social conforme o Critério Brasil (ABEP) e o valor atribuído para a experiência por horas de treinamento, três estudos são realizados. O Estudo 1 com 304 corredores testa a hipótese de compensação para indivíduos em estado de baixo poder. O Estudo 2, com 247 corredores, refina o Estudo 1, utilizando como variável de controle o nível de treinamento dos corredores amadores, em linha com o modelo PCM. O Estudo 3, com 312 corredores, testa o processo compensatório em corri-das de alto e de baixo prestígio. Os resultados obtidos não permitem considerar que experiências de vencer possam ser forma de consumo compensatório. Por outro lado, foi observado maior valor atribuído para a experiência de vencer por corredores em estado de alto poder relativamente aos corredores em estado de baixo poder. Pesquisas futuras são necessárias para investigar as motivações dos corredores em estado de alto poder. Como contribuição, este estudo permite um novo olhar para consumo de atividades esportivas, ao considerar a influência dos estados de poder nas decisões de consumo. / [en] Consumers who identify themselves as having less power in relation to other individuals in a given social situation tend to engage in some form of compensatory consumption to eliminate aversive feelings (RUCKER; GALINSKY, 2008). Based on the literature evidence that a low-power psychological state increases the desire to acquire status-related products, this study aims to verify how status-related consumption experiences, such as winning a running event, may be a form of compensatory consumption for low-power individuals. In addition, it is expected that this compensatory effect should be more intense for high prestige running events when compared to low prestige events. Three studies were conducted measuring the states of high and low-power by episodic manipulation and by social class according to the Critério Brasil (ABEP), and the allocation of resources by hours of training. Study 1, with 304 runners, tests the hypothesis of compensation for low-power individuals. Study 2, with 247 runners, refines Study 1, using the level of training of amateur runners as a control variable, in line with the PCM model. Study 3, with 312 runners, tests the compensatory process for both high and low prestige events. The results obtained suggest that the experience of winning might not necessarily be a form of compensatory consumption. Nevertheless, runners in a state of high power demonstrated a greater allocation of resources than those in a low state of power. Therefore, future research is needed to investigate the motivations of individuals in a state of high power. As a contribution, this study offers a new perspective on the phenomenon of running events through the influence of states of power.