To trade or not to trade: The moderating role of vividness when exchanging gambles

Individuals are generally reluctant to trade goods---a phenomenon identified as the endowment effect. This paper focuses on consumers' puzzling reluctance to exchange gambles, and in particular lottery tickets with identical distribution (i.e., same odds of winning), and identifies the ticket's vividness as an important moderator. Three studies demonstrate that individuals are more willing to exchange less vivid lottery tickets (e.g., tickets concealed in envelopes, or tickets with an unknown number) compared to more vivid tickets (e.g., tickets not concealed in envelopes, or tickets with a known number) when offered an incentive to exchange. Moreover, this effect is mediated by anticipated regret, such that less regret is anticipated when exchanging less vivid tickets, thus increasing individuals' willingness to exchange tickets

To trade or not to trade: The moderating role of vividness when exchanging gambles

Individuals are generally reluctant to trade goods---a phenomenon identified as the endowment effect. This paper focuses on consumers' puzzling reluctance to exchange gambles, and in particular lottery tickets with identical distribution (i.e., same odds of winning), and identifies the ticket's vividness as an important moderator. Three studies demonstrate that individuals are more willing to exchange less vivid lottery tickets (e.g., tickets concealed in envelopes, or tickets with an unknown number) compared to more vivid tickets (e.g., tickets not concealed in envelopes, or tickets with a known number) when offered an incentive to exchange. Moreover, this effect is mediated by anticipated regret, such that less regret is anticipated when exchanging less vivid tickets, thus increasing individuals' willingness to exchange tickets.endowment effect, exchange, gambles, loss aversion, regret, vividness.

The effect of limited availability on children’s consumption, engagement, and choice behavior

Three studies examine the effect of limited availability on the engagement, consumption, and choice behavior of four- to five-year old children. It is shown that children engage longer in an activity when the activity is presented as limited in time and consume more of a particular food when the food is presented as limited in quantity. It is also shown that the consumption ratio of a less preferred food to a more preferred one increases when the less preferred food is presented as limited in quantity. Finally, children are more likely to choose a less preferred option over a more preferred one when the less preferred option becomes less available

Positive Upshots of Anger in Decision-Making

While anger is generally perceived as negative, we show that it can have positive effects on decision-making. Study 1 shows that angry people are less likely to defer choice. Study 2 demonstrates that anger decreases a bias to choose the compromise option. We propose that the effects arise due to a reduced tendency to make attribute-level tradeoffs among angry individuals. Studies 3-4 provide support for this mechanism. Study 5 shows that anger can lead to greater choice satisfaction. Together, the studies suggest that anger plays an important role in eliminating several decision biases and can lead to potentially better decisions

Les routes multiples d'auto-expression versus d'inter-expression dans le choix du consommateur

International audienceLes études relatives à la prise de décision du consommateur débutent souvent par l'identification d'une dimension sur laquelle les options diffèrent, suivie par l'analyse des facteurs qui influencent les préférences sur cette dimension. Construisant leur raisonnement sur une analyse conceptuelle de divers types de problèmes, les auteurs identifient chez les consommateurs des catégories de choix qui y sont associés (extrêmes vs source de compromis, hédoniques vs utilitaires, prêts au risque vs prudents) qui peuvent tous être classés en fonction de leur niveau d'expression: auto-expression versus inter-expression (ou caractère (non) conventionnel). Comme le démontrent quatre études, ces types de problèmes réagissent de façon similaire aux manipulations qui déclenchent ou suppriment l'auto-expression. De manière spécifique, amorcer l'auto-expression augmente systématiquement la part d'options auto-expressives dans les problèmes de choix. À l'inverse, le fait de s'attendre à être évalué diminue la part des options auto-expressives parmi les différents dilemmes de choix. De plus, initier la recherche de risque augmente seulement le choix de paris risqués, mais pas celui d'autres options auto-expressives. Ces résultats mettent en lumière l'importance de rechercher des attributs sous-jacents communs aux différents problèmes de choix des consommateurs, plutôt que de traiter chacun d'entre eux isolément

The Unique Role of Anger among Negative Emotions in Goal-Directed Decision Making

While much of consumer choice is goal driven, consumers often fail to prioritize their goals when making decisions. Despite this relevance of goal pursuit to consumer behavior, relatively little work has examined the factors that facilitate it. The current research examines when and how different negative emotions influence such goal-directed decision making. Six studies show that anger leads to greater goal-directed decision making and more goal-consistent choices compared to sadness and fear. Consequently, anger results in both less susceptibility to contextual choice biases and greater post-choice satisfaction. We argue that the results arise because anger is characterized by appraisals of both high certainty and high control, which increase the likelihood that consumers will use goals as decision criteria. With anger becoming more common in the consumer space, thanks to contemporary social media and political polarization, we provide a framework for marketers and managers to put this negative emotion to good use

Is there a "price that's right" for at-home COVID tests?

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the daily lives of individuals across the world as multiple variants continue introducing new complexities. In December 2021, which is when we conducted our study, pressure to resume the normalcy of daily life was mounting as a new variant, Omicron, was rapidly spreading. A variety of at-home tests detecting SARS-CoV-2, known to the general public as "COVID tests," were available for consumers to purchase. In this study, we conducted conjoint analysis utilizing an internet-based survey by presenting consumers (n = 583) with 12 different hypothetical at-home COVID test concepts that varied on five attributes (price, accuracy, time, where-to-buy, and method). Price was identified as the most important attribute, because participants were very price sensitive. Quick turnaround time and high accuracy were also identified as important. Additionally, although 64% of respondents were willing to take an at-home COVID test, only 22% reported they had previously taken the test. On December 21, 2021, President Biden announced the U.S. government would purchase 500 million at-home rapid tests and distribute them for free to Americans. Given the importance of price to participants, this policy of providing free at-home COVID tests was directionally appropriate