Aaron M. Garvey

Eco-Product Choice Cuts Both Ways: How Proenvironmental Licensing Versus Reinforcement Is Contingent on Environmental Consciousness

This research identifies how choice of an eco-product (e.g., low-energy LED light bulbs, biodegradable paper towels) influences downstream, environmentally responsible behavior. Eco-product choice either reinforces or undermines subsequent environmentally responsible behavior, and this effect is contingent on individual consumers’ preexisting environmental consciousness: among less environmentally conscious consumers, proenvironmental behavior is undermined; in contrast, highly environmentally conscious consumers display reinforcement of proenvironmental behavior. The authors reveal that these differential effects are driven by two discrete processes working in opposition: goal satiation drives licensing in the case of less environmentally conscious consumers, and prosocial self-perceptions drive reinforcement among highly conscious consumers. In addition, the authors identify a point-of-purchase intervention that mitigates the detrimental effects among less environmentally conscious consumers. Together, these results shed light on the downstream consequences of eco-product choice for consumers, with implications for the marketing and regulation of such products.

The Jilting Effect: Antecedents, Mechanisms, and Consequences for Preference

This research explores how the experience of a jilt—the anticipation and subsequent inaccessibility of a highly desirable, aspirant option—influences preference for incumbent and non-incumbent options. The authors conceptualize jilting as a multi-stage process, which consists of a pre-jilt anticipatory phase that is initiated on the introduction of an aspirant option and a post-jilt phase that is initiated when the aspirant option becomes inaccessible. They show that during the anticipatory phase, a process of denigration specific to the incumbent option is engendered. The subsequent jilt elicits a negative emotional response. During the affectively charged post-jilt phase, preference shifts away from the now-denigrated incumbent option, yielding a jilting effect. In four field and laboratory studies, the authors establish this jilting effect, rule out alternative accounts, and discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of the findings.

The Licensing Effect Revisited: How Virtuous Behavior Heightens the Pleasure Derived from Subsequent Hedonic Consumption

Engagement in virtuous behavior can subsequently increase preference for conflicting, hedonic consumption options (Fishbach and Dhar 2005; Khan and Dhar 2006). We conceptually replicate the effect of licensing in a real-behavior context, while extending this work by introducing a novel effect of licensing on the intensity of subsequent hedonic experience. Our study reveals that, following virtuous consumption behavior (i.e., eating a functional food), the experienced intensity of subsequent hedonic consumption (i.e., pleasurable taste) may be heightened. Furthermore, this effect of licensing upon hedonic consumption is contingent upon the pre-existing visceral state (i.e., hunger) of the consumer. Specifically, as visceral hunger increases, the enhancing effect of licensing upon hedonic experience is mitigated.