Associations between protestant work ethic and multilevel marketing participation and financial outcomes.

Multilevel marketing (MLM) involvement can adversely affect consumer wellbeing. We examine how individual beliefs about work predict participation and financial losses in MLMs. As MLMs are presented to the marketplace as low-barrier opportunities to start one's own business, we suggest that this may speak directly to people who strongly endorse Protestant work ethic (PWE), making them more inclined toward MLM participation, and financial outcomes associated with that participation. Using a place-based (county level) MLM data set from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC; n = 326,487), and a consumer survey (n = 515), we find evidence that PWE is positively associated with participation in MLMs (studies 1 and 2), and that PWE predicts estimated financial losses among those who lost $1000 or more (study 1) but financial gains in a more general sample of MLM participants (study 2). Implications for research, marketing, and consumer advocacy are discussed.

Perceiving less but wasting more: The relationship between perceived resource scarcity and consumer food waste.

Consumers' food-related behaviors often culminate in significant food waste. Surprisingly however, limited attention has been given to psychological reasons why this occurs. Across four studies, this research suggests that, because perceived resource scarcity activates a resource acquisition goal, under conditions where product scarcity is not present it leads consumers to engage in inaccurate over-acquisition of resources (i.e., food), resulting in greater waste. Studies 1a (quasi-experimental field study) and 1b (lab experiment) test the role of perceived resource scarcity in predicting food acquisition and waste. Studies 2a and 2b are correlational and measure household food waste to demonstrate that resource acquisition accuracy mediates the relationship between perceived resource scarcity and food waste.

Policy stringency and the spread of COVID-19: The moderating role of culture and its implications on first responses.

There has been a noticeable variance between countries in the growth rate of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Researchers attempted to understand this variance from two primary perspectives: the policies implemented to curb the spread of the virus [1] and the cross-country cultural differences [2]. However, little research to date has looked at the joint effects of policy responses and national culture. We argue that the effectiveness of restrictive policies depends on cultural values. Specifically, when policies are non-mandatary, cultural values influence people's voluntary adherence to these policies, and hence, the spread of COVID-19. We analyzed the growth data in daily new cases across 78 countries, focusing on the joint impact of containment policies and cultural values. We found that although policy responses (i.e., containment policies) significantly predicted the spread rate of COVID-19 over time, their effects were moderated by cultural variables as well. Implications for policymaking are discussed.

Economic hardship, ontological insecurity, and household food waste.

The experience of a downward change in one's financial situation is so common that most consumers will experience it during their lifetime, and this prevalence has been compounded by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Limited research, however, has examined the impact of economic hardship on consumers' food-related behavior. Using a sample of Canadians and Americans (n = 519; Mage = 38.4; SDage = 13.6; 46.2% female; 85% lived alone), we identify that economic hardship significantly and negatively predicts consumer food waste behavior, such that economic hardship leads consumers to waste less food. Conversely, we also identify a positive indirect effect wherein economic hardship positively predicts ontological insecurity (i.e., the aversive feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control), which in turn positively predicts overconsumption (e.g., overstocking one's fridge or pantry) and in turn predicts higher food waste. This preliminary work opens the door to future work exploring a potentially rich avenue of research on the implications of adverse economic events on consumer food choice, consumption, and disposal. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID-19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes.

In 2021, the United States government provided a third economic impact payment (EIP) for those designated as experiencing greater need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a particular focus on scarcity and ontological insecurity, we collected time-separated data prior to, and following, the third EIP to examine how these variables shape consumer allocation of stimulus funds. We find that scarcity is positively associated with feelings of ontological insecurity, which, interestingly, correlates to a greater allocation of stimulus funds toward charitable giving. We further find evidence that mutability moderates the relationship between ontological insecurity and allocations to charitable giving. In other words, it is those who feel most insecure, but perceive that their resource situation is within their control, who allocated more to charity giving. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory, policy-makers, and the transformative consumer research (TCR) movement.

Identity salience moderates the effect of social dominance orientation on COVID-19 'rule bending'.

Amidst the economic, political, and social turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, contrasting responses to government mandated and recommended mitigation strategies have posed many challenges for governments as they seek to persuade individuals to adhere to prevention guidelines. Much research has subsequently examined the tendency of individuals to either follow (or not) such guidelines, and yet a 'grey area' also exists wherein many rules are subject to individual interpretation. In a large study of Canadians (N = 1032, Mage = 34.39, 52% female; collected April 6, 2020), we examine how social dominance orientation (SDO) as an individual difference predicts individual propensity to 'bend the rules' (i.e., engaging in behaviors that push the boundaries of adherence), finding that SDO is significantly and positively associated with greater intentions toward rule-bending behaviors. We further find that highlighting a self-oriented or in-group identity enhances the relationship between SDO and rule-bending, whereas making salient a superordinate-level identity (e.g., Canada) attenuates this effect. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

The impact of masculinity stress on preferences and willingness-to-pay for red meat.

This work explores the effects of masculinity stress-distress arising from a perceived discrepancy with male gender norms-on red meat consumption, which has potentially substantial individual, collective, and ecological consequences. Across three studies, we demonstrate a positive indirect effect of masculinity stress on red meat consumption. This occurs through beliefs that meat consumption can augment masculinity-an effect which is moderated by one's self-assessed traditional masculinity (study 1). We further demonstrate attenuation of the effect of masculinity stress on red meat preference when a red meat product is associated with an out-group (i.e., women; study 2) and show that this effect does not extend to women. In study 3, we show that the effect of masculinity stress on choice of red meat is attenuated following a masculinity affirmation. We finish with a detailed discussion of implications and directions for future research. Taken together, we provide convergent evidence that masculinity stress is associated with red meat preference, and that this preference can be discouraged by leveraging out-group reference information and masculinity affirmation. In so doing, this research provides a series of contributions to the literatures on meat eating and vegetarianism specifically, as well as gender identity maintenance more broadly.

Trait self-construal, inclusion of others in the self and self-control predict stay-at-home adherence during COVID-19.

To combat the global COVID-19 crisis, governments and health organizations rely on collective cooperation among every ordinary individual to adhere to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such physical distancing which includes, as examined in our study, staying at home. Thus, we ask the question: do individual differences in how individuals see themselves as connected to or separated from others (i.e., independent vs. interdependent self-construal) predict their stay-at-home adherence? In an online study (N = 358; 47.1% female, Mage = 40.48; 74.02% White), we measured trait self-construal, inclusion of others in the self (IOS), self-control and likelihood to stay-at-home in various scenarios. Results revealed a significant indirect, sequential effect of self-construal on stay-at-home adherence via IOS and self-control. Specifically, participants with a more accessible interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal reported higher stay-at-home adherence intentions as a consequence of greater IOS and self-control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.