Hedonic Consumption in Times of Stress: Reaping the Emotional Benefits Without the Self-Regulatory Cost.

Hedonic consumption is pleasant but can interfere with the capacity to self-regulate. In stressful moments, when self-regulation is arguably still important, individuals often indulge in hedonic consumption. In two experiments, we investigate whether hedonic consumption negatively affects self-regulation under moderately stressful conditions and whether selecting hedonic consumption under moderately stressful conditions is driven by high or low self-control. In both studies, participants were randomly exposed to a mental arithmetic task that was either completed under time pressure with performance feedback (moderate stress) or without time pressure and without feedback (no stress). Experiment 1 assigned participants to a hedonic (vs. neutral) consumption task and then measured impulse control via a color-word Stroop task. Experiment 2 measured self-control as a second independent variable and recorded hedonic (vs. neutral) consumption. The results show that moderate stress buffered the negative effect that hedonic consumption has on self-regulation under no stress conditions and that high rather than low self-control predicts hedonic over neutral consumption under stress. These findings indicate that hedonic consumption in response to moderate stress may be a strategic choice to reap the pleasure benefit of hedonic consumption while the costs to self-regulation are low.

Self-control, self-regulation, and consumer wellbeing: A life history perspective.

This review synthesizes recent research on consumer self-control, self-regulation, and wellbeing using a perspective rooted in evolutionary theorizing-the notion of Life History Strategies (LHSs), derived from Life History Theory. We discuss both correlational and experimental research that has informed our understanding about how individual differences in LHSs may shape the 'self-regulatory toolkit' and how this, in turn, affects downstream consequences for consumer health and wellbeing. We also offer a counterpoint to the prevailing notion that fast LHSs mostly have negative, and slow LHSs positive consequences and we highlight promising future avenues to boost fast LHS consumers' self-control.

Fit and Tipsy? The Interrelationship between Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Alcohol Consumption and Dependence.

PURPOSE: To examine whether higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness are related to increased alcohol consumption and dependence among a large sample of adults attending a preventive medicine clinic. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 38,653 apparently healthy patients who visited the Cooper Clinic (Dallas, TX) for preventive medical examinations (1988-2019) and enrolled in the Cooper Center Longitudinal Study. The primary independent variable was cardiorespiratory fitness, based on a maximal treadmill test, and the dependent variables were alcohol consumption and dependence (self-reported). The relations between fitness category (low, moderate, high) and alcohol consumption (low, moderate, heavy) and suggested alcohol dependence (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye opener score ≥2) among women and men were estimated via multivariable regression while adjusting for covariates (e.g., age, birth year cohort, marital status, and body mass index). RESULTS: Women within the moderate and high fitness categories had 1.58 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32-1.91) and 2.14 (95% CI, 1.77-2.58) greater odds of moderate/heavy alcohol consumption, respectively, in comparison to their low fitness counterparts. Similarly, moderate and high fit men had 1.42 (95% CI, 1.30-1.55) and 1.63 (95% CI, 1.49-1.80) times greater odds of moderate-to-heavy alcohol consumption, respectively, in comparison to the low fitness group. In addition, among men who were heavy drinkers (but not women), higher fitness levels were related to lower rates of suggested alcohol dependence. Specifically, these men had 45.7%, 41.7%, and 34.9% proportions of clinically relevant alcohol problems across low, moderate, and high fitness categories (adjusted P for trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher fitness levels are significantly related to greater alcohol consumption among a large cohort of adult patients. Interventions focusing on increasing fitness (via physical activity promotion) might consider concurrently aiming to reduce alcohol consumption.

A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect.

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project (k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach. Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result (d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect (d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation.

Collective patterns of social diffusion are shaped by individual inertia and trend-seeking.

Social conventions change when individuals collectively adopt an alternative over the status quo, in a process known as social diffusion. Our repeated trials of a multi-round experiment provided data that helped motivate the proposal of an agent-based model of social diffusion that incorporates inertia and trend-seeking, two behavioural mechanisms that are well documented in the social psychology literature. The former causes people to stick with their current decision, the latter creates sensitivity to population-level changes. We show that such inclusion resolves the contradictions of existing models, allowing to reproduce patterns of social diffusion which are consistent with our data and existing empirical observations at both the individual and population level. The model reveals how the emergent population-level diffusion pattern is critically shaped by the two individual-level mechanisms; trend-seeking guarantees the diffusion is explosive after the diffusion process takes off, but inertia can greatly delay the time to take-off.

Is There a "Gestalt Bias" in Indulgence? Subjectively Constructing Food Units Into Wholes (vs. Parts) Increases Desire to Eat and Actual Consumption.

In the present work we extend research into the unit bias effect and its extension-the portion size effect-by demonstrating the existence of a "Gestalt bias." Drawing on the tenets of Gestalt psychology, we show that a unit bias effect can be observed for food portions that are composed of identical basic units, but which are subjectively grouped into, or perceived as a Gestalt-a larger whole. In three studies, we find that such subjectively constructed food wholes constitute a new (perceptual) unit that is perceived bigger than the units it is constructed from, thereby prompting increased eating and desire to eat.

Long-term weight loss success and the health behaviours of adults in the USA: findings from a nationally representative cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the relationship between long-term weight loss (LTWL) success and lifestyle behaviours among US adults. DESIGN: Serial cross-sectional data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles 2007-2014. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Population-based nationally representative sample. The analytic sample included 3040 adults aged 20-64 years who tried to lose weight in the past year. MEASURES: Participants were grouped into five LTWL categories (<5%, 5%-9.9%, 10%-14.9%, 15%-19.9% and ≥20%). Lifestyle-related behaviours included the following: alcohol intake, physical activity, smoking, fast-food consumption, dietary quality (Healthy Eating Index (HEI)) and caloric intake. Multivariable regression was employed adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, household income and size, current body mass index and self-reported health status. RESULTS: Individuals in the 15%-19.9% LTWL group differed significantly from the reference group (<5% LTWL) in their physical activity and dietary quality (HEI) but not caloric intake. Specifically, they had a higher HEI score (ß=3.19; 95% CI 0.39 to 5.99) and were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines (OR=1.99; 95% CI 1.11 to 3.55). In comparison, the ≥20% LTWL group was significantly more likely to smoke (OR=1.63; 95% CI 1.03 to 2.57) and to consume lower daily calories (ß=-202.91; 95% CI -345.57 to -60.25) than the reference group; however, dietary quality and physical activity did not significantly differ. CONCLUSION: Among a national sample of adults, a higher level of LTWL success does not necessarily equate to healthy weight loss behaviours. Future research should attempt to design interventions aimed at facilitating weight loss success while encouraging healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Emotional Eating in Adults: The Role of Sociodemographics, Lifestyle Behaviors, and Self-Regulation-Findings from a U.S. National Study.

BACKGROUND: Emotional eating, the tendency to overeat in response to negative emotions, has been linked to weight gain. However, scant evidence exists examining the prevalence and correlates of emotional eating among large samples of adults in the United States (U.S.). Hence, we examine the relationship among individual and socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, and self-regulation with emotional eating patterns among U.S. adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 5863 Family Health Habits Survey participants. Multivariable, ordered, logistic regression was employed to examine the relationship between the frequency of the desire to eat when emotionally upset (never, rarely, sometimes, often, and very often) and the independent variables. RESULTS: Analysis reveals that 20.5% of the sample tended to emotionally eat often or very often. Being female, non-Hispanic White, and of younger age were all related to a higher likelihood of emotional eating. Additionally, inability to delay gratification (impatience) was related to an 18% increased likelihood (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05-1.33) for emotional eating. Finally, emotional eating was significantly related to more frequent fast-food consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Program planners might need to develop targeted interventions aimed at enhancing emotional regulation skills while addressing these less healthful behaviors (e.g., fast-food intake) with the goal of obesity and chronic disease prevention.

Losses tune differently than gains: how gains and losses shape attentional scope and influence goal pursuit.

Research on the asymmetric effect of negative versus positive affective states (induced by gains or losses) on scope of attention, both at a perceptual and a conceptual level, is abundant. However, little is known about the moderating effect of anticipating gains or losses versus actually experiencing them and about any downstream consequences of these effects on goal-directed behaviour. In two studies, we show that gains versus losses induce qualitatively different processes. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate that the anticipation of monetary gains results in a narrowing of attentional scope, while experiencing gains broadens the scope of attention. We find the reverse pattern concerning monetary losses - while anticipation of monetary losses results in broadening of attentional scope, the actual experience of losses results in narrowing of attentional scope. Additionally, Experiment 2 replicates these findings and shows how differential attentional tuning as a function of the anticipation versus experience of gains versus losses modulates priming-induced goal-directed behaviour.

Reinstating the Resourceful Self: When and How Self-Affirmations Improve Executive Performance of the Powerless.

Research has found that lack of power impairs executive functions. In the present research, we show that this impairment is not immutable. Across three studies and focusing on inhibitory control as one of the core facets of executive functions, our investigation shows that self-affirmation attenuates the previously documented decrements in inhibitory control of the powerless (Studies 1-3). We also examine boundary conditions of this effect and demonstrate that self-affirmation is most effective insofar as the powerless lack self-esteem (Study 2). Finally, we directly test the underlying process of this effect and demonstrate that self-affirmation increases an efficacious self-view among the powerless, which in turn improves their inhibitory control abilities (Study 3). Overall, we conclude that reinstating an efficacious self-view through self-affirmation offsets the impairments in inhibitory control abilities of the powerless and reduces the cognitive performance gap between the powerless and the powerful.

Health & Wealth: is weight loss success related to monetary savings in U.S. adults of low-income? Findings from a National Study.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals aspire to attain various goals in life, such as committing to a healthful diet to slim down or saving for retirement to enhance future welfare. While these behaviors (weight loss and saving) share the common denominator of self-regulation, it is unclear whether success in one domain is related to the other. Therefore, we examined the relationship between long term weight loss (LTWL) success and monetary savings among U.S. adults who at one point in life diverged from normal weight status. METHODS: Data on 1994 adults with a maximum BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and with an annual household income equal or less than 200% poverty level. Data were derived from a U.S. population-based study (NHANES). The independent variable was LTWL success (loss maintained for at least 1 year), which was operationalized as < 10% (reference group), 10.00-19.99%, and ≥ 20.00%. The dependent variable was monetary savings (e.g., 401 K), defined as a 3-category ordinal variable. We employed ordered logistic regression to estimate the relationship between LTWL success and increased odds for higher overall savings. RESULTS: Multivariable analysis revealed that adjusting for income, education and other covariates, being in the highest LTWL category (≥20.00%) significantly reduced the likelihood of monetary savings in comparison to the reference group (OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.34-0.91). This relationship was not observed in the lower LTWL category (10.00-19.99%). CONCLUSIONS: Adults who in the past were overweight or obese and who presently exhibit high levels of LTWL, were markedly less successful when it came to their finances. This might stem from significant cognitive-affective resources exerted during the weight loss process coupled with a paucity of financial resources which impede financial decision making. This supposition, however, warrants future research.

Cueing healthier alternatives for take-away: a field experiment on the effects of (disclosing) three nudges on food choices.

BACKGROUND: The current field experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of nudging to promote healthy food choices. METHODS: Three types of nudges were implemented at a take-away food vendor: 1) an accessibility nudge that placed fruits at the front counter; 2) a salience nudge that presented healthy bread rolls to be more visually attractive; and 3) a social proof nudge that conveyed yoghurt as a popular choice. We additionally assessed whether nudging effects would remain robust when a disclosure message was included. The field experiment was conducted over a seven-week period. The measured outcome was the sales of the targeted healthy food products. RESULTS: The accessibility nudge significantly increased the sales of the fresh fruits. The impact of the salience nudge was limited presumably due to existing preferences or habits that typically facilitate bread purchases. As the sales of the yoghurt shakes remained consistently low over the seven-week period the impact of the social proof nudge remained unexamined. Critically, disclosing the purpose of the nudges did not interfere with effects. CONCLUSIONS: Current findings suggest nudging as an effective strategy for healthy food promotion, and offer implications for topical debate regarding the ethics of nudges.

Eating healthy to impress: How conspicuous consumption, perceived self-control motivation, and descriptive normative influence determine functional food choices.

Functional foods are promoted as products that provide specific health benefits beyond basic nutrition. While a number of studies show that the motivation behind the purchase of such products is oriented towards health concerns, we argue that consumers' choice of functional food can also be driven by less health-related hedonic or social motives, such as a tendency for indulgence vs. self-control or the motivation to impress and show off. This proposition has not been systematically and empirically tested before. Hence, the aim of the present study is to reveal the relationship between conspicuous consumption, perceived self-control motivation, susceptibility to descriptive normative influence and the consumption of functional foods. Our results (N = 900) suggest that conspicuous consumption and susceptibility to descriptive normative influence are positively associated with functional food distinctiveness evaluation while perceived self-control motivation is negatively associated with such evaluation. Moreover, results further revealed the indirect effects of susceptibility to descriptive normative influence, conspicuous consumption and perceived self-control motivation on self-reported purchase rates of functional foods via the functional food distinctiveness evaluation. The findings support the relevance of social and hedonic motives for policy makers and marketers in the functional foods industry for marketing and health promotion.

The Hunger Games: Using hunger to promote healthy choices in self-control conflicts.

The majority of existing research and conventional wisdom would advise against shopping on an empty stomach as hunger is assumed to encourage impulsive choices that typically lead to self-control failure (i.e., favouring short-term gratifications at the expense of long-term goals). Nonetheless, through two studies the current research aims to demonstrate that hungry consumers would not always be disadvantaged when encountering a self-control conflict involving a trade-off choice between a healthy vs. a more palatable but unhealthy choice. Particularly we posit that the choice outcome of the self-control conflict is dependent on contextual cues, such that hungry consumers with the tendency to make fast decisions could benefit from following a social proof heuristic promoting the healthy options. In Study 1, we indeed observed participants' self-reported hunger to be negatively associated with state self-control, but as most participants generally experienced low levels of hunger we did not observe apparent effects of hunger on food choice (DV), and correspondingly the potential influence of the social proof heuristic in moderating the choice outcome. However, in Study 2 where hunger was manipulated, we found hungry participants making significantly less healthy choices than satiated participants, but a social proof heuristic mitigated this effect (i.e., in the presence of social proof heuristic hungry participants made just as many healthy food choices as satiated participants; and hungry participants made more healthy choices in the social proof condition than in the no heuristic condition). These findings support our approach of providing contextual cues in the environment in order to work with, rather than against, the impulsivity triggered by hunger to promote successful self-control behaviours.

A Multilab Preregistered Replication of the Ego-Depletion Effect.

Good self-control has been linked to adaptive outcomes such as better health, cohesive personal relationships, success in the workplace and at school, and less susceptibility to crime and addictions. In contrast, self-control failure is linked to maladaptive outcomes. Understanding the mechanisms by which self-control predicts behavior may assist in promoting better regulation and outcomes. A popular approach to understanding self-control is the strength or resource depletion model. Self-control is conceptualized as a limited resource that becomes depleted after a period of exertion resulting in self-control failure. The model has typically been tested using a sequential-task experimental paradigm, in which people completing an initial self-control task have reduced self-control capacity and poorer performance on a subsequent task, a state known as ego depletion Although a meta-analysis of ego-depletion experiments found a medium-sized effect, subsequent meta-analyses have questioned the size and existence of the effect and identified instances of possible bias. The analyses served as a catalyst for the current Registered Replication Report of the ego-depletion effect. Multiple laboratories (k = 23, total N = 2,141) conducted replications of a standardized ego-depletion protocol based on a sequential-task paradigm by Sripada et al. Meta-analysis of the studies revealed that the size of the ego-depletion effect was small with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) that encompassed zero (d = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.15]. We discuss implications of the findings for the ego-depletion effect and the resource depletion model of self-control.

Depletion sensitivity predicts unhealthy snack purchases.

The aim of the present research is to examine the relation between depletion sensitivity - a novel construct referring to the speed or ease by which one's self-control resources are drained - and snack purchase behavior. In addition, interactions between depletion sensitivity and the goal to lose weight on snack purchase behavior were explored. Participants included in the study were instructed to report every snack they bought over the course of one week. The dependent variables were the number of healthy and unhealthy snacks purchased. The results of the present study demonstrate that depletion sensitivity predicts the amount of unhealthy (but not healthy) snacks bought. The more sensitive people are to depletion, the more unhealthy snacks they buy. Moreover, there was some tentative evidence that this relation is more pronounced for people with a weak as opposed to a strong goal to lose weight, suggesting that a strong goal to lose weight may function as a motivational buffer against self-control failures. All in all, these findings provide evidence for the external validity of depletion sensitivity and the relevance of this construct in the domain of eating behavior.

Behavioral Disinhibition Can Foster Intentions to Healthy Lifestyle Change by Overcoming Commitment to Past Behavior.

To curb the trend towards obesity and unhealthy living, people may need to change their entire lifestyle to a healthier alternative, something that is frequently perceived to be problematic. The present research, using a large, representative community sample, hypothesized and found that a key factor responsible for why people do not intend to change lifestyles is a sense of commitment to past behavior. However we also found that the contribution of commitment was attenuated for individuals with a stronger tendency for behavioral disinhibition thus underscoring the "bright side" of this individual difference characteristic that traditionally has been mainly associated with impulsive and indulging behavior. Overall, the present findings add to our understanding of factors inhibiting and promoting healthy behavior change.

It's my party and I eat if I want to. Reasons for unhealthy snacking.

Investigating the reasons that people give for unhealthy snacking behavior is important for developing effective health interventions. Little research, however, has identified reasons that apply to a large audience and most studies do not integrate multiple factors, precluding any conclusions regarding their relative importance. The present study explored reasons for unhealthy snacking among a representative community sample. Participants (N = 1544) filled out the newly developed Reasons to Snack inventory assessing an elaborate range of motives at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Exploratory and replication factor analyses identified six categories: opportunity induced eating, coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion, rewarding oneself, social pressure, and gaining energy. The highest mean scores were obtained for enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating. Regression analyses with participant characteristics as independent variables and each category of reasons as dependent variables showed differences for age. For all reasons except to enjoy a special occasion, younger people reported a higher score. Women indicated a higher score than men on coping with negative emotions, enjoying a special occasion and gaining energy. People who diet to a stronger extent reported a higher score for snacking because of social pressure, to reward oneself and to cope with negative emotions, with the latter also being related to a higher BMI. Finally, a higher education was associated with enjoying a special occasion. Future health interventions could allocate more attention to diminishing unhealthy snacking with regard to the six identified categories, specifically focusing on enjoying a special occasion and opportunity induced eating.

Put a limit on it: The protective effects of scarcity heuristics when self-control is low.

Low self-control is a state in which consumers are assumed to be vulnerable to making impulsive choices that hurt long-term goals. Rather than increasing self-control, the current research exploits the tendency for heuristic-based thinking in low self-control by employing scarcity heuristics to promote better consumption choices. Results indicate that consumers low in self-control especially benefited and selected more healthy choices when marketed as "scarce" (Study 1), and that a demand (vs supply) scarcity heuristic was most effective in promoting utilitarian products (Study 2) suggests low self-control involves both an enhanced reward orientation and increased tendency to conform to descriptive norms.