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Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset

A scarcity mindset is considered to impact consumer behaviors. Our research aimed to examine the moderating effect of the scarcity mindset on the relationship between mental accounting and hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption. We conducted an online experimental design (mental accounting: windfall...

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Autores principales: Cheng, Lin, Yu, Yinqiang, Wang, Yizhi, Zheng, Lei
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10361766/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37484092
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916
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author Cheng, Lin
Yu, Yinqiang
Wang, Yizhi
Zheng, Lei
author_facet Cheng, Lin
Yu, Yinqiang
Wang, Yizhi
Zheng, Lei
author_sort Cheng, Lin
collection PubMed
description A scarcity mindset is considered to impact consumer behaviors. Our research aimed to examine the moderating effect of the scarcity mindset on the relationship between mental accounting and hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption. We conducted an online experimental design (mental accounting: windfall gains vs. hard-earning gains; consumption: hedonic products vs. utilitarian products) and verified our hypotheses in two distinct samples: a student sample and an adult sample. Our results showed that consumers who received windfall gains tended to use it for hedonic consumption rather than utilitarian consumption. Intriguingly, such an effect was insignificant under a high level of a scarcity mindset but significant under a low level of the scarcity mindset. Moreover, consumers who received hard-earning gains tended to spend the money on utilitarian (vs. hedonic) consumption. However, we did not detect the impact of the scarcity mindset on such effects. Our research suggested an asymmetric effect of the scarcity mindset on hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption under two different mental accounts. It highlights the important role of the scarcity mindset in consumer behaviors, which leaves avenues for future research to understand marketing promotion strategies for distinct products.
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spelling pubmed-103617662023-07-22 Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset Cheng, Lin Yu, Yinqiang Wang, Yizhi Zheng, Lei Front Psychol Psychology A scarcity mindset is considered to impact consumer behaviors. Our research aimed to examine the moderating effect of the scarcity mindset on the relationship between mental accounting and hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption. We conducted an online experimental design (mental accounting: windfall gains vs. hard-earning gains; consumption: hedonic products vs. utilitarian products) and verified our hypotheses in two distinct samples: a student sample and an adult sample. Our results showed that consumers who received windfall gains tended to use it for hedonic consumption rather than utilitarian consumption. Intriguingly, such an effect was insignificant under a high level of a scarcity mindset but significant under a low level of the scarcity mindset. Moreover, consumers who received hard-earning gains tended to spend the money on utilitarian (vs. hedonic) consumption. However, we did not detect the impact of the scarcity mindset on such effects. Our research suggested an asymmetric effect of the scarcity mindset on hedonic (vs. utilitarian) consumption under two different mental accounts. It highlights the important role of the scarcity mindset in consumer behaviors, which leaves avenues for future research to understand marketing promotion strategies for distinct products. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-07-07 /pmc/articles/PMC10361766/ /pubmed/37484092 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916 Text en Copyright © 2023 Cheng, Yu, Wang and Zheng. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Cheng, Lin
Yu, Yinqiang
Wang, Yizhi
Zheng, Lei
Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title_full Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title_fullStr Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title_full_unstemmed Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title_short Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
title_sort influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10361766/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37484092
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916
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