Do people's perceptions that they live in a harsh environment influence their food choices? Drawing on life-history theory, we propose that cues indicating that the current environment is harsh (e.g., news about an economic crisis, the sight of people facing adversity in life) lead people to perceive that resources in the world are scarce. As a consequence, people seek and consume more filling and high-calorie foods, which they believe will sustain them for longer periods of time. Although perceptions of harshness can promote unhealthy eating, we show how this effect can be attenuated and redirected to promote healthier food choices.

Prior research has demonstrated that while people experience pride after an accomplishment, its experience can both encourage and discourage subsequent regulatory behavior. The current research shows that this seemingly contradictory influence can be accounted for by considering the information about the event that generated the pride (i.e., appraisal information) and whether or not a self-regulatory goal is active. In the absence of a self-regulatory goal, appraisal information concerning the locus of control (e.g., "I contributed to this achievement; it was not luck") can be used to make positive inferences about one's self-concept that reinforce further self-regulation. In the presence of a self-regulatory goal, appraisal information concerning personal agency (e.g., "This was my achievement, not someone else's achievement") can be used to make positive inferences about one's progress toward self-regulation that, in turn, licenses indulgence. Thus appraisal information and the presence of self-regulatory goals is critical to how a self-conscious emotion like pride influences subsequent behavior. Implications and potential extensions in the areas of self-conscious emotions, goals, and self-regulation are discussed.

This article uses the functionalist perspective of emotion to demonstrate that the influence of sadness on indulgent consumption depends on the presence of a hedonic eating goal. Sadness heightens a person's sensitivity to the potentially harmful consequences of indulgent consumption, which decreases indulgence when a hedonic eating goal is salient. As sadness is often associated with a loss, this protective function is geared toward preventing future losses. The execution of this function is mitigated by feelings of safety, a counterforce to concerns about the harmful consequences of goal pursuit. Alternatively, when a hedonic eating goal is not salient, or a salient goal does not have harmful consequences, sadness results in emotion regulation (i.e., indulging as a means of feeling better). This conceptualization and findings show that the effects of emotions on indulgent consumption can be goal-dependent, and that emotions can aid consumers in the balancing of long-term goals and well-being.A number of models explain how people pursue goals (goal systems theory, Kruglanski et al. 2002; regulatory focus theory, Higgins, Shah, and Friedman 1997; testoperate-test-exit, Miller, Galanter, and Pribram 1960; goal setting theory, Locke and Latham 1990). These models have been used to gain insight into factors that moderate goal pursuit, including goal accessibility (

Benign and malicious envy are a consequence of an unfavorable upward comparison to another individual (i.e., a negative self-other discrepancy). Benign (malicious) envy occurs when people believe the envied individual deserves (does not deserve) his/her advantage. Prior research has shown that benign envy motivates a person to address the self-other discrepancy via self-improvement, whereas malicious envy does not. This research shows that both types of envy, not just benign envy, can motivate self-improvement, provided that the opportunities to do so occur outside the envy-eliciting domain. Benign envy increases the accessibility of the belief that effort determines whether people are rewarded; hence, it motivates process-focused goal pursuit and the use of products that emphasize effort-dependent self-improvement. Malicious envy increases the accessibility of the belief that the effort does not determine whether people are rewarded; hence, it motivates outcome-focused goal pursuit and the use of products that emphasize effort-independent self-improvement. Implications and potential extensions in the areas of envy, self-conscious emotions, and goals are discussed.

People can be aware (conscious) or unaware (unconscious) of an active goal when making a choice. Being aware of a goal enables people to use conscious strategies to identify attributes that are relevant to goal pursuit and to assess the efficacy of the attributes of each choice alternative. For most people, this process encourages the choice of the most goal-consistent alternative. For some people, this process encourages the consideration of trade-offs, activates a competing goal, and encourages the choice of a goal-inconsistent alternative. With unconscious goal pursuit, people cannot devote resources to assessing the efficacy of the attributes of each alternative; therefore, they match the accessible goal to the attributes of the available alternatives. As a result, the unconscious selects an alternative with attributes that are consistent with the goal and not necessarily the alternative that is most efficacious for the goal. The authors investigate these processes by manipulating the conscious system's ability to assess the efficacy of product attributes and the unconscious system's ability to match the accessible goal to product attributes.