This research examines whether mental budgets, defined as self-specified allowances for behaviors, can help with self-control. We theorize that mental budgets will lead to greater self-control when the avoidance aspects of the behavior are made salient and when the decision context allows easy monitoring of one's own behavior. Study 1 finds that mental budgets help reduce consumption of indulgent products when avoidance aspects of the behavior are made salient. Study 2 finds that even when avoidance aspects are made salient, mental budgets are effective only when option information enables monitoring of one's choices relative to the budget. Study 3 finds that external reference points (a feature of both studies 1 and 2) play a critical role in reducing consumption. Study 4 extends the findings from studies 1 and 3 and finds that mental budgets are effective in enhancing self-control if the person also has a high chronic prevention focus. (c) 2009 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

We examine the influence of appeal scales on the likelihood and magnitude of donation in a large field experiment. We argue and show that the leftmost anchor on the appeal scale most strongly influences the likelihood of donating; the lower the anchor, the higher the donation likelihood. Furthermore, our findings indicate that increasing the steepness of the amounts on the appeal scale increases the magnitude of donations. Both effects are stronger for infrequent than for frequent donors. Our results demonstrate that by using what a charity knows about past donor behavior, it can alter appeal scales to change donation behavior.

There is increased interest in, and accelerating technological development of, internet-based persistent three-dimensional (3D) virtual environments. The applications of these 'virtual worlds' are growing in the fields of entertainment and information assimilation such as virtual real estate, brand building, and marketing. Such applications could, in time, lead to serious economic and business transformation. However, there is a lack of empirical work examining differences between virtual worlds and traditional virtual channels such as websites, and suggesting effective entry strategies for organizations that seek to leverage their presence in virtual worlds. This paper attempts to provide a starting point for such a discussion. Results from our qualitative and quantitative analysis indicate that there is a significant difference in perceptions of trust, product diagnosticity, informativeness, and product descriptions between websites and virtual worlds. Results also suggest that organizations need to employ a synergy strategy when marketing experience goods in virtual worlds.

A significant amount of research on numerosity demonstrates that product perceptions are often influenced by the scale on which numerical attribute information is presented. However, fewer studies have examined how self-control is influenced by the numerosity of cost information (e.g., price, nutritional content) in situations that may violate a personal goal. The present research demonstrates that, in such situations, the numerosity of cost information has a stronger influence on self-control when consumers are highly focused on restraint. Because restrained consumers regulate their behavior by anticipating the negative emotions from violating their goals, they experience a narrowing of attention during self-control decisions that makes them more reliant on numerosity as a cue for judgment. The results of eight experiments demonstrate that consumers who are primed or predisposed to be high in restraint display less self-control when cost information is presented on a contracted scale with small numbers compared to an expanded scale with large numbers. When consumers are less focused on restraint, numerosity has less of an effect on self-control because unrestrained consumers do not experience an analogous narrowing of attention.