Forced to Be Bad: The Positive Impact of Low-Autonomy Vice Consumption on Consumer Vitality

Abstract

This research examines the vitality produced by vices-products that offer immediate gratification at the cost of long-term adversity. While vices are intrinsically enjoyable, they also induce guilt. Our conceptualization incorporates these opposing forces to argue that vice consumption is unique in that lowering the consumer's sense of autonomy actually results in higher vitality-in contrast to the positive relationship between autonomy and vitality that has been robustly documented in the literature. An examination of the vitality construct further suggests that low-autonomy vice consumption should consequently result in improved creativity as well as self-regulation. A set of four studies provides support for these and related implications. The obtained findings advance knowledge regarding vitality and its consequences, while they also provide insights into when and why vice consumption might actually be beneficial.

When the purpose lies within: Maximizers and satisfaction with autotelic choices

“…This resonates with recent research showing that satisficers, compared to maximizers, are more concerned about practical issues such as feasibility (Luan and Li 2017b). This finding also points to a potential boundary condition of self-determination theory, which is in line with recent research exploring such conditions (e.g., Abeyta et al 2017;Chen and Sengupta 2014). Finally, the current findings also have important managerial implications.…”

Does Endowing a Product with Life Make One Feel More Alive? The Effect of Product Anthropomorphism on Consumer Vitality

“…We document a novel antecedent of heightened vitality; namely, individuals who are currently feeling insufficient connectedness or competence can regain vitality simply by engaging in product anthropomorphism. Indeed, we hope that our focus on vitality drives further interest in this area; the construct of vitality has been largely underrepresented in the consumer literature (for a recent exception, see Chen and Sengupta 2014). This neglect is particularly surprising given the many positive consequences associated with vitality, such as task persistence, creativity, and even better health (Ryan and Frederick 1997;Penninx et al 2000;Chen and Sengupta 2014).…”

“…Past research has shown that high vitality, among its other benefits, enhances regulatory strength, which then has a positive influence on subsequent self-control. In a recent study, participants who exhibited greater vitality after consuming intrinsically enjoyable "want" products versus extrinsically rewarding "should" products performed better on subsequent self-control tasks in unrelated domains (Chen and Sengupta 2014; see also Muraven et al 2008;Laran and Janiszewski 2011). Thus, vitality can be seen as the counterforce to depletion: experiencing a state of ego depletion impairs the ability to exert self-control later on (Baumeister et al 1998), whereas experiencing high vitality enhances subsequent self-control.…”

“…Thus, people with high vitality tend to cope better with stress, be less vulnerable to illness (Penninx et al 2000), and possess greater regulatory strength (Laran and Janiszewski 2011). The final study examined one of the positive implications of vitality, which is particularly relevant to consumer behavior: improved self-control (Chen and Sengupta 2014). We predicted that for lonely and helpless people, the replenished vitality arising from the process of product anthropomorphism should increase consumers' self-control in a subsequent task.…”

Consumer Choice and Autonomy in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data

“…Providing consumers with a limited sense of autonomy can thus, paradoxically, empower them and increase their well-being and motivation. For instance, choosing a dessert at a restaurant in which all the Bhealthy options^are out of stock will allow consumers to enjoy the full hedonic experience of a chocolate cake without the guilt that would be associated with an autonomous decision [17,25]. In the same way, acknowledging a limited sense of autonomy in others can have positive consequences and make people more forgiving: a weaker belief in free will has been shown to predict less retributive attitudes regarding punishment of criminals or other deviant behavior [58].…”