If-then plans help regulate automatic peer influence on impulse buying

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to take a dual-process perspective and argues that peer influence on increasing impulse buying may also operate automatically. If-then plans, which can automate action control, may, thus, help regulate peer influence. This research extends existing literature explicating the deliberate influence of social norms. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 (N = 120) obtained causal evidence that forming an implementation intention (i.e. an if-then plan designed to automate action control) reduces peer impact on impulse buying in a laboratory experiment with young adults (students) selecting food items. Study 2 (N = 686) obtained correlational evidence for the role of norms, automaticity and implementation intentions in impulse buying using a large sample of high-school adolescents working on a vignette about clothes-shopping. Findings If-then plans reduced impulse purchases in the laboratory (Study 1). Both reported deliberation on peer norms and the reported automaticity of shopping with peers predicted impulse buying but an implementation intention to be thriftily reduced these links (Study 2). Research limitations/implications This research highlights the role of automatic social processes in problematic consumer behaviour. Promising field studies and neuropsychological experiments are discussed. Practical implications Young consumers can gain control over automatic peer influence by using if-then plans, thereby reducing impulse buying. Originality/value This research helps understand new precursors of impulse buying in understudied European samples of young consumers.

How can we master the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic? The role of planning at social levels

“…Preparing to consider all available information before making a decision as well as later adjusting decisions was crucial for effective management of the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic as well as a speedy recovery of societies afterwards. Our research shows that cIIs can facilitate team decisions by increasing the use of socially distributed information when making initial decisions; moreover, cIIs facilitate the use of temporally distributed information to revise past decisions (Thürmer et al, 2015b;Wieber et al, 2015a).…”

“…Our first empirical results proved us wrong, however. Groups with collective if-then plans made better decisions (Thürmer et al, 2015b) and were also more likely to revise their decisions in the light of new information (Wieber et al, 2015a). Delving into the rich literature on small groups soon made us realise why collective plans were so effective.…”

“…Teams thus make suboptimal decisions in hidden profile situations (Lu et al, 2012;Mesmer-Magnus & DeChurch, 2009). We (Thürmer et al, 2015b) reasoned that if-then planning may help teams in such situations. Individual if-then plans (IIs) are known to help break routines (Aarts, Dijksterhuis & Midden, 1999) and can trigger deliberating about one's decisions (Doerflinger et al, 2017;Henderson et al, 2007).…”

Strategic Self-Regulation in Groups: Collective Implementation Intentions Help Cooperate When Cooperation Is Called for

“…This finding is in line with the goal-dependency of if-then plan effects (Sheeran et al, 2005), as group membership is a prerequisite for the commitment to group goals (van Knippenberg and Ellemers, 2003). Recent research moreover indicates that cIIs are particularly effective when using an if-then format (Thürmer et al, 2020a). Understanding these processes underlying cII effects will help maximize their effects across settings (Gollwitzer et al, 2010).…”

Struggles and Strategies in Anaerobic and Aerobic Cycling Tests: A Mixed-Method Approach With a Focus on Tailored Self-Regulation Strategies

“…This might be particularly relevant in an endurance task like cycling, for instance, when the athlete feels exhausted and continued task performance becomes strenuous. Moreover, the automatic nature of if-then plans also allows them to counteract impulsive reactions (Thürmer et al, 2020). This is again of crucial relevance in endurance settings, for example, when an athlete has to control the impulse to follow every acceleration of the opponents (because not controlling this impulse would eventually wear out the athlete, reducing the chance to win the race).…”