Retracted

Reminders of Money Elicit Feelings of Threat and Reactance in Response to Social Influence

Bibliographic Data

ID11074466
AuthorsJia Liu (0000-0002-9209-1215, University of Groningen, corresponding author), Dirk Smeesters (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Kathleen D Vohs (0000-0001-5858-2603)
Year2012
Volume38
Issue6
Pages1030-1046
Publication date2012-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1086/661553
OpenAlexW2020535048
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited54

When consumers are reminded of money, do they conform, shrug off, or react against others' attempts to influence them? Prior research on reminders of money suggests that either of the last two outcomes is probable. The current research proposed that the self-sufficient motivation induced by money reminders causes consumers to perceive social influences as threats to their autonomy. We predicted that consumers reminded of money would deviate from social influence, an effect that would be caused by feeling threatened. Across three experiments, money-primed participants behaved opposite to the source of influence, displaying reactance stemming from heightened feelings of threat. However, this reactance response was eliminated when money-primed participants were not personally invested in a decision; consequently, they showed indifference in the face of social influence. Hence, reminders of money boost the motivation to be autonomous and sensitize consumers to potential constraints on their personal decision-making freedom

Advertising · Business · Feeling · Reactance · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification · Cultural Differences and Values · Engineering · Psychology · Social Psychology