Restraint That Blinds
Attention Narrowing and Consumers’ Response to Numerosity in Self-Control Decisions
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7878439 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Keith Wilcox (Columbia Business School, 3022 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, corresponding author), Sonja Prokopec (0000-0003-3149-7219, LVMH Chaired Professor of Marketing at the ESSEC Business School, 5 Nepal Park, Singapore 139408) |
| Editors | Vicki G Morwitz (0000-0002-7983-9604), Amna Kirmani, Rajesh Bagchi |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 371-387 |
| Publication date | 2019-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jcr/ucy078 |
| OpenAlex | W2904599072 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 51 |
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
Cognitive psychology · Control (management) · Numerosity adaptation effect · Perception · Scale (ratio) · Self-control · Artificial Intelligence · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Mental Health Research Topics · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology
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| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,67 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2025 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |