How Nonconsumption Shapes Desire

Xianchi Dai and Ayelet Fishbach

Journal of Consumer Research, 2014, vol. 41, issue 4, 936-952

Abstract: How does nonconsumption shape desire? The proposed model suggests that desire depends on the length of nonconsumption of a good and the presence of salient alternatives, and that desire is at least partially constructed. In the absence of salient alternatives, a longer nonconsumption period results in stronger desire for the unconsumed good. However, in the presence of salient alternatives, individuals infer that they have developed new tastes, and thus a longer nonconsumption period results in a weaker desire for the unconsumed good. Five studies support this model across nonconsumption of various goods: food from home when attending college (study 1); chametz food during the Passover holiday (study 2); social media (i.e., abstaining from Facebook; study 3); and cultural foods (i.e., forgoing Japanese food, study 4; and Thai food, study 5). We discuss implications of our findings for when and how the experience of desire is constructed and situationally determined.

Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:41:y:2014:i:4:p:936-952.

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