Fill Up Your Senses: A Theory of Self-Worth Restoration through High-Intensity Sensory Consumption

Rishtee K Batra, Tanuka Ghoshal, Gita JoharEditor and Derek RuckerAssociate Editor

Journal of Consumer Research, 2017, vol. 44, issue 4, 916-938

Abstract: It is well known that individuals engage in reactive consumption to address self-discrepancy and self-threat and that this consumption may either be symbolically related to the nature of the threat or occur in an unrelated domain. This research proposes a theory for self-worth restoration through the consumption of high-intensity sensory stimuli. Four studies demonstrate that not only do individuals facing self-threat prefer high-intensity sensory consumption (HISC) but also that this consumption restores their self-worth. This propensity for HISC is negated after individuals are allowed to engage in additional self-affirmation tasks. The findings are documented in both the visual domain (as evidenced by a preference for more intense and saturated colors) and the auditory domain (as evidenced by a preference for louder audio levels). The consumption of high-intensity sensory stimuli elevates individuals’ arousal levels, which in turn minimizes rumination on thoughts related to the threat and thus restores one’s self-worth. The distractive nature of HISC and its subsequent impact on self-worth restoration is shown to operate regardless of the valence of the sensory consumption. Finally, the propensity for HISC is negated after individuals experience an arousal-elevating threat, providing additional support for the underlying process.

Keywords: high-intensity sensory consumption; compensatory consumption; distraction; arousal; self-threat; self-worth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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