Nonconscious Nudges: Encouraging Sustained Goal Pursuit

Juliano Laran, Chris Janiszewski, Anthony Salerno, Gita V Johar, Margaret C Campbell and Cait Lamberton

Journal of Consumer Research, 2019, vol. 46, issue 2, 307-329

Abstract: A person can use a variety of strategies to sustain the pursuit of a conscious goal (e.g., deliberate on the goal, monitor goal progress, increase goal commitment). However, less is known about how to sustain the pursuit of a nonconscious goal, a reality that is reflected in the common finding that nonconscious goal pursuit typically persists for only one choice episode. This research investigates two factors that help sustain the pursuit of a nonconscious goal: increasing the level of goal activation prior to goal pursuit and limiting the extent of goal deactivation after a goal-consistent behavior. When one of these two factors is present, nonconscious goal pursuit is sustained, as evidenced by a longer sequence of goal-consistent choices. Five studies compare and contrast strategies for sustaining conscious and nonconscious goal pursuit and provide insight into how the goal system manages the pursuit of a nonconscious goal. In addition, the findings inform when a consumer is more or less likely to pursue opposing goals across sequential choices (e.g., being virtuous after being indulgent).

Keywords: nonconscious goal pursuit; conscious goal pursuit; sequential choices; consumer well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:46:y:2019:i:2:p:307-329.

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