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Licensing Indulgence in the Present by Distorting Memories of Past Behavior

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  • Frank May
  • Caglar Irmak

Abstract

In the face of an opportunity to indulge, individuals may consult their memories in order to ascertain whether enough progress has been made toward a self-regulatory goal in order to justify indulgence. This research demonstrates that in such situations, impulsive individuals who possess a regulatory goal are likely to distort memories of past behavior, manufacturing goal progress in order to license indulgence in the present. In four studies, this effect is demonstrated in the domains of eating, spending, and studying, and alternative processes are ruled out. Furthermore, it is shown that perceptions of goal progress drive impulsive (vs. nonimpulsive) people's greater likelihood of engaging in behavior inconsistent with their regulatory goal. These findings provide insights into the domains of goal pursuit, impulsivity, and memory distortion.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank May & Caglar Irmak, 2014. "Licensing Indulgence in the Present by Distorting Memories of Past Behavior," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(3), pages 624-641.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/676981
    DOI: 10.1086/676981
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    Cited by:

    1. Ying Ding & Sunxu Xu, 2023. "Detrimental impact of contagious disease cues on consumer preference for anthropomorphic products," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 139-153, March.
    2. Stocchi, Dr Lara & Kemps, Eva & Anesbury, Dr Zachary, 2021. "The effect of mental availability on snack food choices," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Cowan, Kirsten, 2020. "Anything you can imagine is possible: How imagining can overcome visceral drive states elicited in promotional advertising," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 529-538.
    4. Miaolei (Liam) Jia & Xiuping Li & Aradhna Krishna & Lisa E Bolton & Darren W Dahl & Margaret C Campbell, 2020. "Contraction with Unpacking: When Unpacking Leads to Lower Calorie Budgets [See What You Want to See: Motivational Influences on Visual Perception]," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 46(5), pages 853-870.
    5. Vilches-Montero, Sonia & Pandit, Ameet & Bravo-Olavarria, Renzo & Chao, Chih-Wei (Fred), 2018. "What loyal women (and men) want: The role of gender and loyalty program characteristics in driving store loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 64-70.
    6. Kao Si & Xianchi Dai, 2022. "The memory-search frame effect: impacts on consumers’ retrieval and evaluation of consumption experiences," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 5-17, March.
    7. Jingyi Lu & Zhengyan Liu & Zhe Fang, 2016. "Hedonic products for you, utilitarian products for me," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 11(4), pages 332-341, July.
    8. Feurer, Sven & Haws, Kelly L., 2022. "Justifiable justifications in sequential indulgent choice situations: A framework for future research based on perceived exceptionality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 630-639.
    9. Marinao Artigas, Enrique & Vilches-Montero, Sonia & Chasco Yrigoyen, Coro, 2015. "Antecedents of tourism destination reputation: The mediating role of familiarity," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 147-152.
    10. Scott Motyka & Dhruv Grewal & Elizabeth Aguirre & Dominik Mahr & Ko Ruyter & Martin Wetzels, 2018. "The emotional review–reward effect: how do reviews increase impulsivity?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 46(6), pages 1032-1051, November.
    11. Vilches-Montero, Sonia & Nik Hashim, Nik Mohd Hazrul & Pandit, Ameet & Bravo-Olavarria, Renzo, 2018. "Using the senses to evaluate aesthetic products at the point of sale: The moderating role of consumers’ goals," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 82-90.
    12. Kim, Hye-Young, 2024. "The different roads not taken: considering diverse foregone alternatives motivates future goal persistence," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121459, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Pandit, Ameet & Vilches-Montero, Sonia, 2016. "Are reward cards just a business deal? The role of calculative versus emotional card commitment in driving store loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 355-360.
    14. Heydari, Ali & Laroche, Michel & Paulin, Michèle & Richard, Marie-Odile, 2021. "Hofstede's individual-level indulgence dimension: Scale development and validation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Parguel, Béatrice & Lunardo, Renaud & Benoit-Moreau, Florence, 2017. "Sustainability of the sharing economy in question: When second-hand peer-to-peer platforms stimulate indulgent consumption," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 48-57.
    16. repec:cup:judgdm:v:11:y:2016:i:4:p:332-341 is not listed on IDEAS

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