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Misery wants control: The roles of helplessness and choice in the sadness–consumption relationship

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  • Nitika Garg

Abstract

Sadness has an appraisal theme of loss and helplessness and prior research has shown that sadness leads to increased (vs neutral or happy) hedonic food consumption (e.g. M&M’s). In this research, we test the robustness of sadness’ effect on consumption and further argue that it is the innate helplessness associated with sadness ( situational helplessness ) that links sadness and hedonic consumption. Specifically, we find that an opportunity to make a choice (increased sense of control) attenuates sadness’ effect on hedonic consumption (study 1) and that making a choice attenuates the helplessness experienced by sad individuals at that moment ( general helplessness ), thereby reducing hedonic consumption (study 2). Moreover, we show that this effect extends to choice for both self and others (study 2). Implications for research and practice are discussed. JEL Classification: M31

Suggested Citation

  • Nitika Garg, 2019. "Misery wants control: The roles of helplessness and choice in the sadness–consumption relationship," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 44(3), pages 407-424, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:44:y:2019:i:3:p:407-424
    DOI: 10.1177/0312896219830152
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cryder, Cynthia E. & Lerner, Jennifer & Gross, James J. & Dahl, Ronald E., 2008. "Misery Is Not Miserly," Scholarly Articles 37093805, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Luce, Mary Frances, 1998. "Choosing to Avoid: Coping with Negatively Emotion-Laden Consumer Decisions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 409-433, March.
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    4. Raghunathan, Rajagopal & Pham, Michel Tuan, 1999. "All Negative Moods Are Not Equal: Motivational Influences of Anxiety and Sadness on Decision Making, , , , ," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 56-77, July.
    5. Nitika Garg & Lisa A Williams & Jennifer S Lerner, 2018. "The misery-is-not-miserly effect revisited: Replication despite opportunities for compensatory consumption," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(6), pages 1-8, June.
    6. Shao, Wei & Shao, Guanglin, 2011. "Understanding choice-goal compatibility, dissonance and decision satisfaction," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 14-21.
    7. Mick, David Glen & DeMoss, Michelle, 1990. "Self-Gifts: Phenomenological Insights from Four Contexts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 17(3), pages 322-332, December.
    8. Nitika Garg & J. Jeffrey Inman & Vikas Mittal, 2005. "Incidental and Task-Related Affect: A Re-Inquiry and Extension of the Influence of Affect on Choice," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(1), pages 154-159, June.
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    Cited by:

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    3. David A. Jaud & Renaud Lunardo, 2022. "Serial coping to anxiety under a pandemic and subsequent regulation of vice food and beverage consumption among young adults," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 237-256, March.
    4. Hsin-Hsien Liu & Hsuan-Yi Chou, 2022. "Attribute specification effect on hedonic and utilitarian options," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 47(2), pages 322-341, May.
    5. Michelle She Min Ngo & Michael J. Mustafa & Muhammad Mohsin Butt, 2023. "When and why employees take charge in the Workplace: the roles of learning goal orientation, role-breadth self-efficacy and co-worker support," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1681-1702, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Choice; emotion; happy; hedonic consumption; helplessness; sad;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

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