Abstract:
The present research introduces reference points in self-regulation as a new way to understand consumer goal-directed behaviour. Much of the products and services available on the market are consumed to attain positive end states or to avoid negative ones (Morgan, 1993; Patrick et al., 2002; Sobh et al., 2005). Having a desired end-state versus an undesired end-state as the reference point for self-regulation is called regulatory reference and is an important approach-avoidance principle underlying the hedonic motivation principle of approaching pleasure and avoiding pain (Higgins, 1996). Carver and Scheier’s (1982, 1990, 1999) control model was the first to draw a clear distinction between self-regulatory systems that have positive versus negative reference values. Empirical findings converge on the idea that approach and avoidance self-regulations have distinct effects on cognitive, affective, and behavioural processes in goal striving (e.g. Carver & Scheier, 1996; Carver et al; 2000; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Gray, 1990; Higgins, 1997). Given their asymmetric influence on human cognition and emotion, approach and avoidance selfregulation systems are also likely to have asymmetric effects on consumer goal-directed behaviour. Surprisingly, the effects of these action tendencies on consumer behaviour are still unknown. In the present thesis, a model for approach goal-directed behaviour is developed and compared to a model for avoidance ‘anti-goal’-directed behaviour, whereby hoped-for possible selves are goals to be approached and feared-possible selves are anti-goals to be avoided. The distinctive context of aging, in particular, women’s purposive behaviour in relation to dealing with visible signs of skin aging has been chosen as the venue for model testing. In order to address the research questions, a two-stage research design was adopted. Using a case study design, stage one involved 15 in-depth interviews. The interviewing was guided by the laddering technique, and content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data. Findings provided preliminary testing of the thesis’ theoretical claims and informed stage two. Stage two used an experimental design. Fifteen hundred women were randomly assigned to one of two conditions by receiving one of two versions of a survey designed to activate approach versus avoidance self-regulation systems. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test and contrast between a model for approach self-regulation and a model for avoidance self-regulation. Other statistical techniques, such as multiple regression and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), were also used to test for some other hypotheses. Findings provide evidence that approach and avoidance regulation systems impact differently on consumption preferences and motivation, and identified the asymmetric underlying mechanisms accounting for them. Specifically, results suggest that having positive versus negative reference points in self-regulation moderates the impact of feedback information on subsequent motivation as well as the preferences for specific procedures to deal with skin aging in the future. This research provides insights and an improved understanding of the dynamics of approach and avoidance self-regulation systems, a significant and unexplored area of consumer goaldirected behaviour.