MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION


Undermining Desire: Reducing Unhealthy Choices by Highlighting Short-Term (vs.


Long-Term) Costs Journal of Consumer Research, 50, 3, October 2023 LINK TO PAPER


KAITLIN WOOLLEY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR


Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management


Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Cornell University


LINK TO VIDEO


Co-authors • Kaitlin Woolley


Associate Professor, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of


Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University • Paul E. Stillman, Yale University


Summary


What motivates consumers to avoid unhealthy behaviors like consuming sugar, energy drinks, and fast food? Traditional interventions and lay intuition suggest that to motivate themselves, consumers can consider the negative long-term health consequences of their decisions. Yet, consumers still strug- gle to avoid unhealthy behaviors.


Woolley and Stillman find that considering short-term costs of unhealthy behaviors (e.g., irritability or indigestion after eating sugar) better curbs these behaviors than considering long-term costs or no costs. Tey theorize that short-term costs are more effective at reducing unhealthy behavior because they are more strongly associated with the act of consumption, both in terms of immediate timing and perceived likelihood of costs occurring. As such, short-term costs are better at undermining the reason for consuming un- healthily, which is anticipated enjoyment of the consumption. Tey test this process by (a) demonstrating mediation via increased association strength and subsequent decreased anticipated enjoyment, (b) manipulating the association strength between consumption and costs (i.e., same cost realized sooner vs. later), and (c) demonstrating moderation via consumers’ goal for eating unhealthily. Tese results identify a powerful but underutilized self-regulation strategy—emphasizing short-term costs of unhealthy con- sumption—with implications for consumers and marketers.


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RESEARCH WITH IMPACT: CORNELL SC JOHNSON COLLEGE OF BUSINESS • 2023 EDITION


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