Considering the Future: The Conceptualization and Measurement of Elaboration on Potential Outcomes

We examine a new construct dealing with individuals' tendency to elaborate on potential outcomes, that is, to generate and evaluate potential positive and negative consequences of their behaviors. We develop the elaboration on potential outcomes (EPO) scale and then investigate its relationships with conceptually related traits and its association with consumer behaviors such as exercise of self-control, procrastination, compulsive buying, credit card debt, retirement investing, and healthy lifestyle. Finally, we show that consumers with high EPO levels exhibit more effective self-regulation when faced with a choice and that EPO can be primed, temporarily improving self-regulation for consumers with low EPO levels. (c) 2007 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

[1]  A. Gifford.  Rationality and intertemporal choice , 2009 .

[2]  Gergana Y. Nenkov,et al.  How Do Emotions Influence Saving Behavior , 2009 .

[3]  L. Delaney,et al.  Psychological and Biological Foundations of Time Preference: Evidence from a Day Reconstruction Study with Biological Tracking , 2008, SSRN Electronic Journal.

[4]  Michel Tuan Pham,et al.  Promotion and Prevention in Consumer Decision Making: State of the Art and Theoretical Propositions , 2005 .

[5]  R. Morris,et al.  The Cognitive Psychology of Planning , 2004 .

[6]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Scaling Procedures: Issues and Applications , 2003 .

[7]  R. Baumeister.  Yielding to Temptation: Self‐Control Failure, Impulsive Purchasing, and Consumer Behavior , 2002 .

[8]  R. Luoto,et al.  Associations between health-related behaviors: a 7-year follow-up of adults. , 2002, Preventive medicine.

[9]  Stacy L. Wood,et al.  Psychological Indicators of Innovation Adoption: Cross-Classification Based on Need for Cognition and Need for Change , 2002 .

[10]  W. Bearden,et al.  Consumer Self‐Confidence: Refinements in Conceptualization and Measurement , 2001 .

[11]  E. Higgins,et al.  Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention pride , 2001 .

[12]  A. Bandura.  Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[13]  E. Tory Higgins,et al.  Promotion and prevention as a motivational duality: Implications for evaluative processes. , 1999 .

[14]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Handbook of Marketing Scales , 1999 .

[15]  C. Carver,et al.  On the Self-Regulation of Behavior , 1998 .

[16]  Knowlton W. Johnson.  Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: Testing a Theory for Research Use , 1998 .

[17]  David Laibson,et al.  Self-Control and Saving for Retirement , 1998 .

[18]  D. Mick,et al.  Are Studies of Dark Side Variables Confounded by Socially Desirable Responding? The Case of Materialism , 1996 .

[19]  Blake E. Ashforth,et al.  Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment , 1996 .

[20]  David I. Gilliland,et al.  The infomercial shopper , 1996 .

[21]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Self-Regulation Failure: An Overview , 1996 .

[22]  Walter Mischel,et al.  Principles of self-regulation: The nature of willpower and self-control. , 1996 .

[23]  Dennis W. Rook,et al.  Normative Influences on Impulsive Buying Behavior , 1995 .

[24]  F. Measham,et al.  A Survey of Drinking and Deviant Behaviour Among 14/15 Year Olds in North West England , 1995 .

[25]  S. Carlson,et al.  The Healthy Eating Index , 1995 .

[26]  Michael W. Bridges,et al.  Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): a reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[27]  R. Baumeister,et al.  Losing Control: How and Why People Fail at Self-Regulation , 1994 .

[28]  D. Boninger,et al.  The consideration of future consequences: Weighing immediate and distant outcomes of behavior. , 1994 .

[29]  Pamela Ramser,et al.  Quasi-rational Economics , 1993 .

[30]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Handbook of Marketing Scales: Multi-Item Measures for Marketing and Consumer Behavior Research , 1993 .

[31]  Marsha L. Richins,et al.  A Consumer Values Orientation for Materialism and Its Measurement: Scale Development and Validation , 1992 .

[32]  Ronald J. Faber,et al.  A Clinical Screener for Compulsive Buying , 1992 .

[33]  E. Higgins,et al.  Handbook of motivation and cognition : foundations of social behavior , 1991 .

[34]  Stephen J. Hoch,et al.  Time-inconsistent Preferences and Consumer Self-Control , 1991 .

[35]  D. Paulhus.  Measurement and control of response bias. , 1991 .

[36]  P. Lewinsohn,et al.  Dimensionality of coping and its relation to depression. , 1990, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[37]  P. Gollwitzer.  Action phases and mind-sets , 1990 .

[38]  C. Carver,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES How Should Multifaceted Personality Constructs Be Tested ? Issues Illustrated by Self-Monitoring , Attributional Style , and Hardiness , 2004 .

[39]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[40]  D. Paulhus,et al.  Socially Desirable Responding in Organizational Behavior: A Reconception , 1987 .

[41]  N. Cantor,et al.  Defensive pessimism: harnessing anxiety as motivation. , 1986, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[42]  Sandra L. Schneider,et al.  Reflection in preferences under risk: Who and when may suggest why , 1986 .

[43]  J. Cacioppo,et al.  The need for cognition. , 1982 .

[44]  C. Carver,et al.  Attention and Self-Regulation: A Control-Theory Approach to Human Behavior , 1981 .

[45]  C. Fornell,et al.  Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. , 1981 .

[46]  R. Hogarth,et al.  BEHAVIORAL DECISION THEORY: PROCESSES OF JUDGMENT AND CHOICE , 1981 .

[47]  J. H. Steiger.  Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix. , 1980 .

[48]  R. Sitgreaves.  Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[49]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[50]  H. Wishnie.  The Impulsive Personality: Understanding People with Destructive Character Disorders , 1977 .

[51]  H. Wishnie.  The Impulsive Personality , 1977 .

[52]  B. Fischhoff,et al.  Behavioral Decision Theory , 1977 .

[53]  D. Cartwright.  Social Learning and Clinical Psychology. , 1955 .