Abstract
This talk argues that individual differences in self-control are not always the best predictor of indulgence or restraint. Rather, we demonstrate that a simple validated and reliable self-report measure of consumers’ affective forecasting accuracy (AFA) may often provide greater insight into consumers’ propensity to indulge than does a trait self-control measure. Using this measure, we demonstrate that lower AFA consumers’ weaker self-regulatory tendencies are driven by the fact that they predict greater intensity of the negative hedonic emotions associated with the virtuous decision (i.e., greater feelings of deprivation and missing out) than their higher AFA counterparts. These findings are important because affective forecasting biases are easier to modify than individual self-control resources are to manipulate: we show that a simple cognitive de-biasing intervention (i.e., surrogate affective reports embedded in product reviews) can improve the restraint of lower AFA consumers.

Authors
Hristina Nikolova and Cait Lamberton