自我威胁对自我改进类产品偏好的影响研究--内疚与自我改进动机的链式中介作用

The Effects of Self-threat on Consumers’ Preference for Self-improvement Product:The Chain Mediation Role of Guilt and Self-improvement Motivation

依据归因理论,旨在验证自我威胁的内部归因会引发消费者的内疚情绪,进而影响其自我改进类产品选择行为。实验一研究发现,当消费者对自我威胁进行内部归因时,更容易产生内疚情绪。实验二研究发现,消费者对自我威胁进行内部归因后,其产生的内疚情绪更容易激活自我改进动机,进而通过购买自我改进类产品实现补偿式消费;内疚和自我改进动机在自我威胁与自我改进类产品选择之间起链式中介作用。实验三进一步说明,凡是可以提高个体自身能力的产品都可以缓解因自我威胁引发的内疚情绪,无论该产品是否与自我威胁紧密相关。由此,企业应积极关注消费者经历自我威胁后产生的情绪性反应,根据消费者的情绪状态制定相关营销策略,满足消费者自我提升的消费需求,缓解自我威胁造成的负面影响。

According to attribution theory,the current research aims to explore whether the internal attribution of self-threat could trigger consumers’ feelings of guilt,which in turn influences their self-improvement product-choosing behaviors. In study 1,we find that when consumers make internal attribution to self-threat,they are more likely to feel guilty. In Study 2,we find that the guilt triggered by the internal attribution of self-threat activates consumers’ motivation of self-improvement,which leads to the purchase of self-improvement products as a way of compensatory consumption. Moreover,guilt and self-improvement motivation play a chain-mediating role between self-threat and choice of self-improvement product. Study 3 shows that any product that can improve individuals’ ability in some aspect can alleviate the guilt caused by self-threat,no matter whether the product is associated with the self-threat or not. Accordingly,enterprises should actively pay attention to consumers’ emotional response triggered by self-threats and thus formulate relevant marketing strategies on a basis of consumers’ emotional states in order to meet consumers’ consumption self-improvement needs and then alleviate the negative impacts caused by self-threat.