T h e A c u t e S t r e s s - H e d o n i c C o n s u m p t i o n R e l a t i o n s h i p : T h e
M o d e r a t i n g R o l e o f I n d i v i d u a l D i f f e r e n c e s i n C o n s u m e r L i f e H i s t o r y
S t r a t e g i e s a n d O p t i m i s m
MSc Thesis Defense
MSc Marketing Management
Marianne van de Wouw
S2890496
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. B.M. Fennis
INTRODUCTION
•
High obesity numbers with detrimental consequences (World Health
Organization, 2020b)
•
High numbers of acute stress and obesity in the US (Fennis et al., 2021) →
causative relationship?
•
Previous studies show diverse results, seems to be at least one moderator at
play
•
Fennis et al. (2021) showed the moderating role of life history strategies (LHS)
•
Replicate → LHS
Extend → Optimism
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Main question:
•
“What is the effect of acute stress on hedonic food consumption?”
Sub questions:
●
Do individual differences in LHS moderate the stress-hedonic consumption relationship?
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Stress and Hedonic Consumption
•
Results of a meta-analysis indicate that stress can increase desired hedonic food
(Ferrer et al., 2020)
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Stress, Hedonic Consumption, Fast vs. Slow LHS
•
Somatic effort vs. reproduction (Laran & Salerno, 2012)
•
Slow LHS individuals
•
Somatic effort
•
Delaying pleasure
•
Fast LHS individuals
•
Reproduction
•
Instant gratification
•
Consume food whenever available (Maner et al., 2017)
•
Less effective coping strategies (van der Linden et al., 2018)
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
H1: The impact of acute stress on desired hedonic food consumption is increased for fast LHS
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Stress, Hedonic Consumption, Optimism
•
Effective coping strategies (Nes & Segerstrom, 2006)
•
Positive expectation → willing to put in effort to reach wanted outcomes (Nes
& Segerstrom, 2006)
•
Reaching future health benefits
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
H2: The impact of acute stress on desired hedonic food consumption is decreased for
METHODOLOGY
How?
Online
experiment
Qualtrics
Who?
122 valid
participants
18-65 years
old
66% female
57% Dutch
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
Stress condition Visualizing
supermarket
visit
Manipulation
check
LHS measure
Optimism
measure
Socioeconomic
status measure
Giving consent
Randomly
assigned
WTP
27 products
K-SF-42 scale
LOT-R
Reading article
Food, non-food
42 items
10 items
3 reversed, 4 filler
7 items
Indicate feelings
afterwards
Hedonic,
utilitarian
7-point Likert
scale
7-point Likert
scale
5-point Likert
scale
9-point Likert scale
(Fennis, n.d.)
(Fennis et al.,
2021)
(Acar-Burkay et
al., 2014)
(Figueredo et al.,
2017)
(Scheier et al.,
1994)
(Griskevicius et al.,
2011)
RESULTS
•
Randomisation was successful
•
Stress manipulation was successful
•
No significant interaction effect between acute stress and LHS on the desire to
consume hedonic food
•
No significant interaction effect between acute stress and optimism on the
desire to consume hedonic food
DISCUSSION
•
Results did not support hypotheses
•
Counters the study of Fennis et al. (2021)
•
Counters prior research showing that optimists were less susceptible to
emotional eating (Robert et al., 2020)
DISCUSSION
Limitations and Future Research Directions
•
No possibility to consume the food
•
Stronger cravings real life food (van der Waal et al., 2021)
•
LOT-R sees optimism and pessimism as unidimensional
DISCUSSION
Implications
•
Requiring nudges – high energy density (Fennis et al., 2021)
REFERENCES
• Acar-Burkay, S., Fennis, B.M., & Warlop, L. (2014). Trusting others: The polarization effect of need for closure. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 107(4), 719-735.
• Dember, W.N., Martin, S.H., Hummer, M.K., Howe, S.R., & Melton, R.S. (1989). The Measurement of Optimism and Pessimism. Current Psychology, 8(2), 102-119. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1007/BF02686675
• Fennis, B.M., Gineikiene, J., Barauskaite, D., & Van Koningsbruggen, G.M. (2021). Personality and Individuals Differences Acute Stress Can Boost or Buffer Hedonic Consumption The Role of Individual Differences in Consumer Life History Strategies. Manuscript submitted for publication.
• Fennis, B.M. (n.d.). Myopic Effects of Stress on Nudge Effectiveness. Unpublished Manuscript.
• Ferrer, R. A., Taber, J. M., Sheeran, P., Bryan, A. D., Cameron, L. D., Peters, E., … & Klein, W. M. P. (2020). The role of incidental affective states in appetitive risk behavior: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 39(12), 1109–1124. https://psycnet-apa-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/doi/10.1037/hea0001019
• Figueredo, A. J., Garcia, R. A., Menke, J. M., Jacobs, W. J., Gladden, P. R., Bianchi, J. M., … Li, N. P. (2017). The K-SF-42: A New Short Form of the Arizona Life History Battery. Evolutionary Psychology, 15(1).
https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1177%2F1474704916676276
• Forgeard, M.J.C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2012). Seeing the glass half full: A review of the causes and consequences of optimism. Pratiques psychologiques, 18(2), 107-120. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1016/j.prps.2012.02.002
REFERENCES
• Griskevicius, V., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & Tybur, J. M. (2011). Environmental contingency in life history strategies: the influence of mortality and socioeconomic status on reproductive timing. Journal of personality and social psychology,
100(2), 241–254. https://psycnet-apa-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/doi/10.1037/a0021082
• Laran, J., & Salerno, A. (2012). Life-History Strategy, Food Choice, and Caloric Consumption. Psychological Science, 24(2), 167-173. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1177%2F0956797612450033
• Maner, J.K., Dittmann, A., Meltzer, A.L., & McNulty, J.K. (2017). Implications of life-history strategies for obesity.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(32), 8517-8522. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1073/pnas.1620482114
• Nes, L.S., & Segerstrom, S.C. (2006). Dispositional Optimism and Coping: A Meta-Analytic Review. Personality and Social
Psychology Review, 10(3), 235-251. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1207%2Fs15327957pspr1003_3
• Robert, M., Buscail,C., Alles, B., Shankland, R., Tavolacci, M., Dechelotte, P., … & Peneau, S. (2020). Dispositional optimism is associated with weight status, eating behavior, and eating disorders in a general population-based study.
International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53, 1696-1708. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1002/eat.23347
• Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1063-1078.https://psycnet-apa-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063
REFERENCES
• Torres, S.J., & Nowson, C.A., (2007). Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity. Nutrition, 23(11-12), 887-894. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1016/j.nut.2007.08.008
• van der Linden, D., Dunkel, C.S., Tops, M., Hengartner, M.P., & Petrou, P. (2018). Life history strategy and stress: An effect of stressful life events, coping strategies, or both? Personality and Individual Differences, 135, 277-285. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1016/j.paid.2018.07.024
• van der Waal, N.E., Janssen, L., Antheunis, M., Culleton, E., van der Laan, L.N. (2021). The appeal of virtual chocolate: A systematic comparison of psychological and physiological food cue responses to virtual and real food. Food Quality and
Preference, 90. https://doi-org.proxy-ub.rug.nl/10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104167
• World Health Organization. (2020b, October 12). Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Retrieved 13 February 2021, from
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19
