Distinct threats, common remedies: How consumers cope with psychological threat

Research has consistently demonstrated that psychological threats to the self have a wide variety of consequences for consumer behavior. The present research introduces a novel perspective to this topic by proposing that psychologically distinct domains of threat have a common underpinning in the coping strategies they evoke. Specifically, this paper presents the argument that distinct domains of threat can be linked to either approach motivations that foster more problem-focused coping or avoidance motivations that foster more emotion-focused coping. Multiple experiments offer systematic support for these propositions. Implications for both the psychological self-threat literature and the coping literature are discussed.