Time will tell: The distant appeal of promotion and imminent appeal of prevention

Cassie Mogilner*, Jennifer L. Aaker, Ginger L. Pennington

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

149 Scopus citations

Abstract

What types of products are preferred when the purchase is immediate versus off in the distant future? Three experiments address this question by examining the influence of temporal perspective on evaluations of regulatory-framed products. The results reveal that when a purchase is about to be made, consumers prefer prevention- (vs. promotion-) framed products - an effect that is driven by the pain anticipated from potentially failing one's looming purchasing goal. When a purchase is temporally distant, however, promotion- (vs. prevention-) framed products become more appealing - an effect that is driven by the anticipated pleasure from achieving one's distant purchasing goal. Implications for the psychology of self-regulation, anticipated affect, and willpower are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)670-681
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Consumer Research
Volume34
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2008

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • Anthropology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Economics and Econometrics
  • Marketing

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