Regulating Risk or Risking Regulation? Construal Levels and Depletion Effects in the Processing of Health Messages
Journal of Consumer Research · 2009 · Volume 36 · Issue 3
Abstract
The depletion effect occurs when individuals who exert self-control in a previous task (i.e., depleted individuals) exhibit less self-control on a subsequent task relative to individuals who did not previously exert self-control. This article presents two experiments that implicate construal levels to understand the processes underlying depletion effects in the context of consumer health. At low-level construals, individuals rely on resource accessibility cues (e.g., feelings of tiredness) to determine self-control. Hence, they exert less self-control only when they assess themselves as depleted, manifesting the depletion effect. High-level construals reduce the resource focus and enhance a goal focus, which diminishes and even reverses the depletion effect.
Keywords
Motivation/Desires/Goals, Health, Nutrition, Safety, Perceived Risk, Compulsive/Impulsive Consumption, Experimental Design and Analysis (ANOVA)
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