Understanding Impulsive Eaters' Choice Behaviors: The Motivational Influences of Regulatory Focus

Abstract

This research attempts to understand the mechanism underlying the choice behavior of impulsive eaters. The authors propose a process according to which impulsive eaters (versus nonimpulsive eaters) spontaneously develop a promotion focus on exposure to hedonically tempting food, such as chocolate cake; their subsequent decision to consume the food is guided by this promotion orientation. Furthermore, the evoked promotion focus also influences subsequent choices in completely unrelated domains. A set of six experiments provides support for this mechanism and also examines its implications with regard to different ways of correcting impulsive eating behavior.