Acting on Information: Reminders of Resource Scarcity Promote Flexible Thinking and Adaptive Behavior

77 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2016 Last revised: 26 Sep 2018

See all articles by Kelly Goldsmith

Kelly Goldsmith

Vanderbilt University - Marketing

Caroline Roux

Concordia University, Quebec - John Molson School of Business

Anne Wilson

Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business

Date Written: August 1, 2016

Abstract

The current article advances our understanding of the psychology of scarcity by investigating the cognitive responses that are activated in response to considerations of “having less,” and their consequences for consumer behavior. Prior research across a variety of academic disciplines has revealed that resource scarcity promotes the desire to advance one’s own welfare. The authors build on this work by offering the novel proposition that because reminders of resource scarcity promote the desire to advance one’s own welfare, they will engender a cognitively flexible thinking style, in the service of that desire. As a consequence, consumers who are exposed to reminders of resource scarcity are better able to (i) identify information in the decision environment that informs how one’s welfare can be advanced (i.e., information that bears on the costs and benefits inherent to different outcomes), and (ii) adaptively respond to this information. In doing so, the authors provide a more nuanced understanding of the cognitive underpinnings of resource scarcity and their implications for consumer decision making.

Keywords: resource scarcity, tradeoffs, cognitive flexibility, adaptive behavior

Suggested Citation

Goldsmith, Kelly and Roux, Caroline and Wilson, Anne, Acting on Information: Reminders of Resource Scarcity Promote Flexible Thinking and Adaptive Behavior (August 1, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2255636 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2255636

Kelly Goldsmith (Contact Author)

Vanderbilt University - Marketing ( email )

Nashville, TN 37203
United States

Caroline Roux

Concordia University, Quebec - John Molson School of Business ( email )

1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W.
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://bit.ly/drroux

Anne Wilson

Georgetown University - McDonough School of Business

3700 O Street, NW
Washington, DC 20057
United States

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