The Impact of Culture Orientation on Consumption Impulsiveness and Beer Consumption

We explore how consumers deal with feelings of disgust in consumption situations. We look at the common elicitors of disgust, and discover two categories not previously documented in the literature: (1) ignorance, and (2) things that did not work out as planned, desired, or imagined. In Study 2 we use scenarios to look at responses to disgust in consumption situations, and in Study 3 we manipulate scenarios to see if reported responses in study 2 are how people actually behave. Introduction What disgusts consumers? How do consumers respond to their feelings of disgust? Disgust can be elicited in response to physical objects, and to social violations (Haidt 1997; Rozin et al. 2000). Several researchers take the view that the disgust emotion grew with human evolution, from a way to guard the human body from bacteria and illness (Haidt 1997; Rozin et al. 2000), to an emotion that helps humans know how to behave in society (Haidt 1997). In other words the emotion disgust serves an important function in society. Disgust, as it is researched now, is divided into two major categories, core disgust and socio-moral disgust. Core disgust elicitors include food, animals, body bi-products, sexual deviance, poor hygiene, and contact with death (Haidt 1997). Socio-moral disgust is elicited by contact with evil, or objects that are associated with evil or dirt (i,e., a shirt worn by an evil person). According to Haidt et al (1997), the following are often categorized as disgusting: “racism, brutality, hypocrisy, political attitudes, and violations of important social relationships. ” Linked to social wellbeing and social interests, disgust is considered a moral emotion (Rozin et al. 2000). It motivates people to act in a particular ways, and to avoid certain actions. Disgust has been identified as an emotion with relevant implications for advertising (Batra and Holbrook 1990; Holbrook and Batra 1987). Thus, it is curious that more research on the relationship between disgust and consumer behavior has not been conducted. In the current study we are interested in how consumers deal with feelings of disgust that arise in consumption situations, and how feelings of disgust influence future perceptions, behaviors, and intentions in similar situations. Study 1 Methodology. We gave questionnaires to 108 undergraduate students at a northeastern university. Because disgust is a little-studied topic in the marketing literature, our first goal was to verify the meanings of disgust that have been found in the psychology literature. We asked participants to define disgust, to give examples of times when they felt disgusted, or experienced disgust, and to describe what they did in these situations. Results. Our participants’ definitions of disgust overlapped with previous definitions of core and socio-moral disgust. When asked to list what disgusted them, core and social disgust elicitors were equally prevalent. 91.7% and 90.7% respectively. In line with existing disgust research, our respondents indicated that disgust, or a disgusting object or situation made them angry (20.4%), annoyed them (22.2%), and upset them (22.2%). Taking existing research further our study revealed that the objects and situations that cause disgust, as well as emotions facilitated by disgust have broadened. The participants included two categories of disgust not previously documented in the literature. These two categories are (1) ignorance, and (2) inconvenience, things that did not work out as planned, desired, or imagined. 19.4% of our respondents stated that they are disgusted by situations that are inconvenient to them (i.e. waiting in a line; going to an early morning class; walking in the cold, etc.), and that these situations are disappointing (23.1%) and frustrating (10.2%). According to Nabi (2002) there is a difference between the theoretical definition of disgust, which refers to core disgust, and the common use of the word, which takes on a broader meaning including irritation, annoyance, or anger. It is our observation that the experience of disgust has gone beyond physical or social survival situations, to include perceptions of inconvenience, and interruptions to individual comfort. Perhaps this is a by-product of today’s high-technology and web-based world, in which individuals are increasingly isolated. Based on this observation, we see a need to look more closely at a definition for disgust in the consumption context. Our first goal is to create a current definition of disgust, and to describe its elicitors and how people respond to it. We propose that in addition to current definitions of disgust, feelings of disgust are also felt any time an individual’s personal space and “ways-of-being” are invaded. Proposed Studies Consumer responses to feelings of disgust in consumption situations are not well understood. According to past research, and verified by our participants, disgust yields a passive response. We are curious about how individuals respond to disgust in consumption situations, where the consumer has more control. Do disgusted consumers try to escape situations, or do they take corrective action? Does the response vary by the nature of the disgust elicitor? Do customers try to avoid socio-morally disgusting situations (i.e. avoid a store in which employees are not treated fairly) and inconveniences while taking action to have a core disgust elicitor fixed (i.e. have the dirty table top at a restaurant cleaned)? We propose two additional studies to investigate these questions. Study 2 In Study 2 participants will read scenarios about situations that evoke either socio-moral or core disgust. Participants will complete a questionnaire about each situation to indicate the emotions they would feel in each situation, and how they believe they would respond.