| Descript |
152 p |
| Note |
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-05, Section: A, page: 1721 |
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Advisers: Deborah J. MacInnis; Kristin Diehl |
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Southern California, 2009 |
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This dissertation examines the concept of savoring and defines it as a state of mindfulness in which consumers appreciate the pleasure they get at the very moment from an outcome or experience. Whereas past research has focused on savoring the present or the past, limited research has studied consumers savoring an experience to be consumed in the future. Focusing on the temporal dimension of the future, this dissertation contributes to the literature by (1) theoretically differentiating savoring from related constructs, (2) identifying factors that impact the extent to which consumers savor the future, and (3) examining savoring's impact on consumers' immediate and retrospective evaluations of the savored experience. It also (4) studies whether and how expectations about the valence of the future experience play a role in this process. Finally, this dissertation (5) examines whether savoring leads to more positive evaluations even when consumption experiences are worse than expected |
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Four empirical studies find that the more consumers savor a future consumption experience the more positively they evaluate it and the more positively they remember it. The results also show that having time available to think about the future is a necessary but not sufficient condition for savoring to occur. Consumers must also use the available time to enjoy thinking about the future. Having sufficient time but using that time to merely "wait" for the experience will not induce savoring and its effects (Study 2). Consumers must also have sufficient information regarding the future experience (Study 3) in order to savor the future. Savoring the future not only enhances current and retrospective evaluations of the savored experience, it also enhances expectations about the valence of the future experience (i.e., it will be better). Importantly though, savoring does not impact immediate and retrospective evaluations by affecting expectations themselves. Savoring is also found to positively affect evaluations even when the experience turns out to be not nearly as good and is thus negatively disconfirmed (Study 4). Combined, this research demonstrates that savoring has a significant and consistent effect on evaluations |
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School code: 0208 |
| Host Item |
Dissertation Abstracts International 70-05A
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| Subject |
Business Administration, Marketing
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0338
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| Alt Author |
University of Southern California. Business Administration
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