Cookies Make Me Lose Control: whet appetites lead to impulsive moves

You are getting splurge-y, very, very splurge-y… 

Last week, I came across this article in Reuters, and it’s still on my mind. Basically, researchers in Singapore found that when people’s appetites are stimulated, they’re more likely to make unrelated impulsive purchases, and to pick “smaller-sooner” payoffs. The study, published in the February 2008 issue of Journal of Consumer Research, reveals that appetite stimulation can affect “splurging” behavior in totally unrelated domains.

In one experiment, researchers found that subjects who smelled chocolate chip cookies were more likely to say they’d purchase a sweater, even if they were on a tight budget, than those who smelled nothing. In another experiment, subjects were split into three groups and asked to sort through tittilating photos of food, neutral nature pictures, or no pictures. Then subjects had to choose between entering a lottery paying more money later or less money sooner. Those who had just eyed up the food porn (my words, not theirs) were most likely to pick the smaller/sooner lottery.

“[This] experiment showed that participants were more likely to satisfy their current and spontaneous desire if they were exposed to the unrelated appetitive stimulus before they made the decision,” explains head researcher Xiuping Li of the National University of Singapore.

Intrigued, I took the time to navigate my library’s website and read the actual study. When I’d finished the paper, I had two thoughts:

 1. Oh my gosh, I need a chocolate chip cookie right now.

2. In the future, H&M will have huge posters of Madonna wearing hot clothes and eating sexy foods. And from the speakers will waft both annoying techno and the smell of brownies.

I think there are two ways to interpret the results. Perhaps resisting temptation (even if the cookies are in a photo and not an actual physical temptation) depletes a person’s limited store of general willpower. Then, the next temptation is less surmountable.

Alternatively, a person might feel so pleased with him- or herself after resisting temptation (again, not a temptation in the tangible sense,) she rewards herself by splurging on something else. I employ this crazy logic all the time, in totally unrelated life domains: I didn’t buy those boots, so I deserve this sundae. I turned down a chance to go to Bar Louie and instead did homework, so I deserve this sundae. I didn’t tell Jenny the juicy gossip about Kelly that I heard from Jessica, so I deserve this sundae. Yes, I find many ways to justify my many sundaes.

It will be interesting to see if retailers do begin to whet unrelated appetites in an attempt to create the urge to splurge. Marketers might incorporate seemingly random but scintillating images in print ads, online stores, TV commercials, etc. Maybe this phenomenon helps expain Starbucks’ appeal: you enter and there are so many things you want (cute mugs! cool CD’s! nummy foods!), you feel a bit justified in bypassing the non-coffee items and spending $4.41 on the seasonal latte.

 There you have it, an additional item for my mission statement: In time, I will understand the human psyche so well I will be able to pinpoint the reason for Americans’ obsession with Starbucks.

Nahhh.