AUTHOR=Cheng Lin , Yu Yinqiang , Wang Yizhi , Zheng Lei 

TITLE=Influences of mental accounting on consumption decisions: asymmetric effect of a scarcity mindset

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1162916

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Scarcity mindset is considered to impact consumer behaviors. Our research aimed to examine the moderating effect of scarcity mindset on the relationship between mental accounting and hedonic (versus utilitarian) consumption. We conducted an online experimental design (mental accounting: windfall gains versus hard-earning gains; consumption: hedonic products versus utilitarian products), and verified our hypotheses in two distinct samples: a student sample and an adult sample. Our results showed that consumers who received windfall gains tended to use it for hedonic consumption rather than utilitarian consumption. Intriguingly, such effect was insignificant under high level of scarcity mindset, but significant under low level of scarcity mindset. Besides, consumers who received hard-earning gains tended to spend the money on utilitarian (versus hedonic) consumption. However, we didn’t detect an impact of scarcity mindset on such effect. Our research suggested an asymmetric effect of scarcity mindset on hedonic (versus utilitarian) consumption under two different mental accounts. It highlights the important role of scarcity mindset in consumer behaviors, which leaves avenues for future research to understand marketing promotion strategies for distinct products.