Investigating the Pleasures of Sin: The Contingent Role of Telle Personality Disposition on Consumers' Evaluations of Vice and Virtue Product Offerings

摘要

Investigating primarily food contexts, this paper contrasts consumers' evaluations of pure vice offerings (e.g. rich chocolate) versus mixed offerings of virtues and vices (e.g. healthy chocolate). We propose that pure vice offerings involves uncertainty involving the simultaneous presence of pleasure and sin, leading to increased arousal levels. In turn, we propose that such increased arousal leads to increased preference for pure vice offerings. Consistent with this explanation, we expect that arousal-seeking consumers will prefer pure vice offerings, whereas arousal-avoidant consumers will prefer mixed offerings.