Prevention Focus and Promotion Focus

Prevention Focus and Promotion Focus

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

Two ways of framing a goal: a prevention focus aims at avoiding what one does not want, and a promotion focus aims at approaching what one does want.

What it is

The distinction comes from regulatory focus theory, developed by E. Tory Higgins. People differ in which orientation they lean towards, and a message or a choice can bring one of them forward. A shopper in a prevention focus attends to avoiding mistakes, and one in a promotion focus attends to gains.

In effect

In the article on why we order the most popular dish, a study of seven experiments found that popularity signs made decisions more complex for consumers with a prevention focus.

What it does not say

It is a way of framing a goal and not a type of person. The same shopper can lean either way depending on the message or the choice at hand.

Sources

  1. Ghiassaleh, A., Kocher, B., & Czellar, S. (2020). Best seller!? Unintended negative consequences of popularity signs on consumer choice behavior. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 37(4), 805-820.