Do we really need a reason to indulge?
Xu and Schwarz, Journal of Marketing Research 46(1), 2009, 25-36. People expect more negative and less positive feelings when they indulge without a reason than when they have one or treat indulgence as consolation or a reward. Feelings reported after the most recent indulgence show no effect of having a reason, and concurrent reports show no difference. When asked how they usually feel, people's global memories match their expectations rather than their actual experiences.
Xu and Schwarz, Journal of Marketing Research 46(1), 2009, 25-36. People expect more negative and less positive feelings when they indulge without a reason than when they have one or treat indulgence as consolation or a reward. Feelings reported after the most recent indulgence show no effect of having a reason, and concurrent reports show no difference. When asked how they usually feel, people's global memories match their expectations rather than their actual experiences.
Written from the abstract, 2026-11-07.
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Xu, J., & Schwarz, N. (2009). Do we really need a reason to indulge? Journal of Marketing Research, 46(1), 25-36. doi:10.1509/jmkr.46.1.25 https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.46.1.25