Luk WarlopBI Norwegian Business School KU Leuven

• MARKETING IS POWERFUL ART OF TEMPTATION

• But how does it work?• Why are we so vulnerable

to it?• Is it general or

domain specific• How to counter temptation?

Intertemporal choice

NOW A YEAR FROM NOW

Intertemporal choice

NOW A YEAR FROM NOW

time delay (in days)

present value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

Present value is a FEELING

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for larger, later

rewards

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

time delay (in days)

subjective value (in €)

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

greater preference for smaller, earlier

rewards

Approaching rewardsBehavioral activation system

FOOD – SURVIVAL

SEX - REPRODUCTION

Money rewards – consumer products

General reward system?

Impatience is not domain specific

Temptation in one domain can spill over to an other domain

• Participants specified the amount of money they would require in 1 [week/month] to make them indifferent to receiving €15 now

• Area under the empirical discounting function = measure of discounting (

• Myerson, Green & Warusawitharana 2001

€15 today = € ____ next [week/month]

10

11

12

13

14

0 10 20 30

Time delay (in days)

Subj

ectiv

e Va

lue

(in €

)

Van den Bergh, Dewitte & Warlop, 2008

Van den Bergh et al, 2008, study1

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Clothing evaluation study

Skill test: manager or problem solver Drinking task

Jazani & Warlop, 2012

Study 3: Results

Hot: Bra Cold: T-Shirt0

50

100

150

200

250

300

241

171.94177.84186.2

208.18

169.850000000001

PowerfulPowerlessControl

Temptation Condition

Amou

nt o

f Jui

ce D

runk

(gr)

Main effect of Temptation condition (p=0.002), significant interaction (p=0.008)

Hot State Manipulation

Cold State Manipulation

Both Cake and the Cake Pan were located in the Objective Distance of 220 cm

Hot: Bra Cold: Tshirt0

50

100

150

200

250

166.92

202.50206.88197.16

Perceived Distance from the Cake (cm)

PowerfulPowerless

Tempation Condition

Perc

eive

d Di

stan

ce in

cm

WTP for the Cake

Main effect of temptation condition (p=0.039) and significant interaction

HOT: Bikinis COLD: Tshirt0

2

4

6

8

10

1210.27

5.625.856.86

PowerfulPowerless

Temptation Condition

WTP

(Eur

o)

Impatience is not domain specific

Is patience domain specific?

• MARKETING IS POWERFUL ART OF TEMPTATION

• Counter forces– Generalized Control– Generalized Satiation

Generalized temptation

Ego depletion

Generalized control

Bladder control increases the present value of future monetary rewards

5

10

15

31 90 180 3657

male female2

3

4

5

6

700 ml70 ml

Patience

Generalized Satiation

• Marketing appeals to our animal nature – a sensitive impulse activation system

• Control system may not be so general and is limited in capacity

• Ultimately control may dependon satiation