The Effect Of Lack Of Sleep On Consumers' Preference For Cute Products

In recent years,people pay more attention to their sleep conditions and quality.All around the world people start to place importance on physical health and mental health problems caused by the lack of sleep.Then,will individual consumption be affected due to lack of sleep? Is there a consumption preference? For example,is there a preference for cute products or uncute products? Although the answer to this question has important practical significance and the influence mechanism has high theoretical value,no scholars have directly studied the effect of lack of sleep on individuals' preferences for cute products.Therefore,based on the theory of compensatory consumption and the implicit-self type of consumers,this paper discusses the phenomenon,internal mechanism and boundary conditions of the effect of lack of sleep on consumers' preferences for cute products.On the basis of relevant researches on lack of sleep,cute products,implicit-self theory,etc.,this study establishes a research framework for the influence of lack of sleep on consumers' preferences for cute product,and the statements are verified through a questionnaire survey(Study 1)and three laboratory experiments(Study 2,3,4).The participants' sleep quality is measured by Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI),and their implicit-self type,by the implicit-self type scale in the questionnaire.The dependent variable is the cute products(vs.not cute products).The results show that consumers with high entity self(vs.high incremental self)have a higher preference for cute products when they are lacking in sleep.The results of the questionnaire support the inference of Hypothesis 1.After the questionnaire,three laboratory experiments have been conducted to further explore the effect of lack of sleep on consumers' preferences for cute products.Study 2 adopts a between-subjects two-factor design of 2(sleep conditions: lack of sleep vs.enough sleep)*2(implicit-self type: incremental theorists vs.entity theorists).This paper controls the participants' sleep conditions by way of sleep deprivation,and their implicit-self types by way of text priming,with the purpose of create a simulation of humans' sleeping process.The dependent variable is the participants' preferences for cute products(vs.not cute products).The results confirms Hypothesis 1 again,demonstrating that lack of sleep affects the preference for cute products of consumers with entity self,but does not change the preferences for cute products of consumers with incremental self.Study 2 also explores the underlying mechanism of this process,which is to examine the intermediate influence of products on the restoration of vitality.Its results support Hypothesis 2,that is,the product rejuvenation belief has an intermediate influence on consumers' preference for cute products when they have a lack of sleep.Study 3 adopts a single factor between-subjects design.Participants are divided into groups according to their implicit-self types(implicit-self types: incremental theorists vs.entity theorists),and their sleep quality are measured at the same time.The dependent variable is their preferences for the kindchenschema cute products(vs.not cute products),and the whimsical cute products(vs.not cute products)preference choice,with the aim of examining the boundary conditions of consumers' preferences for cute products.Its results verify Hypothesis 3,namely the lack of sleep increased the extent that entity-self consumers have preferences for cute products.Only when the products belong to kindchenschema cuteness,can the conclusion be valid.When the products belong to whimsical cuteness,the effect disappeared.Study 4 studies further the boundary conditions,as well as the choice of products to help consumers to restore vitality,with a between-subjects design: 2(sleep conditions: lack of sleep vs.enough sleep)*2(implicit-self type: incremental theorists vs.entity theorists)* 2(cute product type: kindchenschema cuteness vs.whimsical cuteness).The experiment measures the participants' sleep conditions and manipulate their implicit-self types.They are given various cute products,in order to measure their vitality before and after owning the products.The data show that the entity theorists will restore vitality after receiving the cute products,which verifies Hypothesis 3 again.This study is the first to explore the effect of lack of sleep on individual preference for cute products.It verified the basic statements of the effect of lack of sleep on consumers' preferences for cute products through a questionnaire and three laboratory experiments,and discusses the regulatory variables,the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions.Theoretically,the exploration of the relationship between lack of sleep and consumers' preferences for cute products in this paper will provide theoretical advancements for the research on lack of sleep,cute products,implicit-self theory and compensatory consumption behavior.In practice,this paper explores consumers' preferences for cute products under the condition of insufficient sleep,helps consumers understand their consumption behaviors,and provides theoretical basis and practical guidance for enterprises to make marketing strategies and position their products.