Feeling Younger and Acting Greener: The Impact of Subjective Age on Sustainable Consumption

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aut.relation.endpage2328
aut.relation.issue10
aut.relation.journalPsychology and Marketing
aut.relation.startpage2310
aut.relation.volume41
dc.contributor.authorLee, DC
dc.contributor.authorKim, J
dc.date.accessioned2024-10-24T01:40:04Z
dc.date.available2024-10-24T01:40:04Z
dc.date.issued2024-06-12
dc.description.abstractIt is widely believed that younger generations are at the forefront of sustainability efforts. Given the significance of fostering greater consumer participation in sustainable consumption, this perception prompts an intriguing question: If consumers associate sustainability with younger individuals, can simply instilling a sense of youthfulness increase their engagement in sustainable consumption, regardless of their actual age? Building upon previous research on subjective age—that is, how old one feels—and consumer identity, we propose that consumers will gravitate towards sustainable products when they feel younger than older. This is because such products align well with their perceived age identity, creating a perception of fit. The findings across three studies provide converging evidence that simply making consumers feel younger can result in an increased preference for sustainable products. Study 1 demonstrated that feeling younger increased the selection of more sustainable products over less sustainable ones. Study 2 showed that this effect is mediated by the perceived fit. Study 3 further supported the underlying mechanism by revealing that the focal effect was mitigated when the association between sustainability and younger age was weakened. Study 4 replicated the focal effect in a consequential choice setting. Finally, Study 5 confirmed the proposed effect by using trait subjective age as a predictor.
dc.identifier.citationPsychology and Marketing, ISSN: 0742-6046 (Print); 1520-6793 (Online), Wiley, 41(10), 2310-2328. doi: 10.1002/mar.22059
dc.identifier.doi10.1002/mar.22059
dc.identifier.issn0742-6046
dc.identifier.issn1520-6793
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/18184
dc.languageen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.urihttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mar.22059
dc.rights© 2024 The Author(s). Psychology & Marketing published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
dc.subject35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
dc.subject3506 Marketing
dc.subject12 Responsible Consumption and Production
dc.subject15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
dc.subject17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
dc.subjectMarketing
dc.subject35 Commerce, management, tourism and services
dc.subject52 Psychology
dc.titleFeeling Younger and Acting Greener: The Impact of Subjective Age on Sustainable Consumption
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id558628
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