Guilt Dynamics: Consequences of Temporally Separating Decisions and Actions

• Published in: The Journal of consumer research Vol. 45; no. 6; pp. 1254 - 1273
• Main Authors: Duke, Kristen E, Amir, O N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 01.04.2019
• Subjects: indulgence; self-control; guilt; emotion; time; mental accounting
• ISSN: 0093-5301; 1537-5277
• DOI: 10.1093/jcr/ucy049

Abstract The current research demonstrates that temporally separating a consumer’s initial decision to perform a guilt-inducing action from its actual enactment reduces the guilt felt while acting. This hypothesis follows from the development of a dynamic model that unpacks guilt into two distinct components. Initially, one experiences decision guilt accompanying the decision to act or the realization that one will act; subsequently, one experiences action guilt while engaging in the guilt-inducing behavior. Four experiments and two pilot studies reveal that introducing a temporal “decision-enactment gap” enables decision guilt to decay in this interim period, which lowers the overall guilt experienced upon acting. In line with the self-regulative function of guilt, decision-enactment gaps also increase indulgent consumption and decrease post-behavior atonement. This decoupling process can thus alleviate guilt that might otherwise detract from experiences, but may come at a cost to self-control efforts. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.