Too Tired to Choose It: Shifting Preference of To Do or To Have While Seeking Happiness

Some people endeavor to attain happiness whatever they are doing. They might pursue happiness even while choosing a simple stuff. Can seeking happiness change individuals’ buying habits? Which products are people likely to pick while seeking happiness? And why? A recent study demonstrated that the pursuit of happiness is an act of self control that requires limited resources (Kim 2013). This generates an inquiry as to how people make choices while seeking happiness because making choices also requires the same resources (Vohs et al. 2008). The current study tested whether seeking happiness would alter product preference (toward fluency preference). While there are numerous options, limited resources will make people choose easier option requiring less energy. Acts demanding high (vs. low) level construal drain greater regulatory resources (Fujita et al. 2006), and construal levels indeed shift fluency effects (Alter and Oppenheimer 2008; Tsai and McGill 2011). Given that material (vs. experiential) items show more feasible and concrete (vs. abstract) attributes, life experiences will be perceived as more difficult than material possessions. Hence, we proposed that the pursuit of happiness would lead people to prefer materialistic (vs. experiential) items.