The Influence of Deprivation Curiosity on Consumers' Variety-Seeking Behavior

Yang Pianpian; Zhao Yating; Yang Congcong; Wang Xuehua; Jiang Yufan

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230617

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (6) : 1408-1416. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230617

The Influence of Deprivation Curiosity on Consumers' Variety-Seeking Behavior

Yang Pianpian¹, Zhao Yating¹, Yang Congcong², Wang Xuehua³, Jiang Yufan¹

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Abstract

Based on the compensatory control theory, this research explores the effect of deprivation curiosity on variety-seeking behavior. It proposes the mediating role of loss of control and the moderating role of the need for structure. We conducted five experiments to test the hypotheses. Study 1 tested whether deprived curiosity would increase variety-seeking behavior. In study 1, participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (deprived curiosity: high vs. low). This study followed the method of Wang et al. (2018) to manipulate participants’ deprived curiosity. All participants were presented with four riddles. Participants in the low-deprived curiosity condition were told the answers, while those in the high-deprived curiosity condition were not. Participants were then asked to select 5 out of 6 lollipops of different flavors. The results showed that, participants in the high-deprived curiosity condition revealed higher variety-seeking tendency than those in the low-deprived curiosity condition, which supported hypothesis 1.
Study 1b aimed to replicate the results of study 1a by using a different method to manipulate deprived curiosity and a different way to measure variety-seeking tendency. Study 1b adapted the method of Kashdan et al. (2004) to manipulate deprived curiosity. Participants were presented with a TV drama. In the low-deprived curiosity condition, participants were told the end of TV drama while those in the high-deprived curiosity condition were not. Next, participants were asked to select 3 out of 4 packages of tissues of different brands. The results showed that participants in the high-deprived curiosity condition showed higher variety-seeking tendency than those in the low-deprived curiosity condition. The results of study 1a were thus replicated.
Study 2a examined the mediating effect of loss of control. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (deprived curiosity: high vs. low). The procedure of study 2a was similar to that in study 1b. The results showed that participants in the high-deprived curiosity condition showed higher variety-seeking tendency than those in the low-deprived curiosity condition. Bootstrapping analysis results showed that loss of control mediated the effect of deprived curiosity on variety-seeking.
Study 2b manipulated loss of control to examine its mediation effect. The results showed that for participants with weak personal control, those in the high-deprived curiosity (vs. low-deprived curiosity) condition revealed higher variety-seeking tendency. For participants with strong personal control, there was no significant difference in variety-seeking edency between the high- vs. low-deprived curiosity conditions. The results showed that the need for structure moderated the effect of deprived curiosity on variety-seeking .
Overall, this research found that: (1) High (vs. low) deprivation curiosity would increase (vs. decrease) variety-seeking behavior; (2) Loss of control mediated the effect of deprivation curiosity on variety-seeking behavior; and (3) The need for structure moderated the effect of deprivation curiosity on variety-seeking behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this article is among the first to examine the effect of deprivation curiosity on variety-seeking behavior. Moreover, this research demonstrates a novel antecedent for variety-seeking behavior: deprivation curiosity. The findings of this research could help marketers to better understand how deprivation curiosity affects variety-seeking behavior and thus enhance marketing effectiveness.

Key words

deprivation curiosity / variety-seeking / loss of control / compensatory control theory / need for structure

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Yang Pianpian, Zhao Yating, Yang Congcong, Wang Xuehua, Jiang Yufan. The Influence of Deprivation Curiosity on Consumers' Variety-Seeking Behavior[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2023, 46(6): 1408-1416 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230617

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