Ending on a familiar note: Perceived endings motivate repeat consumption

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Economics
• Decision Science

Background:

• Individuals often choose between novel, exciting hedonic activities and familiar, comfortable ones.
• The prevailing assumption in psychology is a preference for novelty, often summarized as 'variety is the spice of life'.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how temporal context, specifically perceived endings, influences hedonic preferences between novelty and familiarity.
• To understand the psychological mechanisms driving these shifts in preference.

Main Methods:

• Eight preregistered experiments involving 5,889 participants.
• Examined choices across diverse domains like food, travel, and music.
• Utilized moderation and mediation analyses to explore underlying factors.

Main Results:

• Perceived endings significantly shifted hedonic preferences away from novelty and towards familiarity.
• This effect was observed across various contexts, including impending New Year's resolutions and temporary experience limitations.
• Participants prioritized meaningful experiences for closure, often finding familiarity more meaningful than novelty.

Conclusions:

• Temporal context, particularly the perception of endings, is a crucial factor in hedonic decision-making.
• The desire for a personally meaningful conclusion overrides the general preference for novelty.
• Familiarity, rather than novelty, may be preferred when anticipating the end of an experience.