Seize the Day! Encouraging Indulgence for the Hyperopic Consumer

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of “hyperopia,” or an aversion to indulgence, as introduced by Kivetz and Simonson (2002) and Kivetz and Keinan (2006). We first develop a measure to capture hyperopia as an individual difference. Three empirical studies use this measure to demonstrate that hyperopia and high self-control are both conceptually and empirically distinct. Further, we show that altering the level at which an action or item is construed can make an indulgent goal or luxury product more appealing to the high hyperopia consumer by influencing its value in terms of an attractive long-term outcome.

Keywords: hyperopia, indulgence, long-term goals, self-control