Research

Solo consumers are a growing marketplace presence, and businesses in the experiential consumption domain are adapting their offerings to reach them. Yet the marketing literature has surprisingly little to say about solo experiences and generally suggests that they are unappealing. Drawing on solitude research, however, we propose that previously reported differences in happiness between solo and social experiences are partially attributable to differences in the extent to which solitude (vs. togetherness) is self-chosen. Across four studies, we show that consumers view solitude as less of a choice than togetherness and that this perception negatively impacts happiness from experiences. Moreover, we find that when consumers view solitude as a choice, its negative effect on happiness is attenuated. This research qualifies previous work on the relationship between solo experiences and happiness and introduces a novel perspective of how social context may influence consumption. 

We investigate extraordinary group experiences to better understand how highly stressed consumers gain and preserve long-term well-being from their associated memories. We report the results of three studies that use experiments, a survey, and organizational data from Make-A-Wish. We find that groups who are profoundly stressed and share an extraordinary experience (e.g., families with a critically ill child) create memories that improve their well-being via enhanced cohesion, the perception that the group is stable, bonded, and enduring. We show that highly stressed consumers recharge basic psychological needs through extraordinary experiences and the benefits of these experiences are prolonged by collectively rehearsing the associated memories, a process that causes consumers to come together and experience increased well-being even years after the experience. Through our investigation of special memories, cohesion, and well-being, our results suggest that investments in extraordinary group experiences by the charitable wish sector and stressed consumers is money well spent with long-term benefits.

Mothers around the world sing to infants, presumably to regulate their mood and arousal. Lullabies and playsongs differ stylistically and have distinctive goals. Mothers sing lullabies to soothe and calm infants and playsongs to engage and excite infants. In this study, mothers repeatedly sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star to their infants (n = 30 dyads), alternating between soothing and playful renditions. Infant attention and mother–infant arousal (i.e., skin conductivity) were recorded continuously. During soothing renditions, mother and infant arousal decreased below initial levels as the singing progressed. During playful renditions, maternal and infant arousal remained stable. Moreover, infants exhibited greater attention to mother during playful renditions than during soothing renditions. Mothers' playful renditions were faster, higher in pitch, louder, and characterized by greater pulse clarity than their soothing renditions. Mothers also produced more energetic rhythmic movements during their playful renditions. These findings highlight the contrastive nature and consequences of lullabies and playsongs.