Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2025
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration
Department
Marketing
First Advisor
Ritesh Saini
Abstract
The well-being literature has predominantly conceptualized well-being in terms of hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions. Recently, psychological richness, characterized by interesting, complex, and perspective-changing experiences, has been distinguished as a third facet of well-being. Nevertheless, research on psychological richness is in its nascent stage and the understanding of how it affects consumer behavior is scant. This three-essay dissertation aims to advance our understanding of the effect of the pursuit of psychological richness and the perception of one’s pursuit of psychological richness on consumer behavior.
In Essay 1, across ten studies (including one pre-registered study) and five consumption contexts, I examine how consumers’ motivation to acquire psychological richness shape their preferences for counterhedonic consumption, a consumption pattern that defies the conventional hedonistic principle that individuals are driven to avoid discomfort and seek out pleasure (e.g., horror movies, extremely sour foods, dark maze, etc.).
In Essay 2, across ten studies (including one pre-registered study) and five product categories, I examine how consumers’ motivation to acquire psychological richness shape their preferences for atypical products—products that deviate from typical category norms (e.g., oddly shaped table)—using both measured and manipulation of psychological richness motivation.
Finally, essay 3 examines whether consumers mispredict other’s search for psychological richness in comparison to their own, and how such misprediction affects consumption choices for self vs. others. Across six studies, I show that consumers consistently underpredict others’ pursuit for psychological richness compared to themselves.
Altogether, this dissertation aims to advance our understanding of how psychological richness affects consumer behavior, providing actionable insights for marketers, consumers, and policy makers.
Keywords
well-being, psychological richness, self-other, counterhedonic consumption, atypical preferences
Disciplines
Marketing
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Sarah Su Lin, "ECHOES OF THE RICHER MIND: ON THE PURSUIT OF PSYCHOLOGICAL RICHNESS AND THE SHADOWS IT CASTS ON CHOICE AND PERCEPTION" (2025). Marketing Dissertations. 58.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/marketing_dissertations/58