Consumption Threshold at Which Virtue Products Become Vice Products: The Case of Beer
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Consumption Patterns for Products That Do Not Induce Time-Inconsistent Preferences
3. Research Design
3.1. Identification of Specific ‘Vice’ Products That Do Not Impose a Delayed Non-Pecuniary Cost
3.2. Threshold of Consumption at Which Virtue Turns into Vice
3.3. Analysis of the Lack of Consumption Self-Control through an Experiment Involving the Effect of Price Promotions on Purchase Quantity
3.4. Analysis of the Lack of Reverse Self-Control through an Experiment Involving the Effect of Passage of Time on Anticipated Regret of Choice of Alcoholic vs. Non-Alcoholic Beer Purchases
4. Results
4.1. Identification of Specific ‘Vice’ Products That Do Not Impose a Delayed Non-Pecuniary Cost
4.2. Threshold of Consumption at Which Virtue Turns into Vice
4.3. Analysis of the Lack of Consumption Self-Control through an Experiment Involving the Effect of Price Promotions on Quantity Purchases
Manipulation Checks of the Experiment
4.4. Analysis of the Lack of Reverse Self-Control through an Experiment Involving the Effect of Passage of Time on Anticipated Regret of Choice of Alcoholic vs. Non-Alcoholic Beer Purchases
4.5. Discussion
‘A carrot is clearly healthy and a sweet fizzy drink is not, but the distinction is not always as obvious as that. A company may reduce the sugar content of a biscuit, but that does not make it healthy. A hamburger may be ‘energy dense’, as nutritionists put it, with a lot of calories packed in, but it has some nutritional value. Even a deep-fried Oreo, a cannonball of fat and sugar, will not doom the consumer to obesity if eaten only occasionally’ [33].
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A. Questionnaire
Appendix A.1. Regret in the Choice of Beer Type
Q1. Low anticipated level of regret tomorrow for choosing non-alcoholic beer today | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | High anticipated level of regret tomorrow for choosing non-alcoholic beer today |
Q2. Low anticipated level of regret tomorrow for choosing alcoholic beer today | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | High anticipated level of regret tomorrow for choosing alcoholic beer today |
Q3. Low anticipated level of regret in ten years for choosing non-alcoholic beer today | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | High anticipated level of regret in ten years for choosing non-alcoholic beer today |
Q4. Low anticipated level of regret in ten years for choosing alcoholic beer today | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | High anticipated level of regret in ten years for choosing alcoholic beer today |
Appendix A.2. Consequences of Consumption of Type of Beer
Q5. Alcoholic beer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Non-alcoholic beer |
Q6. Alcoholic beer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Non-alcoholic beer |
Appendix A.3. Purchase/Consumption Quantity of Beer Type
Purchase Choice | |||
Beer | 0 cans | 1 can for 1 € | 3 cans for 2.80 € |
Q7a. 5% alcohol beer |
Q8a. Bad flavour after one can | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Good flavour after one can |
Q9a. Bad flavour after three cans | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Good flavour after three cans |
Q10a. Bad future consequences after 1 can | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Good future consequences after 1 can |
Q11a. Bad future consequences after 3 can | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Good future consequences after 3 cans |
Q12a. Cheap | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Expensive |
Appendix A.4. Type of Beer Consumer
Describes Me Usually | Describes Me Sometimes | Never Describes Me | |||||
Q13. Impulsive | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q14. Careless | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q15. Self-controlled | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q16. Extravagant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q17. Farsighted | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q18. Responsible | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q19. Restrained | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q20. Easily tempted | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q21. Rational | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q22. Methodical | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q23. Enjoy spending | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Q24. A planner | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
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Product Category | Immediate Consequences I | Delayed Consequences D | Product Category | Mean Temporal Reversal Score | N |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alcoholic beer | −1.590 ***** | −0.056 | Non-alcoholic beer | 1.01 ***** | 176 |
Variable | Coefficient | Coefficient |
---|---|---|
Intercept | −1.897 ** (0.619) | −1.609 * (0.775) |
Frame | 0.569 (0.533) | 0.606 (0.478) |
Discount | 1.915 *** (0.537) | 1.946 **** (0.482) |
Frame * discount | −0.212 (0.895) | |
Hedonic | −0.132 (0.440) | |
Frame * discount * hedonic | −0.466 (0.992) | |
χ2 (−2 log likelihood) | 20.603 | 20.963 |
Degree of freedom | 3 | 4 |
N | 132 | 132 |
Vice Frame | Virtue Frame | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Immediate and delayed consequences according to quantity | Small Discount | Large Discount | Small Discount | Large Discount | F |
Delayed consequences after drinking one can | 4.43 | 4.27 | 4.20 | 3.85 | 1.116 |
Delayed consequences after drinking three cans | 3.57 | 3.42 | 3.95 | 3.68 | 0.543 |
Immediate consequences: Taste after drinking one can | 4.24 | 4.81 | 3.80 | 3.31 | 5.399 *** |
Immediate consequences: Taste after drinking three cans | 4.90 | 4.31 | 4.00 | 4.35 | 1.969 |
Three cans is expensive relative to one can | 4.57 | 2.88 | 4.18 | 2.71 | 16.388 **** |
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Ruiz-Conde, E.; Mas-Ruiz, F.; Parreño-Selva, J. Consumption Threshold at Which Virtue Products Become Vice Products: The Case of Beer. Foods 2021, 10, 1688. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081688
Ruiz-Conde E, Mas-Ruiz F, Parreño-Selva J. Consumption Threshold at Which Virtue Products Become Vice Products: The Case of Beer. Foods. 2021; 10(8):1688. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081688
Chicago/Turabian StyleRuiz-Conde, Enar, Francisco Mas-Ruiz, and Josefa Parreño-Selva. 2021. "Consumption Threshold at Which Virtue Products Become Vice Products: The Case of Beer" Foods 10, no. 8: 1688. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10081688