Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience of the project were researchers in consumer science, sustainable consumption, mindfulness; students and community members interested in mindfulness and sustainable consumption. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project involved one graduate student who was involved with the planning, conducting, analysis and interpretation of two empirical studies, one of which formed the basis for the student'sdissertation thesis. As a co-author, the student was also involved in the preparation and presentation of twoconference papers and the development and publication of a peer-reviewed journal article. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The study results have been presentedin the following publications: Peer-reviewed journal article Helm, S., & Subramaniam, B. (2019). Exploring Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness in the Context of Sustainable Consumption. Sustainability, 11(13), 3692. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133692 Peer-reviewed conference proceedings Helm, S.V., & Subramaniam, B. (2017). "How Does Consumer Mindfulness Curb Overconsumption?," Proceedings of the AMA Winter Marketing Educators' Conference, Orlando, FL. Helm, S.V., & Subramaniam, B. (2017). "Consumer Mindfulness as a Pathway to Decrease Overconsumption," Macromarketing 2017 Seminar Proceedings, Macromarketing Conference, Queenstown, New Zealand What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1) Major activities completed / surveys conducted Over the course of the project, the topic of mindfulness has garnered interest across a broad range of research disciplines. While virtually no publications existed on the intersection between mindfulness and sustainability/sustainable consumption/consumption and consumer behavior in general, growing interest was reflected in an increasing number of publications. Thus, a thorough and continued review of the literature was an important part of the project throughout its duration. Such review included the development and reporting on empirical measures for mindfulness (in particular as applicable to the consumption context). Suitable measures were identified and pretested in small consumer samples. Two online survey studies were conducted and analyzed which focused on the relationship between mindfulness and overconsumption variables; two conference papers, one peer-reviewed journal article, and one dissertation have been published based on these data. 2) Data collected Online survey study 1 investigated how sustainable consumption patterns are related to mindfulness among common consumers who are not familiar with, or exposed to, meditation or mindfulness trainings. It was guided by the research question of how mindfulness affects sustainability of consumption and whether its influence on sustainable behaviors depends on a consumer's specific environmental values and attitudes. In total, 546 adults residing within the United States participated in our study. Online study 2 investigated how differences in individual consumers' mindfulness trait reflect variations in their sustainable consumption behaviors, and explored particular mediators in this relationship (cognitive personality variables, individual values and beliefs). It also included two different conceptualizations of mindfulness for comparative purposes: the socio-cognitive interpretation of mindfulness, and the Eastern-Buddhist interpretation. A total of 973 usable responses were analyzed. 3) Summary statistics and discussion of results and Study 1: Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling on LISREL 8.80. The structural equation model indicated a good fit with all indices meeting the recommended levels. Most of the hypothesized relationships were significant. Study findings supported that socio-cognitive mindfulness is positively associated with three different kinds of sustainable consumption behaviors. Thus, more mindful individuals may generally be inclined to resort to sustainable consumption options. Mindful individuals' behavior results from a deliberate consideration of alternatives to, and outcomes of, consumption. They carefully determine what particular type of product to buy in order to decrease negative social and environmental impacts, or what alternatives to product ownership exist. As the study results indicated, they tend to engage in resource conservation, such as emissions-reducing behaviors, and selection of more environmentally and socially responsible product alternatives as forms of responsible buying. Mindful individuals cultivate novelty seeking and novelty producing ability, which may account for the observation that mindful individuals support the adoption of alternative consumption practices such as sharing of goods with others. We also found that environmental concern and perceived consumer effectiveness serve as mediators, adding to the impact that mindfulness had on sustainable consumption outcome variables and implying that environment-related values and beliefs reinforce the effect mindfulness has in increasing individuals' propensity to consume more sustainably. Materialist values were also investigated as a mediator, but we only found a weak negative association between mindfulness and materialism, and results do not fully support the expected negative mediating role of materialism with regard to sustainable consumption patterns. Study 2: Similar to Study 1, data were analyzed using structural equation modeling on LISREL 8.80. The structural equation model again indicated a good fit with all indices meeting the recommended levels. The study tested two empirical models comprising of mindfulness measures derived from both socio-cognitive and meditation-based approaches. Empirical examination of the conceptual model supports that, while the mindfulness model grounded on the socio-cognitive based approach is directly associated with sustainable consumption behaviors, there are additional indirect relationships through intervening variables, namely cognitive personality variables, values, and beliefs. Nevertheless, the empirical model built on the meditation-based approach showed that mindfulness, for the most part, is significantly associated with sustainable consumption behaviors only through intervening variables identified in the study; there was no direct association between this second model and sustainable behaviors. In addition, study results support that mindfulness had a positive and significant association with cognitive flexibility, need for cognition and self-regulatory control. Furthermore, mindful individuals who exhibited increased cognitive flexibility and self-regulation displayed refined values and beliefs such as increased levels of altruistic values, self-acceptance, perceived consumer effectiveness, and reduced materialism. In addition, need for cognition also showed a significant relationship with altruistic values, perceived consumer effectiveness, and was negatively related to materialism. Finally, values exhibited a positive and significant association with sustainable consumption behaviors. 4) Key outcomes or other accomplishments realized The project has resulted in the publication of one peer-reviewed article, one dissertation thesis, two conference papers and presentations, and several guest lectures at foreign and local universities, targeting graduate as well as undergraduate students. In addition, alternative forms of manipulating mindfulness in an experimental context have been explored, especially those based on remote mindfulness trainings; grant opportunities in support of an experimental study have been researched but ultimately, no grant funding could be obtained to sponsor an experimental study. In terms of the goals as identified in the research proposal, we achieved to 1) develop an understanding of mindfulness in the context of consumer behavior in general and sustainable consumption patterns based on continued literature in diverse disciplines; 2) identify appropriate measures from the literature and adapt such measures for the consumer behavior context; 3) design and conduct two empirical studies (online surveys); and 4) to derive managerial and public policy implications focused at increasing mindfulness among consumers and/or increasing the sustainability of consumption as listed in our four publications. Thus, the project resulted in a change in knowledge for researchers (and other readers of research articles, such as public policy makers) in terms of understanding the relationship between (different forms of) mindfulness and sustainable consumption patterns. Notably, the socio-cognitive view of mindfulness (which is the lesser known in the relevant literature discourse) has direct links to sustainable consumption, whereas the meditative view does not; additionally, insight into mediating factors is important to design interventions aiming to increase sustainability of consumption. The project also resulted in a change in knowledge for graduate and undergraduate students at multiple universities as the link between mindfulness and sustainable consumption (based on the two studies' results) was the topic of several guest lectures.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Conference participants Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student was involved in the development and execution of the survey, the data analyzes and interpretation, and the publication of two conference papers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentation of study results attwo international conferences What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue literature review in terms of overconsumption, excessive consumption, and compulsive forms of consumption, develop a study, conduct a survey, analyze data.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
A literature reveiw was conducted to cover"1) develop an understanding of mindfulness in the context of consumer behavior in general and sustainable consumption patterns in particular based on an extensive review of the literature in diverse disciplines"; a survey tool was developed andpretested to address "2) identify measures from the literature which are appropriate to use in a consumer behavior context and potentially adapt such measures for the consumer behavior context"; an online survey study was designed and executed in reference to "3) design and conduct empirical studies"; and data were analyzed and presented.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Helm, S.V., & Subramaniam, B. (2016). ⿿The Effects of Consumer Mindfulness on Sustainable Consumption, Proceedings of the EMAC Conference, Oslo, Norway
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Helm, S.V., & Subramaniam, B. (2016). ⿿Consumer Mindfulness: How Present-Moment-Awareness Affects Sustainable Consumerism, Proceedings of the AMA Winter Marketing Educators⿿ Conference, Las Vegas, NV.
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