This research proposes that after an experience of being excluded, consumers may strategically choose products to differentiate themselves from the majority of others as a result of their appraisal of the exclusion situation. Experiments 1 and 2 show that when excluded individuals perceive that...

In the present article, we propose that consumers’ initial effort investment in pursuing a goal may increase or decrease the value of the goal and the consumer’s subsequent motivation, depending on whether the pursuit of the goal is perceived to be one’s autonomous choice. When consumers...