Incidental Pride Shapes Decisions to Exert Self-Control through Construal Level
(A2020-63704)

AUTHORS

Melis Ceylan, Bilkent University; Selin Atalay, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management; Nilufer Aydinoglu, Koc University

KEYWORDS

pride; self-control; CLT

ABSTRACT

Pride is a self-conscious emotion that elicits through self-evaluation around achievements due to one’s competence (hubristic) or effort (authentic). Across four studies, we show that experiencing hubristic pride enhances self-control more than authentic pride as it activates higher-level construal and leads people to act more in line with their long-term goals. The results provide insights into self-conscious emotions and construal level research, and give implications for marketers to benefit from the feeling of pride to boost product sales.