STUDY 3
The purpose of this study is to test our full conceptual
model. First, we examine whether consumers make more indulgent movie choices when they are shopping with a
kindchenschema cute, whimsically cute, or neutral Amazon.
com gift card, testing hypothesis 1a. Moreover, this
study tests the process underlying the effects of whimsical
cuteness on indulgence. We show that whimsically cute
products prime mental representations of fun, resulting in
an increased focus on approaching self-rewards and greater
indulgence. These effects, however, do not emerge for kindchenschema
cute products, which prime mental representations
of vulnerability and caretaking.