This research explored the impact of self-threat on two types of hope, distinguished by regulatory focus: prevention hope versus promotion hope. Two experimental studies were conducted. The results of Study 1 indicated that individuals are more likely to focus on prevention hope when their self-view is threatened. Additionally, the findings in Study 1 were extended in the next experiment using an advertising context. Study 2 revealed that prevention hope-focused advertising messages were more persuasive (namely, advertising trust and the attitude toward both advertising and the brand) and inspired consumers’ behavioral intention (or purchase intention) more than promotion hope-focused advertising messages when self-threat occurred. The implications of the study’s findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Introduction

People often say, “I hope” and then hope for trivial to crucial things in their everyday lives. They hope for such things as shiny hair, “cool” outfits, to be accepted by their preferred graduate school, receive pay raises, find a wonderful spouse, prevent cancer, or avoid their problems, among others. Thus, hope arises from the desire to attain a certain goal, and relates to goal outcomes (Poels & Dewitte, 2008). One way to attain our goals is through consumption, and consequently, we consume a variety of products or services to fulfill our goals. Given its importance in our life in general, and consumption behavior in particular, marketing scholars have revealed that hope significantly impacts consumer behavior, marketing, and public policy (MacInnis & De Mello, 2005). In fact, products and services can evoke feelings of hope by providing a means to attain desirable outcomes (i.e., fashion items to achieve glamorous looks) or avoid negative outcomes (i.e., the local gym to prevent obesity). Lazarus (1999) and Snyder (2002) suggest that hope arises in both satisfactory and unsatisfactory situations. Hope arises in the latter with a goal to avoid negative consequences, whereas hope in the former can be associated with desirable accomplishments. As hope is relevant to individuals’ goal outcomes, the regulatory focus theory (RFT) can be employed to conceptualize two types of hope in the study: promotion hope versus prevention hope (Poels & Dewitte, 2008).