The influence of time pressure on variety-seeking behavior
Introduction
In order to get a better understanding of variety-seeking behavior, this article explores relationship between time pressure and variety-seeking behavior. Time pressure can stimulate customers, which means customers may change their inner state over or under optimum stimulation level. Since the optimum stimulation level is a direct factor influence variety-seeking behavior, time pressure is supposed to be a factor of variety seeking behavior.
Background
Based on previous research, many environmental factors can change purchase behavior of consumers. Variety seeking is a kind of consumer’s behavior. Generally, studies define variety-seeking behavior as “tendency of individuals to seek in their choices of service or goods” or as a tendency for an individual to switch from a choice made on his or her previous occasion. Variety seeking is referred to a motivated phenomenon in seeking change.
Time pressure is an environmental stimuli to individuals. Optimum stimulation level is a characteristic to measure individual’s reaction towards environmental stimuli. Optimum stimulation level is a preferred certain level of stimulation, and individuals adjusted their reaction to stimuli to make sure they reach optimum stimulation level. When the environmental stimulation is below optimum, an individual would attempt to increase stimulation; when it is above optimum, she or he would attempt to reduce it.
Hypothesis
Based the theories mentioned above, this article puts forward a hypothesis: when people are under relatively higher time pressure, they would reduce their variety-seeking behavior.
When time pressure is higher, people receive high level environmental stimulation. Therefore, they are more likely to reach optimum stimulation level or be above optimum stimulation level. Under this condition, individuals are more likely to reduce their inner arousal state to optimum stimulation level. Therefore, they would like to reduce variety-seeking behavior.
When time pressure is lower, people receive low level environmental stimulation. Hence, they are more likely to below the optimum stimulation level. Variety-seeking behavior offers them a way to adjust their stimulation level to optimum stimulation level.
Experimental Study
This study would simulate “instant noodle purchase situation”. This study controls different level of time pressure over participates, and then offers several kinds of instant noodle for participates to choose. This study collected data about the number of kinds that individuals choose. 50 college students participated into this experiment and this study would implement SPSS and analysis of variance to analyze data. Following is detailed information.
Time pressure
The first part of this experiment is controlling time pressure. This study divided participants into control group and experimental group. These two groups read different articles and get different information. Control group reads an article which is talking about history and scenery; while experimental group reads an article whose content includes many words of time, such as hurry up, early, limited time and so on. These words which experimental group reads convey an information of time pressure. Based on reference, people would feel more nervous or excited when they repeatedly get information about tight time. Comparing with experimental group, control group get less feeling about tight time. In order to testify that this stimuli is efficient, this study conducts a 7-level Likert scale to measure the anxiety of participants and uses T-test to measure whether there is a significant difference between control group and experimental group.
Variety- seeking behavior After they read these articles, individuals in different group get different level of environmental stimuli. Then, all participates “purchase” 20 instant noodles from 12 kinds of instant noodles. Number of kinds demonstrates