simple morning and complex night: time of day and sensory complexity
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Luo, Anqi
- Graduate Program:
- Hospitality Management (PHD)
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 31, 2022
- Committee Members:
- Donna Quadri-Felitti, Program Head/Chair
Heyao Yu, Major Field Member
Anna Mattila, Chair & Dissertation Advisor
Amit Sharma, Major Field Member
Lisa Bolton, Outside Unit & Field Member - Keywords:
- sensory complexity
consumer preference
time of day
arousal - Abstract:
- Consumers expect new flavors and more complex sensations. However, consumers may not always be attracted by sensory complexity. Does the time of the day influence consumer preferences for complex sensory stimuli? This research examines whether the desire for complex sensory stimuli varies over time. Moreover, it demonstrates the possible affective misforcasting between consumer choices and actual enjoyment of complex sensory stimuli. Drawing on the Theory of Arousal, several studies demonstrate that consumers tend to feel less internally stimulated in the morning, so they desire less sensory complex stimuli to match their internal stimulation levels (study 1, study 2 and study 3). Whether examining drink orders (study 1), choices of sparkling water (study 2), or experiences (study 3), I find a consistent effect of time of day on complexity preference. However, though consumers tend to choose simple stimuli in the morning, they enjoy complex stimuli more (study 2). Moreover, the effect of time of day on complexity preference can be moderated by individual differences in chronotype and playing music that can change arousal levels. People who should feel more physiologically aroused in the morning (i.e., morning types) are more likely to choose complex stimuli in the morning. In contrast, people who should feel less physiologically aroused in the morning prefer less complex stimuli in the morning (study 4). When playing background music that significantly increases or decreases people’s arousal level, complexity preference doesn’t vary significantly over the course of the day because people always choose more complex stimuli or less complex stimuli to match the arousal level elicited by the music (study 5 and 6). I find similar results, whether measuring arousal through self-report (study 5) or heart rate (study 6), examining juice choices (study 5), real choice behaviors (study 6), or experience consumption (study 6).