When Lack of Belonging Means Bad News for the Planet: The Consequences of Low Belonging on Ethical Product Purchases

Consumers increasingly report feeling disconnected from others. They live farther from family, belong to fewer social groups, and are more likely to live alone than ever before (Pew Research Center 2015). Low belongingness is an aversive state for consumers, since belonging is a human need (like food, water, and shelter), and relationships with others provide access to survival benefits such as resources and protection (Buss 1990). Consumers often use ethical products to help them experience belonging since these products can signal altruism and convey status to others (Griskevicius et al. 2010; Van Vugt et al. 2007). But for individuals low in belongingness, investing in ethical products may not be worthwhile since they cannot harness social benefits of these products such as elevated group status and increased access to resources within groups. Some literature suggests that low belongingness decreases prosocial actions (Baumeister et al. 2007). In this research, we predict that low belongingness may reduce interest in ethical products, leading individuals to view ethical products less favorably and pay less for them. We expect that these effects occur due to a lower focus on others, which results in less concern for social acceptance. Experiment 1 predicts that consumers who experience lower (vs. higher) feelings of social belonging will evaluate ethically branded products less favorably. 80 students participated in a lab study. Participants read a passage about an invented brand called Ony. The passage allowed us to manipulate perception of the brand as either an ethical, socially responsible brand, or as a typically branded control.