Attachment styles, originated from early childhood experience, have been documented to influence human behaviors among adults. Drawing on life history theory, we examined whether or not, and how, attachment styles impact risk-taking behaviors beyond evolutionary valid domains, and explored the moderation role of parental status. In the consumer behavior context, three correlational studies provide convergent evidence that insecurely attached (vs. securely attached) consumers are more risk-taking in consumption situations like dining in a toilet-themed restaurant or buying genetically modified products. Specifically, insecurely attached consumers were more likely to take risks in two experiential purchase scenarios (Study 1) and this effect was not domain-specific (Study 2). In Study 3, we showed that safety perception mediated the relationship between attachment insecurity and risk-taking, which was manifested by purchase intentions toward genetically modified products. Specifically, insecurely attached individuals perceived genetically modified products to be safer and were more willing to make a purchase. Additionally, parental status moderates the relationship (Studies 2 and 3). We conclude with a discussion on the implications of attachment theory on consumer risk-taking behaviors from a life history perspective.

Green advertising has been shown to motivate consumers to engage in green consumption behavior. However, little is known about how resource scarcity affects the efficacy of explicit and implicit appeals in green advertising. To address it, the present research investigates the differential impacts of ecological resource scarcity (vs. abundant) and personal resource scarcity (vs. abundant) on consumers’ evaluations of explicit and implicit green advertising appeals. We proposed that the relationship between resource scarcity and green advertising appeals are mediated by consumers’ perception of green products’ effectiveness. We conducted two experimental designs to examine our hypothesis. The findings show that when consumers perceive ecological resource scarcity (vs. abundant), companies that emphasize the environmental attributes of green products (e.g., explicit appeals) are more effective in conveying green messages (study 1). Conversely, when consumers experience personal resource scarcity (vs. abundant), employing the approach of green understatement (e.g., implicit appeals) to highlight the performance advantages of green products would result in favorable consequences (study 2). Furthermore, this research reveals the critical role of perceived green products’ effectiveness in improving consumers’ attitude and purchase intention (studies 1 and 2). Resource scarcity will not always decrease consumers’ pro-environmental intention. Interestingly, ecological resource scarcity and personal resource scarcity lead to opposite preferences for green advertising appeals. These findings contribute to the literature on resource scarcity in the domain of green consumption, as well as having significant practical implications for advertisers and marketers in conveying effective information for green product promotion.

According to Martin’s taxonomy (2003), affiliative and aggressive humor are the two humor styles with an interpersonal focus. Many studies have demonstrated the mental health benefits of affiliative humor, whereas less consensus has been reached on aggressive humor. Focusing on the question “when and why aggressive humor would be related to mental health”, the current study proposed that the association of aggressive humor and mental health could be mediated by gratitude and moderated by affiliative humor. The proposals were tested in a large multi-university student sample (N = 4775, Mage = 20.37) in China, showing that trait gratitude mediated the negative relationship between aggressive humor and subjective happiness and the positive relationship between aggressive humor and depression. More importantly, this effect was less substantial for those who endorse a greater (vs. lesser) affiliative humor style. Implications of gratitude as a potential mechanism in explaining the mental health correlates of aggressive humor and the interplay of interpersonal humor styles are discussed.