Just for fun? The emotional regime of experiential consumption

Abstract

Experiential consumption emphasizes emotional and hedonic qualities in the marketplace stressing the importance of experiences for ‘the good life’ and positioning consumption as a legitimate way to generate interesting and relevant experiences. The concept of emotional regimes (Reddy, 2001) is used to emphasize the dialectics between structural changes in the modern marketplace and the modern way of perceiving and practising hedonic behaviour. The article considers the main ideas that have furthered modern hedonism and the practices that have transformed the abstract longing for sensitivity into concrete experiential appetites. The development of a regime of experiences is outlined, consisting of a set of techniques to bring about sensual pleasure, a discourse to verbalize the methods of pleasure seeking, and an ideology that turns pleasure into a legitimate existential goal in life for the sake of self-actualization.

Eco-Friendly Brands to Drive Sustainable Development: Replication and Extension of the Brand Experience Scale in a Cross-National Context

“…There could be national differences related to the intellectual dimension, and thus it is not generalizable cross-nationally. In addition, it should be taken into account that not only intellectual but also affective aspects are associated with decision-making in purchasing and consumption experiences [146]. In consumer-psychology, the intellectual dimension of brand experiences has been also associated with the affective dimension, so the experiencing of brands happens on three levels: sensory, affective-cognitive, and behavioral [147].…”

A Influência do Hedonismo sobre a Felicidade e a Satisfação com a Vida

“…Até a década de 1980 o estudo das emoções permaneceu limitado a um conjunto restrito de teorias, compreensões e ideias; sendo que posteriormente, começou a ser estudado com ênfase em marketing, especificamente em teorias de comportamento do consumidor, advindas da psicologia comportamental e cognitiva (Jantzen, Fitchett, Østergaard, & Vetner, 2012).…”

“…A consequência de compra é uma resposta racional ou emocional por parte dos consumidores; sendo que muitas respostas emocionais, provocam a demonstração de sentimentos positivos ou negativos (Jantzen et al, 2012).…”

“…Cabe ressaltar que o hedonismo refere-se a uma característica moderna de consumo representada pelo prazer (Blackwell, Miniard, & Engel, 2005;Arruda-Filho & Lennon, 2011;Jantzen et al, 2012).…”

How Can Consumer Research Contribute to Increased Understanding of Tourist Experiences? A Conceptual Review

“…Belk et al, 2003), suggesting that fantacies and day dreaming about experiences drive attempts to materialize consumption. Others refer to emotional regimes of consumer culture to explicate how hedonism places emphasis on pleasure, sensory and "inner" experiences (Jantzen, Fitchett, Østergaard, & Vetner, 2013). Consequently, a premise for the socialcultural approach is that such emotional regime in culture, through its ethics of continued pleasure in a modern life, is a precondition for understanding why experiential consumption are essential to consumers today.…”