Ritualistic Consumption Decreases Loneliness by Increasing Meaning

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of both chronic and transient loneliness and the detrimental consequences associated with them, as a negatively valenced response to social exclusion, loneliness has received surprisingly little attention in the marketing literature. Drawing on research showing that lonely people often lack meaning in their life, the authors propose that ritualistic behavior that involves consumer products may reduce loneliness by increasing meaning in life. Specifically, a series of studies finds that engaging in even minimal, unfamiliar rituals reduces loneliness among lonely consumers. The results support the important role of meaningfulness. The authors find that the effect of rituals on loneliness is mediated by meaning in life via perceived product meaningfulness. They also find that ritualistic behavior no longer affects loneliness when the experience of meaningfulness can be derived incidentally.

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