When is sociality congruent with self-care?

Abstract

Kumar and Epley (2023) argue that people underinvest in spending time, effort, and money on other people, and that consumers' own well-being would improve from increased “sociality.” We pose two questions to enhance understanding of the relationship between sociality and efforts to benefit one's own well-being: (1) when will other-oriented consumption promote versus hinder consumers' own well-being, and (2) what leads consumers to embrace versus forego efforts to improve their well-being (i.e., self-care) that does not involve sociality? We propose that the degree to which the consumer is concerned about incorporating others' preferences, the magnitude of resources involved, and the temporal dynamics of consumption will be relevant factors in addressing these two questions. Future research to explore the proposed three factors and other factors will be important for consumers who seek to improve their well-being as well as marketers who seek to promote it.