This dissertation deals with the motivational foundations of consumer behavior. The dissertation utilizes insights mainly from motivational psychology, biology, and neuroscience to investigate why we are motivated to consume certain goods, but not others. In particular, the dissertation...

Growing appreciation of the novel challenges of climate change and environmental degradation is among the core drivers of the ongoing transformation in the food industry. In response to the growing costs for society and the environment, the broad reliance on large-scale and industrial methods of...

In Chapter II we investigate consumer behavior when facing target rebates, a rebate practice challenged by antitrust law. In three experiments, we confirm the hypothesis derived from Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT), that target rebates are likely to create psychological switching costs that can...