The Impact of Time-Keeping Direction on Compensatory Consumption: the Role of Perceived Resource Deficiency

Time is a scarce resource, and time‐keeping has become a common part of our lives. This research investigates the impact of exposure to a specific direction of time‐keeping on resource deficiency perception and on compensatory consumption of calories. Results from four studies show that exposure to downward time‐keeping (e.g., 60→1 s), compared to upward time‐keeping (e.g., 1→60 s), results in a higher perceived resource deficiency, leading to a higher preference, consumption, and choice of caloric foods. The effect is attenuated for evaluation of calorie‐lean foods, or by recalling instances of resourcefulness, or when time is not a resource (as in the case of waiting). Related alternate explanations are addressed. This research is the first to identify a novel antecedent of resource deficiency (i.e., time‐keeping direction), and to elicit an unexplored aspect of temporal cognition, that exposure to direction of time‐keeping can influence compensatory consumption in an unrelated domain. These findings contribute to the literature on temporal cognition and resource deficiency and may inspire further research in these domains.