心理学报2026，Vol.58Issue(1)：151-165,中插12-中插16,20.DOI:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.0151
经验获益还是时间损失?老化心态对时尚消费的影响机制
Experience-gained vs.time-elapsed:How different types of aging mindset affect fashion consumption4
摘要
Abstract
Population aging is a defining global trend of our time.People are living longer,and the proportion of older adults is rising worldwide.Developing the silver economy has therefore become an important initiative to address this demographic shift.To fully unlock the consumption potential of older adults,it is essentially to understand whether,and how,different types of aging mindset influence consumer behaviour. This research compares two important and prevalent types of aging mindset:experience-gained and time-elapsed.Across five studies employing diverse research designs(correlational and experimental),samples(from the U.S.and China),and measures of fashion consumption(fashion involvement,fashion consumption preference,fashion product purchase intention),we investigate the effect of an experience-gained(vs.time-elapsed)aging mindset on fashion consumption,examining both its underlying mechanism and boundary condition among respondents aged 55 and above.Specifically,we conducted pilot study using a survey to examine the correlational relationship between attitudes towards aging and fashion consumption.Four subsequent intervention experiments established the causal link between aging mindset and fashion consumption.In these experiments,aging mindset was manipulated using verbal and recall tasks:participants in the time-elapsed(vs.experience-gained)condition wrote about personal experiences in which they felt"aging means time-elapsed(vs.experience-gained)."Studies 1-3 used one-factor(aging mindset:time-elapsed vs.experience-gained)between-subjects design.Study 1 tested the influence of aging mindset on preference for fashionable products.Study 2 examined whether aging mindset influenced fashion consumption when product stimuli differed in fashionability but were similar in uniqueness,and ruled out alternative explanation such as subjective age and perceived control.Study 3 investigated the mediating role of perceived aging-related threat in the relationship between aging mindset and fashion consumption intention,while also testing other competing alternative explanations(e.g.,present-focus and meaning in life).Finally,Study 4 employed a 2(aging mindset:time-elapsed vs.experience-gained)×2(mortality salience:high vs.low)experimental design to test the moderating role of mortality salience. The results reveal that individuals with an experience-gained aging mindset are more likely to engage in fashion consumption than those with a time-elapsed mindset.Perception of aging-related threat mediates this focal relationship:an experience-gained aging mindset reduces perceived aging-related threat,which in turn increases fashion consumption.Moreover,mortality salience moderates the effect of aging mindset on fashion consumption intention,such that the positive effect of an experience-gained(vs.time-elapsed)mindset on preference for fashion products disappears when mortality salience is high(vs.low). This paper contributes new insights into how older adults perceive their past experiences and the aging process.It shows that those with an experience-gained(vs.time-elapsed)mindset demonstrate stronger intentions to engage in fashion consumption.These findings extend the literature on older consumers by establishing aging mindset as a novel psychological antecedent of fashion consumption.Furthermore,by identifying perception of aging-related threat as a key underlying mechanism and mortality salience as a boundary condition,this article advances research on subjective views of aging,mortality salience,and older adults'self-concept and identity.It also provides theoretical guidance for marketers in developing more targeted marketing strategies based on different aging mindsets.关键词
老化心态/时尚消费/老化威胁感知/时间损失/经验获益Key words
aging mindset/fashion consumption/perception of aging-related threat/time-elapsed/experience-gained分类
社会科学引用本文复制引用
王静,王雪华,范秀成..经验获益还是时间损失?老化心态对时尚消费的影响机制[J].心理学报,2026,58(1):151-165,中插12-中插16,20.基金项目
*国家自然科学基金重点项目(71832002),国家自然科学基金面上项目(72272052,72572040). （71832002）
