Bracing for the sting of disposal: Product purgatories encourage mental simulation of the disposal process

Abstract

Product owners often find it challenging to part with their possessions. As a result, owners may pursue various behavioral strategies to facilitate disposal, even when considering products that are no longer needed or personally useful. According to ethnographic research, one such strategy is to move products into purgatories, or temporary liminal spaces. Using an experimental approach, we aim to causally assess whether product purgatories do in fact induce disposal. Findings from three studies indicate that moving items into purgatories allows owners to psychologically brace for subsequent product disposal. However, unlike prior research that has focused on reduced product attachment as a primary driver of disposal preparedness, the present research documents a novel mechanism that does not necessarily entail attachment reduction. Specifically, purgatories are shown to trigger mental simulation of the product disposal process, thereby helping product owners brace for the looming loss of their product.