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“Caring Is Sharing”: The Effect Of Childhood Memories On Consumers’ Lending Behavior, Teodora Szabo-Douat

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This research demonstrates that recalling childhood memories increases the likelihood of lending one’s possessions to someone else by making people (particularly those who are less rebellious) feel more connected to their communities. Five studies demonstrate the predicted effect of childhood memories on consumers’ lending intentions and actual lending behavior. The studies also provide evidence that childhood memories increase less-rebellious consumers’ sense of self–community connectedness, which, in turn, facilitates lending, as sharing in (sharing with family and close others) is a far more common form of sharing than sharing outside those circles.