How does nonconsumption shape desire? The proposed model suggests that desire depends on the length of nonconsumption of a good and the presence of salient alternatives, and that desire is at least partially constructed. In the absence of salient alternatives, a longer nonconsumption period results in stronger desire for the unconsumed good. However, in the presence of salient alternatives, consumers infer that they have developed new tastes, and thus a longer nonconsumption period results in a weaker desire for the unconsumed good. The studies support this model across nonconsumption of various goods: food from home when attending college; chametz food during the Passover holiday; social media (abstaining from Facebook); and cultural foods (forgoing Japanese food and Thai food). The authors discuss implications of their findings for when and how the experience of desire is constructed and situationally determined.

How do we maximize enjoyment and minimize displeasure over a variety of events? Previous research has discussed how consumers might focus on savoring individual events or distribute appealing and unappealing events across time to maximize happiness. Building on this work, the current research shows that consumers track not just individual events but also "categories" of events. Consequently, a consumer who visits a modern art gallery, a classic art gallery, the opera, and a symphony concert could either construe these as four distinct experiences or as two categories of experiences (art galleries and musical performances). Consumers seem to naturally consider experiential categories. For positive experiences, consumers are reluctant to choose in a way that eliminates categories, but the opposite is true for negative experiences. Consumers may do this because eliminating categories leads to a greater subjective feeling of making progress in a hedonic experience.