How does the perception that there is a shortage of something, such as gasoline, affect consumer behavior?
Gasoline has been called an “emotional commodity.” Is this why people react the way they do? It is a hot button, because it relates to our fundamental need to power things that make life comfortable and convenient. Threats to such things elicit emotional, rather than rational, reactions. We become concerned that we will somehow be left out of getting our proper share, and this causes us to act in aggressive ways that may differ dramatically from our normal modes of behavior. Is there a relationship between natural disasters and “unnatural” consumer behavior? I wouldn’t limit it to natural disasters. Any disaster — or more broadly, any occurrence that significantly disrupts access to the things we consume in the everyday course of life — can ignite emotions such as anxiety and fear. Once the emotions are unleashed, consumers become much more likely to operate in the way that we’ve seen recently with the gas lines. And, as we’ve seen in this sequence of events, emotions are very powerful
