Topic: The Disposable Self: How One-off Consumption Erodes Consumers' Sense of Self-Continuity and Its Behavioral Consequences

Speaker: Associate Professor Vincent Chi Wong, Department of Marketing, City University of Hong Kong

Moderator: Associate Professor Yunlu Yin

Time: Thursday, May 7, 2026, 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Venue: Guoshun Campus, Siyuan Faculty Building, Room 624

Abstract:

In today's "use-and-discard" consumer culture, one-off disposable products bring significant convenience to daily life. Yet the deeper psychological consequences of this efficiency-oriented consumption mode remain underexplored. This research examines the causal relationship between disposable consumption and consumers' sense of self-continuity - the psychological belief that one' s past, present, and future selves are meaningfully and stably connected. We propose that frequent use of short-lived disposable products, which lack historical and mnemonic significance, can significantly weaken consumers' state self-continuity, thereby fragmenting their sense of identity.

More importantly, the erosion of self-continuity does not remain merely at the cognitive level. It further gives rise to a range of behavioral consequences. Specifically, when consumers' self-continuity is undermined by disposable consumption, they may display several tendencies. First, they may become more short-sighted in intertemporal decision-making, preferring immediate gratification over long-term financial planning, such as showing lower willingness to save. Second, they may develop compensatory preferences for traditional, ritualistic, or nostalgic products, attempting to restore damaged self-continuity and find psychological anchors through objects that carry a sense of history. Third, when making decisions related to personal taste and identity, they may be more likely to experience a "vacuum of agency," and therefore become overly dependent on AI algorithmic recommendations. Fourth, in social and service interactions, consumers may transfer the material mindset of disposability and replaceability to interpersonal relations, showing a tendency to objectify service providers or other people in society.

This research challenges the traditional static view of material possessions and the extended self. It elevates disposable consumption from being merely an issue of environmental sustainability to one with existential implications for consumer psychological well-being and the crisis of modernity, offering new theoretical insights for future research in consumer behavior and marketing strategy.

Bio:

Dr. Vincent Chi Wong is Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing at City University of Hong Kong. He received his PhD in Marketing from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His primary research areas include consumer information processing, consumer decision-making, and cross-cultural consumer psychology.

His research has been published in leading international journals in business and psychology, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. He serves as a reviewer for multiple leading international academic journals and national-level research funding bodies. He has also served as a public lecture speaker for the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and as an examiner for the Hong Kong Civil Service examinations. Before entering academia, Dr. Wong worked for many years in Hong Kong and Macao as a radio and television host of financial programs, producer, and columnist.