On the Psychology of Scarcity: When Reminders of Resource Scarcity Promote Selfish (and Generous) Behavior
研究发现，资源稀缺的提醒会激活竞争心态，促使人们优先考虑自身利益，这种倾向既可能表现为自私行为，也可能在慷慨能带来个人收益时表现为慷慨行为，从而解释了看似矛盾的研究发现。
Consumers often encounter reminders of resource scarcity. However, relatively little is known about the psychological processes that such reminders instantiate. In this article, we posit that reminders of resource scarcity activate a competitive orientation, which guides consumers’ decision making towards advancing their own welfare. Further, we reveal that this tendency can manifest in behaviors that appear selfish, but also in behaviors that appear generous, in conditions where generosity allows for personal gains. The current research thus offers a more nuanced understanding of why resource scarcity may promote behaviors that appear either selfish or generous in different contexts, and provides one way to reconcile seemingly conflicting prior findings.