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The Fresh Start Mindset: Transforming Consumers’ Lives

Author

Listed:
  • Linda L Price
  • Robin A Coulter
  • Yuliya Strizhakova
  • Ainslie E Schultz
  • Eileen FischerEditor
  • Sharon ShavittAssociate Editor

Abstract

This article introduces the fresh start mindset, defined as a belief that people can make a new start, get a new beginning, and chart a new course in life, regardless of their past or present circumstances. With historical roots in American culture and neoliberalism, and with contemporary links to liquid modernity and global consumer culture, this mindset structures reasoning, experience, and everyday language, and guides behavior across self- and other-transformative consumption domains. We develop a six-item scale (FSM) to measure the fresh start mindset and situate it within a broader nomological network, including growth mindset, personal capacity for change, optimism, future temporal focus, internal locus of control, self-efficacy, perseverance, resilience, and consumer variety seeking. Individuals with a stronger (vs. weaker) fresh start mindset invest in transformative change through changing their circumstances, including their own consumption choices (e.g., buying a new pair of sunglasses and getting a new self); they also are more supportive of transformative programs that assist those who are challenged to get a fresh start (i.e., disadvantaged youth, at-risk teens, veterans, and tax-burdened adults). Our work significantly contributes to transformative consumer research with attention to self-activities and programs for vulnerable populations that enable new beginnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda L Price & Robin A Coulter & Yuliya Strizhakova & Ainslie E Schultz & Eileen FischerEditor & Sharon ShavittAssociate Editor, 2018. "The Fresh Start Mindset: Transforming Consumers’ Lives," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 21-48.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:45:y:2018:i:1:p:21-48.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jcr/ucx115
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    Cited by:

    1. Debasis Pradhan, 2022. "Pandemics and consumer well‐being: Provenance and research priorities," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(1), pages 28-33, March.
    2. Hunter Jones & Eric Arnould, 2025. "Resisting Financial Consumer Responsibilization Through Community Counter-Conduct," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 198(2), pages 387-406, May.
    3. Wanderley Amaral Nogueira, Nicoli & Miranda de Oliveira Arruda Gomes, Danielle, 2024. "The unicorn match: Consumer mindset and the adoption of disruptive models," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    4. Conor M. Henderson & Lena Steinhoff & Colleen M. Harmeling & Robert W. Palmatier, 2021. "Customer inertia marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 350-373, March.
    5. Guo, Wei & Zhou, Xinyi & Duan, Jinyun, 2025. "Tomorrow is another day: How a fresh start mindset relates to goal orientations and work performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    6. Sarah Fischbach & Brielle Yauney, 2023. "Social Cognitive Theory and Reciprocal Relationship: A Guide to Single-Use Plastic Education for Policymakers, Business Leaders and Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Siyun Chen & Haiying Wei, 2023. "Linking Temporal Landmarks to Voluntary Simplicity: The Mediating Roles of Self-Transcendence and Self-Enhancement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(4), pages 693-708, December.
    8. Kliger, Doron & Levy, Meira & Rachevski, Israel, 2024. "Wellbeing: Decision making and behavior during COVID-19," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    9. Asseraf, Yoel & Gnizy, Itzhak, 2022. "Translating strategy into action: The importance of an agile mindset and agile slack in international business," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    10. Lee, Hyunjung Crystal & De Vries, Eline L.E. & Hosseini, Rahil, 2025. "Balancing generosity with profitability: The role of relative market price and value perceptions in crypto philanthropy," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 668-683.
    11. Septianto, Felix, 2021. "Every ending is a new beginning: Poignancy increases consumer preferences for self-made products," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 732-748.
    12. Shalini Bahl & George R. Milne & Elizabeth G. Miller, 2023. "Expanding consumer mindfulness for collective sustainable well‐being: Overview of the special issue and future research directions," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(2), pages 699-720, April.
    13. Jessica Strübel & Saheli Goswami & Ji Hye Kang & Rosemary Leger, 2023. "Improving Society and the Planet: Sustainability and Fashion Post-Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, August.
    14. R. Bret Leary & Rhiannon MacDonnell Mesler & Bonnie Simpson & Matthew D. Meng & William Montford, 2022. "Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID‐19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 1046-1061, September.

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