Consumer Behavior Special Interest Group

Identity research has traditionally focused on social, relational, and personal identities—categories that can be understood as operating under an opt-out structure. Once formed, these identities tend to persist unless explicitly renounced or externally disrupted. This emphasis has reinforced a broader assumption: that identities, once acquired, remain stable by default.

This paper challenges that assumption by introducing the construct of reoptive identities—self-definitions like "runner," "writer," or "meditator" that require individuals to repeatedly opt in through self-directed, ongoing practice. Reoptive identities are structurally and experientially distinct: they shape what consumers attend to, how they evaluate themselves, and how they respond to market offerings.

This framework extends identity theory by shifting the analytic focus from identity as a stable, socially affirmed label to identity as a fragile, action-affirmed mode of engagement—internally defined, effortful to sustain, and deeply consequential.

Population statistics and predictions of how long a person is expected to live, or live in good health, are typically presented in future-age frame (e.g., until the age of 84) or in time-left frame (e.g., 34 more years). Across seven online studies (N = 4103) and one field experiment (N = 14,422) we show that the time-left frame makes total life expectancy and healthspan feel shorter than the future-age frame.

We propose that this effect occurs because, compared to the future-age frame, the time-left frame more strongly prompts individuals to engage in mental bucket-listing—thinking about the things they still want to do or achieve in their lifetime. We demonstrate the consequences of this effect on consumer decisions and behaviors concerning health and longevity.