The Psychology of Attraction To Multi Level Marketing: Journal of Consumer Affairs April 2023

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The psychology of attraction to multi‐level marketing
Article in Journal of Consumer Affairs · April 2023

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12526
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DOI: 10.1111/joca.12526
RESEARCH ARTICLE
The psychology of attraction to multi-level

marketing
Lucas J. Dixon | Matthew J. Hornsey | Nicole Hartley |

Cassandra M. Chapman | Justin P. Brienza
Business School, The University of

Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Abstract
Australia Despite being a risky and controversial business model,
little research has investigated personal characteristics
Correspondence
Lucas J. Dixon, Business School, that increase attraction to multi-level marketing busi-
University of Queensland, 37 Blair Drive, ness opportunities like Amway and Herbalife. A two-
St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4072,
wave survey (Ntotal = 1503) revealed that attraction to
Australia.
Email: l.dixon@business.uq.edu.au multi-level marketing opportunities was associated
with stronger extrinsic life goals (for becoming rich,
Funding information
Australian Government Research
famous, and attractive), belief systems related to spiri-
Training Program Scholarship tuality and thought-action fusion (i.e., the belief that
thoughts alone create reality), and a cognitive decision-
making style that emphasizes intuitive over rational
thinking. Intrinsic psychological needs (e.g., for control
and meaning) showed the least consistent associations.
Based on these findings, we provide guidance for con-
sumer advocates and policy makers to consider individ-
ual psychological factors in education campaigns to
improve decision making and participant wellbeing.
KEYWORDS
consumer protection, decision making, direct selling,
entrepreneurship, multi-level marketing, network marketing,
pyramid schemes
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits
use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or
adaptations are made.
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Affairs published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Council on Consumer
Interests.
J Consum Aff. 2023;1–23. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 1

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2 DIXON ET AL.
1 | INTRODUCTION
Approximately 120 million people worldwide are involved in the direct selling industry, which
generated US $180.5 billion in 2019 (World Federation of Direct Selling Associations
[WFDSA], 2020). By far the most common business structure in direct selling is multi-level
marketing (MLM). MLM companies (MLMs) claim to offer individuals an egalitarian, self-
employed pathway to achieve financial and lifestyle goals by marketing and distributing the
MLM's products to their social network in return for reselling margins (Groß, 2010). Partici-
pants also earn commissions from the wholesale purchases of other salespeople that they
recruit into their “downline” (Keep & Vander Nat, 2014). A generic structure adopted by MLMs
is demonstrated in Figure 1.
There are well known risks and controversies surrounding MLM. Exponential recruiting
can quickly saturate the market with distributors, leading to difficulties finding customers
(Bosley & McKeage, 2015; Stango & Zinman, 2009), high internal consumption (i.e., products
consumed by participants, not customers), and the risk of becoming an illegal pyramid scheme
(i.e., earning through recruiting, not selling; Bosley & Knorr, 2018; Groß & Vriens, 2019;
Koehn, 2001; Vander Nat & Keep, 2002). Because these pitfalls are not intuitive, participants
tend to overestimate the odds of succeeding (DeLiema et al., 2018; Taylor, 2011). In addition,
MLMs have been criticized for promoting a strong culture of influence, which discourages criti-
cal thinking and potentially promotes unethical behavior. Examples include using atypical testi-
monials as evidence of success, encouraging unrealistic goals, merging spiritual faith and
wealth generation, pressuring friends and family members to buy and join, and encouraging
separation from people who are critical of MLM (Groß & Vriens, 2019; Hassan & Shah, 2019;
Pratt, 2000).
These factors may pose financial, emotional, and social burdens on participants and their
families, particularly if unrealistic expectations of success are encouraged by some MLMs.
These burdens include the startup and training costs incurred, as well as excess money, time,
F I G U R E 1 Generic MLM structure. Potential compensation: distributors may receive income from product
margins on individual sales, plus a percentage of their recruited downline sales team's wholesale purchases.
Distributor network: training and mentoring relationships between up/downline members and third party
training organizations which service MLMs (Groß & Vriens, 2019). Leadership hierarchy: titles which are
conferred as members reach purchase/sales milestones.
DIXON ET AL. 3
and energy spent pursuing MLM that could have been spent finding other forms of income or
employment (Lee & Cho, 2005). In addition, if inaccurate beliefs regarding the efficacy of MLM
are reinforced during one's tenure, people may leave MLM with potentially flawed notions of
why they failed (e.g., their own effort and ability, rather than the viability of the MLM model),
leaving them vulnerable to future business opportunities with low chances of success. Volun-
tary regulatory measures have been put in place by the MLM industry to attempt to rectify these
issues (e.g., policies limiting unrealistic earnings claims and providing earnings disclosure state-
ments; Better Business Bureau, 2020) however these measures may have mixed results (Bosley,
Greenman, & Snyder, 2019).
Despite attempts to curb income expectations, MLM continues to grow in terms of participa-
tion (WFDSA, 2020). However, little is known about who is attracted to and who participates in
MLM business opportunities. Therefore, we explore whether there are psychological factors
which help explain the appeal of MLM to some individuals, despite the known controversies
and low odds of success.
2 | P R E V I O U S LI T E R A T U R E
There has been much speculation by consumer advocacy groups as to why people engage with
MLM business opportunities despite low odds of success (for a review see Groß & Vriens, 2019),
but there is relatively little academic research on the topic. Several conceptual papers have dis-
cussed the persuasive role of relationships and word of mouth in recruiting and socializing new
prospects (Constantin, 2009; Gabbay & Leenders, 2003), and an experiment showed that the
use of personal testimonials significantly increased intentions to participate in MLM (Mather
et al., 2017). Further to this, using income disclosures alongside such recruitment practices
reduced income expectations but did not reduce intentions to participate (Bosley, Greenman, &
Snyder, 2019). This suggests that while the approach of providing information about the proba-
bility of success curbs concrete or tangible outcomes such as income expectations, it may not
reduce the psychological appeal of MLM.
Several ethnographic studies have identified factors that motivate and retain participants,
including comparisons with more successful participants, aspirational goal setting, recruitment
of family members, and creating family-like bonds between participants (Pratt, 2000; Pratt &
Rosa, 2003). In addition, surveys have shown that upline support and transformational leader-
ship was associated with less isolation, more satisfaction, and higher participant performance
(Dai et al., 2017; Sparks & Schenk, 2001; Sparks & Schenk, 2006). While providing valuable
insights, this research has primarily focused on the effect of communication from “upline” par-
ticipants to those “downline” and not on the psychological factors that might contribute to who
is most likely to participate.
Regarding participant-specific factors, one survey found that motivations for initially joining
included “the chance to be my own boss” and “lifestyle flexibility” (Jain et al., 2015). However,
this study used retrospective accounts reported by current distributers, who may only recall
the most consciously available (possibly incomplete) reasons for their past behavior
(Kahneman, 2011) or may answer in ways that are personally or socially desirable (Golden, 1992;
Müller & Moshagen, 2019). Most importantly, focusing only on MLM participants without a com-
parison sample of non-participants prevents researchers from identifying individual differences:
the factors that uniquely predict whether or not someone is more likely to be attracted to and par-
ticipate in MLM.
4 DIXON ET AL.
More recently, there has been research that has focused on demographic and sociographic
comparisons between those who have, and those who have not participated in MLM. One con-
sumer report (DeLiema et al., 2018) found MLM participants were more likely to be female,
married, have achieved some college education, and to have declared bankruptcy (compared to
non-participants). Additionally, economic studies found that uptake into an MLM pyramid
fraud was greater in geographic locations with a higher proportion of religious groups
(Bosley & Knorr, 2018; Lofthouse & Storr, 2020). In a field-experiment, Bosley and colleagues
also found several variables that were associated with greater likelihood of participating in a
simulated pyramid scheme (Bosley, Greenman, & Snyder, 2019) including religiosity and over-
estimation of the likelihood of success. However, the dependent variable in this case was a pyra-
mid investment fraud and not an MLM, specifically.
In summary, research on the psychology of MLM has been sporadic and spread across disci-
plines. While a range of factors have been proposed or investigated, no study has focused on
exploring the breadth of psychological factors associated MLM and their relative influence at
different stages (e.g., before, during, and after participation). This would provide a thorough,
quantitative understanding of which psychological factors play the most important role in
MLM attraction and participation.
3 | HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT
In this section, we integrate the above MLM literature, literature on consumer decision making,
and psychological theory to develop eight exploratory hypotheses for individual differences that
may be implicated in MLM attraction and participation. In doing so, we focus on two broad psycho-
logical domains: (1) motivational factors (i.e., the psychological needs and desires that might draw
people to MLM) and (2) cognitive factors (i.e., the belief systems and thinking styles that might pre-
dispose people to be attracted to MLMs). We elaborate on the specific constructs of interest below.
3.1 | Motivational factors
3.1.1 | Extrinsic life goals
Goal Contents Theory – a component of Self Determination Theory (Kasser & Ryan, 1996) –
posits two broad types of life goals people pursue in an attempt to increase their wellbeing:
(1) extrinsic goals such as money, material possessions, and popularity, and (2) intrinsic goals
such as personal growth, deep relationships, and social contribution. Extrinsic, material goals are
implicated in many forms of consumerism, such as compulsive buying and luxury purchases
(Dittmar et al., 2014; Iyer & Muncy, 2016; Lee & Ahn, 2016; Petrescu & Kara, 2018). It seems rea-
sonable, therefore, to assume that extrinsic goals would also be associated with attraction to
MLMs. For example, MLM has controversially been marketed as an entrepreneurial pathway to
becoming “financially free” (Koehn, 2001; Schiffauer, 2019) and while self-regulatory bodies are
trying to limit unsubstantiated claims (Better Business Bureau, 2020), the commission and
recruitment structure of MLM obviously suggests a potential income opportunity. Beyond finan-
cial motivations, we also speculate that MLM is attractive to people who desire to achieve other
extrinsic goals. For example, they may view MLM as an opportunity to achieve social status
through climbing company-constructed hierarchies of leadership promotion (see Figure 1) or
through bonus incentives such as luxury car leasing or holidays (Antich, 2019; Groß, 2010).
DIXON ET AL. 5
Additionally, MLM may be viewed as a way to improve one's professional image as an entrepre-
neur or product expert (Reichstein & Brusch, 2019). Therefore, we predict that:
H1. Desire to achieve extrinsic life goals (riches, fame, and appealing image) will be
positively associated with MLM attraction and participation.
3.1.2 | Intrinsic psychological needs
People also desire to engage in activities where the reward comes from the personal satisfaction
of doing the activity itself, rather than the external rewards that might flow from it. These
intrinsically satisfying activities tend to more directly satiate basic psychological needs
(Kasser & Ryan, 1996). In MLM, the social nature of selling (Constantin, 2009; Gabbay &
Leenders, 2003) and the courses, conferences, and mentoring offered (Groß & Vriens, 2019)
may be attractive to people who enjoy and seek out intrinsic pursuits. Furthermore, MLMs that
inspire participants to set goals and find a higher purpose in their work (Sparks &
Schenk, 2001) may be attractive to those who are currently seeking more meaning and purpose
in life. Therefore, we predict that:
H2. Intrinsic life goals (personal growth, deep relationships, and social contribu-
tion) will be positively associated with MLM attraction and participation.
H3. Seeking meaning in life will be positively associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
The need for autonomy – to be in control of one's life and decisions – has been identified by
Self Determination Theory and related theories as a core psychological need and determinant of
wellbeing (Burger & Cooper, 1979; Deci & Ryan, 2012). Perceived personal control is also associ-
ated with consumer and entrepreneurial behavior (Cuesta et al., 2018; Perry & Morris, 2005).
Indeed, previous MLM participants have reported they were motivated to join an MLM to work
for themselves and gain more flexibility in how they work (Jain et al., 2015), suggesting autonomy
could be a motivating factor for participating in MLM. Therefore, we predict:
H4. Desire for control will be positively associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
3.1.3 | Life satisfaction
Failing to fulfill one's needs and goals is associated with lower satisfaction in a range of busi-
ness, consumer, and life domains (e.g., Petrescu & Kara, 2018). Those with lower life satisfac-
tion (due to lower satiation of needs and goals) may be more attracted to MLM because it is
seen as a way of reconciling competing extrinsic and intrinsic needs (e.g., Pratt & Rosa, 2003),
and by extension may lead to more satisfaction. Thus, we predict that:
H5. Life satisfaction will be negatively associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
6 DIXON ET AL.
3.2 | Cognitive factors
3.2.1 | Rational versus intuitive cognitive styles
According to Cognitive Experiential Self Theory (Epstein et al., 1996), cognitive styles are
aspects of personality, which vary on two main dimensions: (1) rationality, which is a tendency
to deliberate and analyze before making a choice, and (2) intuition, which is a tendency to use
swift gut instincts and emotions to guide decision making. It has been proposed that the emo-
tive and persuasive nature of MLM recruitment may bias decision making (Liu, 2018). Thus, we
expect that these emotive elements would also be more attractive to those with a preference for
making intuitive versus rational decisions. Indeed, intuitive cognitive styles have been associ-
ated with higher evaluations of one's own financial knowledge, despite not having higher actual
financial knowledge, suggesting cognitive styles may be associated with overconfidence in
financial decision making (O'Connor, 2019). Therefore, we predict that:
H6. Rational cognitive style will be negatively associated, and intuitive cognitive
style positively associated, with MLM attraction and participation.
3.2.2 | Thought-action fusion
Ethnographic research suggests that positive thinking and hope play a key motivating role in
MLM (Cahn, 2006; Carr, 2019). Underpinning this may be belief systems – deeply held views
about the nature of reality – which are powerful yet often overlooked drivers of consumer and
financial decision-making (Marmor-Lavie et al., 2009; Sarofim et al., 2020). One example is the
presence of a pseudoscientific “law of attraction” belief system in some MLMs, which claims
that all events in a person's life are cosmically “attracted” solely through the power of an indi-
vidual's thoughts and emotions (Byrne, 2006; Carr, 2019; Potaka, 2019). Thought-action fusion
is a related psychological construct which refers to a bias towards the powerfulness of thoughts;
specifically, that thoughts alone cause equivalent actions or events to occur in reality
(e.g., thinking about winning the lottery makes it more likely to come true; Craig &
Lafreniere, 2016; Shafran et al., 1996). Thus, people with a general tendency towards thought-
action fusion may be attracted to MLM because it mirrors the worldview that anyone can
achieve their dreams through strong belief and a positive mindset (Marmor-Lavie et al., 2009).
Given this, we predict that:
H7. Thought-action fusion will be positively associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
3.2.3 | Spiritual beliefs
Economic research has found increased likelihood of participating in a pyramid scheme for peo-
ple who lived in geographic areas with higher proportions of religious groups (Bosley &
Knorr, 2018) and for individuals who were religious (Bosley, Bellemare, et al., 2019). In addi-
tion, ethnographic and case research has described how MLM cultures harness a range of spiri-
tual beliefs (e.g., Bromley, 1998; Fitzpatrick & Reynolds, 1997; Groß, 2010), with Cahn (2006)
DIXON ET AL. 7
suggesting that the spiritual benefits of participating may be stronger drivers than financial
reward. MLM is also framed as benevolent and egalitarian, which may resolve conflict between
self-interest and altruistic values (Pratt & Rosa, 2003). Given this evidence, it is plausible that
individuals with spiritual belief systems may be attracted to MLM.
H8. Spiritual belief will be positively associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
Below, we test these hypotheses in a survey measuring which psychological factors are asso-
ciated with MLM attraction and participation. These results will provide valuable empirical
information for policy makers and consumer advocates regarding who is most likely to be
attracted to and participate in MLM (and why).
4 | METHOD
4.1 | Participants
To test our hypotheses, we recruited adults from the United States via the online panel Prolific
Academic. A total of 604 participants completed wave 1 of survey 1 and 533 of those partici-
pants (88%) also completed wave 2. Of those who completed both waves, 27 were excluded for
failing an attention check (Please select “Strongly Disagree” for this answer), leaving 506 partici-
pants from survey 1 who were included in analysis. Approximately 1 year later, we replicated
this survey in a larger sample. The larger sample allowed us to run adequately powered ana-
lyses on both those who had, and those had not participated in MLM before. The advantage of
this was that we could explore additional variables related to attraction and actual participation
in MLM. A total of 1197 participants completed wave 1 of survey 2 and 1046 of those partici-
pants (87%) also completed wave 2. Of those who completed both waves, 49 were excluded for
failing the attention check, leaving 997 participants from survey 2 who were included in analy-
sis. For the sake of brevity, we present the results of these two surveys combined (N = 1503)
while controlling for sample differences between survey 1 and 2. Separate analyses for each sur-
vey are available in the supplemental material https://osf.io/5b6qw/.
We administered both surveys in two waves. Participants completed predictor variables in
the first wave and the outcome variables in the second wave, 1 week later. Participants were
aged between 18 and 90 years (Mage = 29.33, SD = 10.31), with 1045 identifying as female,
422 as male, and 39 with other reported genders. The median household income bracket was
$50,000–$59,999, and 35.7% of the sample had attained a bachelor's degree or higher. Partici-
pants took an average of 10 min to complete the two waves and were compensated £2.50.
4.2 | Procedure
We described the study to participants as a two-part online survey of their attitudes to work and
life. It was administered in two halves to reduce the likelihood of common method variance,
fatigue, and hypothesis guessing. In the first wave, participants answered Likert-style measures
of the predictor variables. The presentation of these measures was randomized, as were the
items within each measure.
8 DIXON ET AL.
In the second wave, we told participants they would be viewing a webpage containing an
example of a self-employed business opportunity, and that we were interested in their attitudes
towards this kind of opportunity. The webpage presented a recruitment advertisement for a fic-
tional MLM called Freedom.inc. To ensure participants processed the information, they had to
correctly answer four comprehension checks before continuing. Following this, we asked par-
ticipants to rate their attitudes towards this kind of business opportunity. Next, we presented
participants with a written description of the MLM business model and how a member poten-
tially makes income. After reading the description, we asked participants to rate their attitudes
towards MLM.
The next section of the survey consisted of questions relating to whether participants
had ever joined a MLM and for how long. Finally, as part of a debriefing we explained
that Freedom.inc was not real, and also provided website links to the Direct Selling Associa-
tion (providing information about MLM) and the Federal Trade Commission (outlining the
risks of MLM). Full examples of the survey instruments are available in the supplemental
material.
4.3 | Measures and materials
Below we describe the development of variables. Previously psychologically validated scales

were used. To check internal validity, we performed principal axis factor analyses, retaining fac-
tors with eigenvalues above 1. All measures conformed to their expected factor structure, with
no cross-loading items above 0.30, and had strong internal consistency. Full details of survey
items, descriptives, factor structure, and reliability are available in Appendix A.
4.3.1 | Motivational factors
Extrinsic life goals

To determine the value participants placed on extrinsic life goals, we used the six-item “extrin-
sic” factor from Martos and Kopp's (2012) Short-Form Aspirations Index. This measured the
importance of becoming rich, famous, and having an appealing image (two items per goal). The
mean score of all items was used to represent extrinsic life goals (e.g., “Life-goal: To be famous.
How important is this goal to you?”; 1 = Not at all to 7 = Very; α = 0.84).
Intrinsic life goals

We used the “intrinsic” factor from the Short-Form Aspirations Index to measure the value par-
ticipants placed on life goals related to personal growth, meaningful relationships, and making
a social contribution (two items per goal). The mean score of all items was used to represent
intrinsic life goals (e.g., “Life-goal: To have deep enduring relationships. How important is this
goal to you?”; 1 = Not at all to 7 = Very; α = 0.79).
Seeking meaning
To measure the extent to which participants were seeking meaning and purpose in their life,
we used the three-item “search” factor from Steger and Samman's (2012) Meaning in Life Ques-
tionnaire Short-Form (e.g., “I am searching for meaning in my life”; 1 = Absolutely untrue to
7 = Absolutely true; α = 0.90).
DIXON ET AL. 9
Desire for control

We used the six-item Desire for Control Scale (Burger & Cooper, 1979) to measure participants'
desire to be in control of their environment, decisions, and pursuits (e.g., “I prefer a job where I
have a lot of control over what I do and when I do it”; 1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly
agree; α = 0.80).
Life satisfaction
To ascertain people's judgments and feelings about their subjective wellbeing we used Diener
et al.' (1985) five-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (e.g., “I am satisfied with my life”;
1 = Strongly disagree to 7 = Strongly agree; α = 0.90).
4.3.2 | Cognitive factors
Rational cognitive style

We used the five-item “rational” factor from Epstein et al.' (1996) Rational-Experiential Inven-
tory Short-Form (REI-S) to measure preferences for complex, deliberative, and analytical rea-
soning (e.g., “I prefer to do something that challenges my thinking abilities rather than
something that requires little thought”; 1 = Definitely not true of myself to 5 = Definitely true of
myself; α = 0.74).
Intuitive cognitive style

We used the additional five-item “experiential-intuitive” factor from the REI-S to measure pref-
erence for fast, intuitive, emotional reasoning (e.g., “When it comes to trusting people, I can
usually rely on my ‘gut feelings’”; 1 = Definitely not true of myself to 5 = Definitely true of
myself; α = 0.86).
Thought-action fusion
We used two items from the Illusory Beliefs Inventory (Kingdon et al., 2012) to measure the
extent to which participants believed that their thoughts control reality (“My thoughts alone
can alter reality” and “If I think too much about something, it will happen”; 1 = Strongly dis-
agree to 5 = Strongly agree; Spearman-Brown split-half reliability = 0.72).
Spiritual belief
We used two additional items from the Illusory Beliefs Inventory which measured belief in God
or a higher power (“I believe in a higher power or God” and “I believe guardian angels or other
spiritual forces protect me”; 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree; Spearman-Brown split-
half reliability = 0.85).
4.3.3 | Control variables
To control for differences between the two samples we included a dichotomous variable
(0 = participated in survey 1 or 1 = participated in survey 2) in each of our analyses. To examine
the unique predictive value of the psychological variables, we also controlled for the role of
demographics (e.g., age, gender, income, and education) previously examined by DeLiema et al.
(2018). To measure income, we asked “What would you estimate was your total household
10 DIXON ET AL.
income for the last 12 months before tax?” (1 = less than $5000 to 10 = $150,000 or more). To
measure educational attainment, we asked “What is the highest level of school you have com-
pleted or the highest degree you have received?” (1 = Less than high school diploma to
6 = Doctoral degree).
We also controlled for employment intentions. Current employment status was measured
by asking “Which statement best describes your current employment status?” (Not
working – not looking for work, Not working – looking for work, Working part time, Working full
time, Other). From these categories we created a dichotomous variable which indicated whether
someone was 1 = seeking employment (Not working – looking for work) or 0 = not seeking
employment (all other categories). We also measured self-employment intentions by asking
“How likely is it that you may consider being self-employed or owning your own business in
the future?” (1 = Extremely unlikely to 7 = Extremely likely).
4.3.4 | Outcome measures
Attraction to MLM
To measure attraction to MLM we created a webpage to mimic a prototypical MLM recruitment
pitch. Although the webpage was fictional, it was presented to participants as though it was
real. The advertising messages for the webpage were derived from the main themes of a content
analysis of 10 MLM recruitment pitches (see supplemental material). The products that the
hypothetical MLM was selling were not mentioned to control for possible affiliation with a
product-category when answering the outcome variable questions.
To measure attraction to the MLM recruitment pitch, participants rated the extent to which
they agreed with six statements: “I am curious about…, I can see myself benefiting from…, I am
attracted to…, I am interested in participating in…, I intend to participate in…, I would be likely
to tell people I know about… this kind of business opportunity” (1 = Completely disagree to
7 = Completely agree; α = 0.97). On the next page of the survey, we then had participants read
the following text:
“Network Marketing is a business opportunity where a person acts as an indepen-

dent distributor to sell a company's products or services directly to their own social
network (their friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, etc.). The distributor is
not employed by the company, but instead earns a commission (i.e., a percentage
of money) from the sales they make. A distributor can also recruit other people to
join their sales team and earn extra commissions from their team's total sales.
Examples of Network Marketing companies include Amway, Herbalife,
Tupperware, doTERRA, Mary Kay and Isagenix.”
We used the term Network Marketing because it is a less stigmatized term than Multi-Level
Marketing. Participants responded to the same six attraction items described above, except in
the text “this kind of business opportunity” was substituted for “Network Market-
ing” (α = 0.98).
The reason we created two sets of stimulus materials to measure attraction was that we
anticipated that some may view network marketing as a stigmatized activity. Thus, we wanted
to capture what participants felt (a) when presented with a pitch that disguised the nature of
the business model (as many MLM pitches do in reality), and (b) when we explicitly described
DIXON ET AL. 11
the nature of the business model, including some of the more controversial elements
(e.g., selling to friends and family). However, the two mean attraction scores were highly corre-
lated (Spearman-Brown coefficient = 0.80), and the pattern of results was similar regardless of
whether we used the MLM recruitment pitch or description stimuli scores as outcome variables
in analyses. Consequently, we combined these measures into one higher-order outcome vari-
able for attraction to MLM.
For our main attraction analysis we used the higher-order attraction outcome variable
described above but restricted the sample to only those who reported they had never partici-
pated in MLM (i.e., “New Prospects,” n = 1342). Because around 11% of the sample reported
having participated in MLM, we decided to run a second analysis using the same attraction out-
come measure and restricting the sample to only those who reported participating in MLM
before (i.e., “Past Participants,” n = 146). A small number of survey participants who reported
currently participating in MLM (n = 15) were excluded from this analysis, as their feelings
towards MLM would most likely have differed from those who had ceased participation. This
allowed us to explore whether the psychological factors associated with attraction to our novel
MLM differed between those who had previous experience in MLMs and those who had no
prior experience participating in MLMs.
Participation in MLM
To ascertain whether participants had ever had experience participating in an MLM, after read-
ing the description of network marketing they were asked “Have you ever worked as an inde-
pendent distributor for a Network Marketing company?”. We then coded responses into a
dichotomous variable which represented 1 = Participated (those who answered Yes in the past,
but not now or Yes, I am currently, n = 201) and 0 = Not Participated (those who answered no,
never, n = 1342). This served as our main participation outcome variable (i.e., “Participated
vs. Not Participated”).
As a complementary measure of participation in MLM, we asked those who previously indi-
cated they had participated in MLM “What is the total length of time you have worked in Net-
work Marketing?” (1 = 6 months or less to 8 = Over 10 years). This formed the “Length of
Participation” variable (n = 146). In analysis, we again restricted the sample to those who had
participated in the past, as we could not be sure of the total length of time current participants
would end up persisting in MLM. The stimulus and outcome measures are available in
Appendix B.
5 | R E SUL T S
5.1 | Psychological associations with MLM attraction and

participation
To explore the strength and direction of the hypothesized relationships we first conducted
bivariate correlations. These analysis are available in the online supplemental material. Next,
we conducted four hierarchical regression analyses in which we included control and predictor
variables to partial out shared variance between all variables and isolate the unique effects of
each predictor variable. The first was a linear regression with Attraction to MLM as the out-
come variable, analyzing responses only from new prospects (i.e., those who reported never
having participated in MLM). The second was a linear regression with Attraction to MLM as
12 DIXON ET AL.
the outcome variable, analyzing responses only from past participants (i.e., those who reported
participating in MLMs before). The third was a logistic regression using the dichotomous out-
come variable, Participated versus Not Participated in MLM. The fourth was a linear regression
with Length of Participation as the outcome variable (i.e., time spent in MLM among past par-
ticipants, n = 146).
The predictive model included “Survey 1 versus 2” and demographic variables at Step 1 and
whether participants were seeking employment or had self-employment intentions at Step
2. Controlling for these variables allowed us to disentangle whether the psychological
variables – entered in Step 3 – uniquely predicted MLM attraction and participation after
accounting for these non-psychological variables. Results of bivariate correlations and regres-
sion analyses can be found in Table 1 and further information is presented below.1
5.1.1 | Attraction to MLM
Among new prospects

At the bivariate level all but one of the hypotheses were confirmed: attraction to MLM among
new prospects was associated with (in order of magnitude) higher spiritual belief, r = 0.34,
p < 0.001, thought-action fusion r = 0.29, p < 0.001, extrinsic life goals r = 0.29, p < 0.001,
intuitive cognitive style, r = 0.19, p < 0.001, seeking meaning, r = 0.18, p < 0.001, lower ratio-
nal cognitive style, r = 0.14, p < 0.001, higher desire for control, r = 0.09, p < 0.001, and
higher intrinsic life goals, r = 0.07 p = 0.016. Life satisfaction was not significantly associated.
In the regression, our predictive model explained 33% of the variance in attraction to MLM
among new prospects, F(16,1325) = 40.08, p < 0.001. After controlling for sample differences
between survey 1 and 2 and demographics entered at Step 1, R2 = 0.06, and employment inten-
tions entered at Step 2, ΔR2 = 0.14, the psychological model explained an extra 12% of the vari-
ance in attraction to MLM among new prospects, ΔF(91325) = 26.79, p < 0.001.
When all variables were added into the regression model together, attraction to MLM
among new prospects was uniquely associated with higher levels of extrinsic life goals,
β = 0.18, p < 0.001, spiritual belief, β = 0.18, p < 0.001, thought-action fusion, β = 0.09,
p = 0.001, intuitive cognitive style, β = 0.08, p = 0.003, and lower rational cognitive style,
β = 0.07, p = 0.008.
Other significant effects in the regression emerged in contradiction to the pattern displayed
in the bivariate correlations, suggesting that they are artifacts of statistical suppression. For
example, life satisfaction, β = 0.09, p < 0.001, was a significant predictor in the regression, but
the lack of a bivariate correlation casts doubts over the reliability of this relationship. Similarly,
intrinsic life goals, β = 0.06, p = 0.014, and desire for control, β = 0.06, p = 0.035, were
uniquely associated with attraction to MLM among new prospects, but in the opposite direction
to that displayed in the bivariate correlations. Overall, then, there was no reliable evidence that
these variables were implicated in predicting attraction to MLM among new prospects. Despite
featuring in a significant correlation, seeking meaning was not a significant unique predictor in
the regression, suggesting that it was not a reliable predictor over and above demographics,
employment intentions, and other psychological predictors.
Among past participants

Most hypotheses were confirmed at the bivariate level: attraction to MLM among past partici-
pants was associated with higher extrinsic life goals, r = 0.64, p < 0.001, thought-action fusion
T A B L E 1 Bivariate correlations and regressions predicting MLM attraction and participation.
Attraction to MLM Participation in MLM

DIXON ET AL.
Among new prospects Among past participants Participated vs. not participated Length of participation
Predictor Variable r β r β rpb OR r β

2
Step 1: Demographics R 0.06*** 0.30*** 0.15*** 0.13**
Survey 2 (vs. 1) 0.17*** 0.21*** 0.22** 0.13 0.04 2.03*** 0.06 0.13
Age 0.09** 0.00 0.02 0.03 0.26*** 1.07*** 0.25** 0.19*
Female 0.09** 0.13*** 0.52*** 0.48*** 0.09*** 0.60** 0.11 0.07
Income 0.09*** 0.09** 0.09 0.02 0.06* 1.00 0.20* 0.20*
†
Education 0.10*** 0.10** 0.27** 0.11 0.13*** 1.18 0.20* 0.14
Step 2: Employment ΔR2 0.14*** 0.07** 0.02** 0.01
Seeking employment 0.09*** 0.08** 0.03 0.08 0.07* 0.48 0.12 0.08
Self-employment intentions 0.38*** 0.37*** 0.40*** 0.28*** 0.11*** 1.18** 0.12 0.09
Step 3: Psychological ΔR2adj/ΔR2 0.12/0.12*** 0.17/0.19*** 0.07*** 0.05/0.11*
Extrinsic life goals 0.29*** 0.18*** 0.64*** 0.44*** 0.08* 1.07 0.23** 0.23*
Intrinsic life goals 0.07* 0.06* 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.95 0.15 0.10
Seeking meaning 0.18*** 0.02 0.28*** 0.13† 0.04 1.03 0.03 0.00
Desire for control 0.09*** 0.06* 0.23** 0.05 0.08* 1.08 0.06 0.04
Life satisfaction 0.02 0.09*** 0.05 0.02 0.13*** 1.21* 0.19* 0.09
†
Rational cognitive style 0.14*** 0.07** 0.28*** 0.12 0.04 0.86 0.13 0.01
Intuitive cognitive style 0.19*** 0.08** 0.06 0.06 0.09*** 1.05 0.06 0.06
Thought-action fusion 0.29*** 0.09** 0.35*** 0.00 0.14*** 1.31** 0.12 0.02
Spiritual belief 0.34*** 0.18*** 0.22** 0.06 0.19*** 1.38*** 0.27*** 0.23**
2 2
Model R adj /R 0.32/0.33*** 0.50/0.56*** 0.24*** 0.15/0.25**
N 1342 1342 146 146 1503 1503 146 146
Note: Regression coefficients reported from first step entered into the model. Nagelkerke's R2 used for logistic regression. Abbreviations: β, standardized beta coefficients; r, bivariate
correlation; rpb, point biseral correlation; R2adj, variance explained adjusted for number of predictors in model; ΔR2, increase in variance explained after entering new predictor variables; OR,
13
odds-ratios (>1 = greater odds of having participated). Significance levels: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < .001, †p < 0.10.
14 DIXON ET AL.
r = 0.35, p < 0.001, seeking meaning, r = 0.28, p < 0.001, lower rational cognitive style,
r = 0.28, p < 0.001, higher desire for control, r = 0.23, p = 0.006, and higher spiritual
belief r = 0.22, p = 0.007. Intrinsic life goals, life satisfaction, and intuitive cognitive style were
not significantly associated with attraction to MLM among past participants.
In the regression, our predictive model explained 56% of the variance in attraction to MLM
among past participants, F(16,129) = 10.18, p < 0.001. After control variables were entered at
Step 1, R2 = 0.30, and Step 2, ΔR2 = 0.07, the psychological model explained an extra 19% of
the variance in attraction to MLM among past participants, ΔF(9129) = 6.14, p < 0.001. Higher
extrinsic life goals were uniquely associated with attraction to MLM among past participants,
β = 0.44, p < 0.001. MLM attraction among past participants was also marginally associated
with higher seeking of meaning, β = 0.13, p = 0.065, and lower rational style, β = 0.12,
p = 0.076.
5.1.2 | Participation in MLM
Participated versus not participated

At the bivariate level, five of eight hypotheses were confirmed: those who had participated in
MLMs before were more likely to have high levels of spiritual belief, r = 0.19, p < 0.001,
thought-action fusion, r = 0.14, p < 0.001, intuitive cognitive style, r = 0.09, p < 0.001, extrinsic
life goals r = 0.08, p = 0.001, and desire for control r = 0.08, p = 0.002, compared to those who
had never participated in MLM. Contrary to our hypothesis, life satisfaction was positively asso-
ciated with MLM participation, r = 0.13, p < 0.001. There were no significant associations with
intrinsic life goals, seeking meaning, and rational cognitive style.
In the logistic regression, our predictive model explained approximately 24% (Nagelkerke
R2) of the variance in whether survey participants had or had not participated in MLM,
χ2(16, N = 1503) = 185.24, p < 0.001. After control variables were entered at Step 1, R2 = 0.15,
and Step 2, ΔR2 = 0.02, the psychological model explained an extra 7% of the variance in
whether survey participants had or had not participated in MLM, χ2(9) = 58.27, p < 0.001.
Regarding unique associations in the regression, those who had participated in MLM before
were more likely to have higher levels of spiritual belief, OR = 1.38, p < 0.001, and thought-
action fusion, OR = 1.31, p = 0.007, compared to those who had not participated in MLM. Life
satisfaction was also positively associated (in the opposite direction than hypothesized),
OR = 1.21, p = 0.013.
Length of participation
At the bivariate level, two hypotheses were confirmed: length of participation in MLM was
associated with higher spiritual belief, r = 0.27, p < 0.001, and extrinsic life goals r = 0.23,
p = 0.006. Contrary to our hypothesis, higher life satisfaction was associated with length of par-
ticipation in MLM, r = 0.19, p = 0.023. Seeking meaning, desire for control, thought-action
fusion, and cognitive styles were not significantly associated.
In the regression, our predictive model explained 25% of the variance in length of participa-
tion in MLM, F(16, 129) = 2.63, p = 0.001. After control variables were entered in Step
1, R2 = 0.13, and step 2, ΔR2 = 0.01, the psychological model explained an extra 11% of the var-
iance in length of participation in MLM, ΔF(9129) = 1.99, p = 0.046. Higher levels of spiritual
belief, β = 0.23, p = 0.006, and extrinsic life goals, β = 0.23, p = 0.042, were uniquely associated
with longer length of participation in MLM.
DIXON ET AL. 15
6 | DISCUSSION
Despite much controversy, MLM continues to grow in terms of participation. Therefore, this
paper explores whether there is a psychological appeal of MLM to certain types of individuals.
The results suggest that over and above demographics and employment intentions, there are
motivational and cognitive psychological factors that are associated with MLM attraction and
participation.
The strongest and most reliable predictor was extrinsic life goals: new prospects who placed
an emphasis on becoming rich, famous, and having an appealing image were more attracted to
MLM. This was also the case for past participants of MLM, for whom it was the only significant
unique psychological predictor of being attracted to our novel MLM opportunity. According to
Self Determination Theory, a motivational reliance on achieving aspirational, externally derived
goals can be problematic as it can lead to less self-directed behavior and persistence (Dittmar
et al., 2014; Iyer & Muncy, 2016; Lee & Ahn, 2016; Petrescu & Kara, 2018). However, we addi-
tionally found that having extrinsic life goals was associated with longer time spent participating
in MLM, suggesting that external reward may also be a psychological motivator for participat-
ing longer in MLM.
For those who strongly desire extrinsic life goals, the psychological appeal of MLM may
remain even after income expectations are curbed through disclosure (Bosley, Greenman, &
Snyder, 2019). For example, maintaining an image as an entrepreneur or product expert, receiv-
ing leadership promotions, or earning luxury bonus experiences (e.g., Groß & Vriens, 2019)
may allow participants to achieve social status, recognition, and enhance their self-concept, and
thus could be motivating even if participants are not earning income from MLM. Although sim-
ilar motivational incentives exist in non-MLM companies, these are usually used to retain and
motivate paid workers. However, if such strategies are used to retain unpaid workers in MLM,
then continued incentives to persist may be harmful to those who do not succeed, due to the
high financial and time opportunity cost of participating (Lee & Cho, 2005).
The second most reliable predictor was spirituality: new prospects who believed that a
higher power protects and guides them were more likely to be attracted to MLM. Those high in
spirituality were also more likely to have participated in MLM and spent longer participating.
These findings support previous ethnographic and case research which suggests people may be
attracted to MLM because they view it as an environment supportive of their spiritual belief sys-
tems (e.g., Bromley, 1998;Fitzpatrick & Reynolds, 1997; Groß, 2010). Past research has found
that an important factor in religious consumers' choices and behavior is trust that companies
hold similar values to themselves (Sarofim et al., 2020). Therefore, MLM may be attractive
because it signals a range of spiritual values and beliefs. Indeed, there seems to be similarities
between spiritual or religious beliefs and practices and MLM: in spiritual and religious tradi-
tions, knowledge is garnered through narrative evidence, sacred texts contain rules and guid-
ance, people partner with a higher power (e.g., prayer), and believe they will ultimately be
rewarded for having faith. It could be argued that in MLM similar processes are at play: narra-
tive accounts are used as evidence (e.g., testimonials; Gabbay & Leenders, 2003), the MLM busi-
ness model could be considered a sacred set of rules to follow, people partner with “higher
powers” in the MLM upline, and they are encouraged to have faith that one day they will
achieve their dreams (Fitzpatrick & Reynolds, 1997; Groß, 2010). This suggests a psychological
and cultural fit between MLM and these belief systems.
Previous sociographic and psychological findings suggest that those with religious beliefs
may be more likely to be attracted and then participate in MLM because they are exposed to
16 DIXON ET AL.
the business opportunity through their existing social networks (Bosley & Knorr, 2018;
Lofthouse & Storr, 2020). This could also help explain the association we see with length of par-
ticipation in MLM; participants with stronger spiritual or religious ties may be able to persist
because of access to tightly bonded social networks who are willing to buy products and join
the MLM.
In addition, thought-action fusion was a unique predictor of attraction to MLM among new
prospects, and those high in thought-action fusion were more likely to have participated in
MLM. In line with the Spirituality in Advertising Framework (Marmor-Lavie et al., 2009), we
suggest people may view MLM as supporting the worldview that anyone can achieve anything
with faith, belief, and the right mindset (e.g., Potaka, 2019). A strong bias towards the
powerfulness of thoughts constitutes a form of illusory control or magical thinking (Kingdon
et al., 2012; Shafran et al., 1996), which could have negative consequences for objective finan-
cial and business decision making. Some MLMs endorse the “law of attraction” worldview, in
which proponents claim that all events in a person's life are the result of their thoughts and
emotions attracting these events. Thus, a participant may be encouraged deliberately use their
thoughts to cosmically “manifest” money and success (Byrne, 2006). Indeed, across analyses,
bivariate correlations (available in the supplemental material) showed moderate to strong asso-
ciations between thought-action fusion and motivation towards extrinsic life goals, potentially
suggesting such a worldview. However, this would need to be confirmed in future studies. A
similar belief system is prosperity theology, where financial abundance is said to be bestowed
by God on those who engage in acts of faith such as donating money (Carr, 2019; Groß, 2010;
Neubert et al., 2014; Potaka, 2019). While these belief systems may help resolve moral conflict
between material and spiritual/religious values and help people maintain hope and a positive
mindset (Baker et al., 2013; Burroughs & Rindfleisch, 2002; Pratt & Rosa, 2003), extreme forms
of thought-action fusion and faith can lead to risky decision making in business (Craig &
Lafreniere, 2016). Another risk is that belief systems could be used by leaders in MLM to attri-
bute failure to participants' negative mindset, lack of faith, or being out of cosmic favor, rather
than because of more plausible objective influences on success such as skill level, the size of
one's social existing network, or problems with the business model itself (Groß & Vriens, 2019).
Spirituality and thought-action fusion have also been shown to be related to intuitive cogni-
tive styles, which can affect decision making (O'Connor, 2019; Shenhav et al., 2012). Similarly,
bivariate correlations in this study showed more intuitive and less rational cognitive styles were
moderately associated with spirituality, and to a greater degree, thought-action fusion. Previous
research has suggested that MLMs use recruitment and motivational practices that may encour-
age cognitive biases when evaluating the efficacy of the business opportunity (Liu, 2018), and
an experiment found that a pyramid-style investment was most attractive to those who over-
estimated the probability of success (Bosley, Bellemare, et al., 2019). Previous research also
found that intuitive cognitive styles were associated with overconfidence in financial decision
making (O'Connor, 2019). Thus, our findings suggest those who are most attracted to MLM
may also be dispositionally the most likely to overestimate their odds of success, because of their
beliefs and styles of thinking.
One striking feature of the results was the weak and inconsistent role of intrinsic factors.
Intrinsic goals, seeking meaning, and desire for control were occasionally associated (modestly)
with attraction to MLM at the bivariate level, but in regressions the intrinsic variables became
non-significant or showed small relationships in the opposite direction to that predicted. Fur-
thermore, contrary to our prediction, higher life satisfaction was uniquely associated with
attraction to MLM among new prospects and those who had participated in MLM. In sum,
DIXON ET AL. 17
there was no consistent evidence that people were attracted to MLMs because they were
looking to satisfy unmet psychological needs for meaning, growth, social connection, or
control.
One possible explanation for this is that intrinsic motivations are simply not a major con-
tributor to people's attraction to MLMs. This is plausible; our hypotheses with regard to this
were somewhat loose extrapolations from previous research, and overall the evidence base with
regard to these factors is thin. It could be, then, that the null results are diagnostic of reality,
and that intrinsic motives are simply overwhelmed by extrinsic motives that are more proximal
predictors. It is also possible, however, that the muted effects of intrinsic motives reflect a mea-
surement problem. For example, we measured the need for control in a broad and abstract way.
If a more concrete measure had been used – for example the desire for work flexibility or per-
sonal freedom (Jain et al., 2015) – then it is possible significant effects may have emerged. It is
also possible that the flat main effects may be masking moderated effects, such that intrinsic
motives are positively associated with attraction for some sub-samples of participants and nega-
tively associated with attraction for others. For example, bivariate correlations showed a ten-
dency for desired life goals to change depending on one's age and gender. Thus, once
controlling for these demographic differences in regressions, it is possible intrinsic goals and
needs were no longer associated to MLM attraction and participation in the same way. Overall,
further research is recommended before decisive conclusions can be made regarding the useful-
ness or otherwise of intrinsic motivations as an explanatory tool for why people are attracted
to MLMs.
However, not the primary focus of this study, demographics and employment intentions were
associated with MLM attraction and participation. For example, new prospects with lower
income, education, and who were seeking employment were more likely to be attracted to MLM,
which suggests MLM is attractive to a cohort which may be vulnerable to financial harm and
opportunity costs (Bosley, Bellemare, et al., 2019; Lee & Cho, 2005). Additionally, those who par-
ticipated longer in MLM reported higher income on average, which could either suggest that
(a) MLM is financially beneficial for people who persist longer, or that (b) only people with exis-
ting high incomes can afford to persist in a low-revenue business. Our findings regarding males
being more likely to participate in MLM also differ from DeLiema and colleagues' report (2018),
which found that women were more likely to participate. This may be due to sampling differ-
ences (e.g., representative vs. online convenience samples), however our findings regarding
attraction are in line with previous findings that men engage in riskier financial and consumer
behaviors than women and are more likely to participate in self-employment (Milne et al., 2009;
Verheul et al., 2012). Regardless, it is important to note that controlling for demographic differ-
ences and employment intentions in our analyses both enabled us to isolate the unique effects of
the psychological variables and ensured that the findings were not artifacts of sampling error.
6.1 | Implications for policy, participant education, and best practice
As of writing, MLM business opportunities are exempt from the Business Opportunity Rule
(Federal Trade Commission, 2011) which requires companies selling business opportunities to
provide detailed disclosure statements to prospects on typical earnings and evidence of carrying
out a legitimate business. However, The Rule is currently under its 10-year review and MLM
may be included in the future. Since we found MLM was attractive to new prospects with less
income, education, and those looking for work, we suggest that there is a risk of harm to these
18 DIXON ET AL.
groups based on the opportunity cost of spending time and money on a business opportunity
with low odds of success. This may also be true for participants with high extrinsic goals who
believe they will be able to become rich or achieve a passive income through MLM. Thus, it is
important participants are fully informed of the odds of success through prominent display of
typical earnings and investments of finances and time. So far, the MLM industry has been self-
regulated in this regard (Better Business Bureau, 2020).
However, our results highlight several challenges for regulators, advocates, and educators.
Strong motivations to achieve extrinsic goals could impact whether people can, or even desire
to, rationally evaluate the MLM business opportunity as it could increase the chances of moti-
vated reasoning; unconsciously weighting evidence in a way that confirms what one already
believes or desires to be true, rather than evaluating all objective evidence equally (Bastardi
et al., 2011). For example, a new prospect with strong extrinsic goals may be attracted to the
social status of leadership positions in MLM and the emotional weight of this attraction is stron-
ger than the rational appeal of an income disclosure statement.
Additionally, thinking styles and belief systems represent “meta-beliefs” about what consti-
tutes evidence and when beliefs should change according to evidence (Pennycook et al., 2020).
For example, prospects or participants predisposed towards intuitive thinking, spiritual belief,
and thought-action fusion may be more likely to value their own emotions and the heartfelt tes-
timonial of others as forms of evidence. They may also believe that maintaining faith in the face
of little material evidence is a virtue. This may predispose them to trust an upline leader's testi-
monial of how they succeeded through the power of faith, or be persuaded that the reason they
are losing money in MLM is because of their lack of faith rather than the limitations of the busi-
ness model itself. This could not only affect how long a participant persists with MLM, but the
subsequent beliefs they form about why they failed or succeeded, which could affect further
business or financial decisions.
A good example of consumer education is the Federal Trade Commission's webpage (2021)
on MLM and pyramid schemes, which gives specific guidance on how to accurately evaluate
the validity of an MLM business opportunity, including considering income expectations and
opportunity costs. However, given that we found evidence of beliefs and thinking styles that
may make people less likely to actively seek out this kind of evidence, it may be advantageous
to find ways to connect with people who are more likely to possess these traits. For example,
there are many internet and social media platforms (Google, Facebook, etc.) that provide
targeted advertising based on demographics, interests, and commonly searched keywords.
Therefore, education could be marketed specifically to those that search for MLM business
opportunities, or more broadly to those searching entrepreneurial business opportunities, how
to get rich, or products related to spiritual/thought-action fusion and wealth creation
(e.g., books and films like “The Secret”; Byrne, 2006). Additionally, social media influencers
who share similar goals (i.e., extrinsic life goals) or social identities (e.g., spiritual beliefs) as
those most likely to be attracted to MLM could be utilized to deliver advocacy and education, as
influencers with similar traits as consumers are often seen as trusted and authentic sources of
information (Meng & Olsen, 2022).
6.2 | Strengths, limitations, and future research
A strength of this study is that it is the first to offer a multi-dimensional, quantitative explora-
tion of the psychology of MLM. This allows us to explore which psychological traits are most
DIXON ET AL. 19
likely to influence the likelihood of attraction, participation, and persistence in MLM, which is
of relevance to policy, education, and best practice.
One limitation is that, due to the low instances of those currently participating in MLM
in our samples, we could not test a direct comparison between this group and non-partici-
pants. Such a test could have helped determine how much of an influence MLM culture
may have on participants' psychology and wellbeing. Likewise, there are several unanswered
questions about direction of causality. For example, we cannot determine whether MLM par-
ticipants were more satisfied with life before participating, became more satisfied as a result
of participating, or became more satisfied only after participating. Due to the correlational
design of our study, any causal inferences we have made about these types of findings are
therefore speculative.
There also remains several questions ripe for further research. For example, as mentioned
previously, it is possible there are variables that moderate the relationships we found
(e.g., demographics), meaning there could be groups of participants with different character-
istics that are attracted for different reasons. Thus, research methodologies which address dif-
ferences in MLM attraction based on clusters of characteristics (e.g., person-centered analyses
such as latent class analysis) may be illuminating. Also, we were not able to ascertain the
exact type of spiritual or religious denominations people belonged to, nor whether thought-
action fusion represented a belief in the “law of attraction.” Knowing this may help target
further participant education initiatives. There is also a need to understand new prospect
expectations before participating in MLM and whether they are met through participating
(i.e., who benefits most from MLM). For example, while participants may not earn what they
expect from MLM, they may instead benefit from external status and recognition. Further
experimental, longitudinal, and/or qualitative approaches may be appropriate to help solve
these puzzles.
6.3 | Conclusion
Despite being a risky and controversial business model, MLM is growing in participation. Our
research goes beyond demographics and employment intentions discussed in past research to
show that psychological characteristics such as belief systems, thinking styles, and extrinsic
(rather than intrinsic) goals are associated with MLM attraction and MLM participation. Our
findings have the potential to provide guidance for consumer advocates and policy makers, and
they prompt future research to consider individual psychological factors in education cam-
paigns to improve decision making and participant wellbeing.
A C K N O WL E D G M E N T
Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Queensland, as part of the Wiley - The
University of Queensland agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
FUNDING INFORMATION
Partial funding was provided by an Australian Government Research Training Program
Scholarship.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
20 DIXON ET AL.
ORCID
Lucas J. Dixon https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8223-6011
Matthew J. Hornsey https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1275-3977
Nicole Hartley https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1232-9925
Cassandra M. Chapman https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8488-6106
Justin P. Brienza https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8121-075X
ENDNOTE
1
We included psychological and financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential moderator in prelim-
inary analyses. Our analyses were not affected by adding these variables. See supplementary material for more
information.
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S UP PO RT ING IN FOR MAT ION

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How to cite this article: Dixon, L. J., Hornsey, M. J., Hartley, N., Chapman, C. M., &
Brienza, J. P. (2023). The psychology of attraction to multi-level marketing. Journal of
Consumer Affairs, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12526
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The psychology of attraction to multi‐level marketing

Article in Journal of Consumer Affairs · April 2023

Lucas Jon Dixon Nicole Hartley

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The psychology of attraction to multi-level

Lucas J. Dixon | Matthew J. Hornsey | Nicole Hartley |

Business School, The University of

J Consum Aff. 2023;1–23. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca 1

3.1 | Motivational factors

3.1.1 | Extrinsic life goals

3.1.2 | Intrinsic psychological needs

3.1.3 | Life satisfaction

3.2 | Cognitive factors

3.2.1 | Rational versus intuitive cognitive styles

3.2.2 | Thought-action fusion

3.2.3 | Spiritual beliefs

4.3 | Measures and materials

Below we describe the development of variables. Previously psychologically validated scales

4.3.1 | Motivational factors

Extrinsic life goals

Intrinsic life goals

Desire for control

4.3.2 | Cognitive factors

Rational cognitive style

Intuitive cognitive style

4.3.3 | Control variables

4.3.4 | Outcome measures

“Network Marketing is a business opportunity where a person acts as an indepen-

5.1 | Psychological associations with MLM attraction and

5.1.1 | Attraction to MLM

Among new prospects

Among past participants

Attraction to MLM Participation in MLM

Predictor Variable r β r β rpb OR r β

5.1.2 | Participation in MLM

Participated versus not participated

6.1 | Implications for policy, participant education, and best practice

6.2 | Strengths, limitations, and future research

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

S UP PO RT ING IN FOR MAT ION

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