A NEW LOOK AT "COMPULSIVE BUYING": SELF-DISCREPANCIES AND MATERIALISTIC VALUES AS PREDICTORS OF COMPULSIVE BUYING TENDENCY

By H. Dittmar. 2005

306 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Compulsive buying is a widespread dysfunctional consumer behavior that is still not well understood, and existing clinical conceptualizations view it as a manifestation of other underlying psychiatric disorders. This article intends to improve understanding through developing and testing a new perspective on compulsive buying as identity–seeking behavior that is driven jointly by self–discrepancies and endorsement of materialistic values. It presents three studies—a qualitative exploration using shopping diaries, and two quantitative surveys—which provide convergent evidence that compulsive buying is characterized by the motivation to move closer to an “ideal self” through material goods. For women, who constitute the great majority of compulsive buyers, there was good support for the two–factor model in both middle and young adulthood. For young men, materialistic values, but not self–discrepancies, were a significant predictor. Conceptual and treatment implications are discussed.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Marketing

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5fe7ab7e151ca48a418522a39cc275f77667fdce

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Citations in the corpus

Financial Behaviors and Financial Well-Being of College Students: Evidence from a National Survey (2011, background): “Dittmar (2005) also concluded that materialism has a negative impact on individuals’ well-being.”
The Big Five personality traits, material values, and financial well-being of self-described money managers (2012, background): “…emotional instability (i.e., neuroticism) predicts more debt (Nyhus & Webley, 2001) and more instances of compulsive buying (Brougham et al., 2011; Dittmar, 2005; Mowen & Spears, 1999), while conscientiousness is linked to increased savings (Brandstatter, 1996; Warneryd, 1996), positive attitudes…”
The Psychology of Impulse Buying: An Integrative Self-Regulation Approach (2011, background): “Compulsive buying is linked to factors that also drive impulsive purchases, such as materialistic values and identity concerns (DeSarbo and Edwards 1996; Dittmar 2005a; Dittmar et al. 2007; Hanley and Wilhelm 1992; Mowen and Spears 1999; Yurchisin and Johnson 2004).”
When a better self is only a button click away : Associations between materialistic values, emotional and identity-related buying motives, and compulsive buying tendency online (2007, methodology): “A recent study (Dittmar, 2005a) demonstrated empirically that perceived identity gains were a direct predictor of compulsive buying: respondents who reported buying material goods in order to “make me feel more like the person I want to be," to impress other people, and to gain prestige had higher s”
The Costs of Consumer Culture and the “Cage Within”: The Impact of the Material “Good Life” and “Body Perfect” Ideals on Individuals” Identity and Well-Being (2007, background): “…tendency toward compulsive buying, not only in the “bricks” of conventional shops and stores, but also in the “clicks” on the Internet that, in developed societies, is fast becoming a serious alternative environment in which to browse and shop (Dittmar, 2005a; Dittmar, Long, and Bond, 2007).”
Buying to Blunt Negative Feelings: Materialistic Escape from the Self (2016, background): “…materialists engage in other disinhibited financial behaviors, including compulsive buying (e.g., Claes et al., 2010; Cole & Sherrell, 1995; Dittmar, 2005a, 2005b; Dittmar & Kapur, 2011; Donnelly et al., 2012; Donnelly et al., 2013; Faber & O’Guinn, 1992; Frost et al., 2007; Gardarsdottir…”
The role of ideal self-congruence and brand attachment in consumers’ negative behaviour: Compulsive buying and external trash-talking (2018, background): “Dittmar (2005) argues that the motivation of materialism to achieve an ideal-self is the predictor of compulsive buying.”
Heavy social networking and online compulsive buying: the mediating role of financial social comparison and materialism (2021, background): “For instance, Dittmar (2005) found that younger people showed stronger compulsive buying tendencies than older respondents, but observed differences were significantly mediated by the degree to which individuals endorsed materialistic values.”
A Neurological Study of Compulsive Buying Behaviour (2011, background): “Affected persons exhibit increased impulsiveness, deficits in impulse control (self-control), low self-esteem, depression, social anxiety, money management difficulties, disruption of autonomy orientation, and a greater materialistic orientation (Black et al. 1998; Dittmar 2005a, 2005b ; F aber1992”
Understanding the Impact of Thin Media Models on Women's Body-Focused Affect: The Roles of Thin-Ideal Internalization and Weight-Related Self-Discrepancy Activation in Experimental Exposure Effects (2009, methodology): “Dittmar, H., & Howard, S. (2004). Ideal-body internalization and social comparison”
Compulsive Buying: A Theoretical Framework (2010, methodology): “Despite any temporary positive effects derived from purchasing, long-term compulsive consumption is by definition harmful and, when left unchecked, has adverse consequences for most individuals (Schmitz, 2005; Dittmar, 2005; Hirschman, 1992; O'Guinn and Faber, 1989).”
Self-congruence, brand attachment and compulsive buying (2017, background): “Research that touches upon the actual self-concept focuses solely on the discrepancy between the actual and ideal self-concept (e.g. Dittmar, 2005b; Xu, 2008).”