About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

13 J. Consumer Pol'y 15 (1990)
An Inquiry into the Compulsive Side of "Normal" Consumers

handle is hein.journals/jrncpy13 and id is 15 raw text is: Alain d'Astous An Inquiry into the Compulsive Side of Normal Consumers ABSTRACT. This article reports on a study designed to investigate the nature of compulsive-like buying behavior in the general consumer population. A previously tested compulsive buying scale was administered to a sample of 190 consumers. As predicted by the hypotheses, compulsive buying tendencies correlate negatively with self-esteem and positively with the extent of irrational credit card usage. Several other findings are reported and discussed. Thus women are shown to be higher on compulsive buying than men. Also, compulsive buying tendencies correlate negatively with age and positively with one's susceptibility to social influence. Finally, the data suggest that early consumption experiences may affect significantly the extent of compulsive-like buying behavior. Areas where further research should be done are identified. Early conceptions of consumer motivation have linked buying motives to psychological and functional consequences associated with the purchase of products and brands. For instance, Udell (1964) proposed a buying motive continuum where, at one extreme, operational buying motives stem from the expected satisfaction to be gained from the performance of the product and, at the other extreme, psychological buying motives are linked to the consumer's social and psychological interpretation of the product and its per- formance. Subsequent proposals have stressed the importance of looking at motives not necessarily associated with product usage. Tauber (1972), for example, has investigated the reasons why people shop. On the basis of a small number of in-depth interviews he has hypothesized various personal and social shopping motives such as diversion, self-gratification, sensory stimulation, physical activity, and so on. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) have also criticized the consumer research focus on product benefits and utilitarian func- tions and have urged consumer researchers to study consumption phenomena such as sensory pleasures, daydreaming, esthetic enjoy- ment, and the like. A rather extreme perspective on buying motivation has recently emerged in the consumer research literature. Termed compulsive consumption (Faber & O'Guinn, 1988; Faber, O'Guinn, & Krych, Journal of Consumer Policy 13: 15-31, 1990. C 1990 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most