The influence of social media addiction on compulsive buying behaviour: A comparative analysis of LGBT+ and heterosexual consumers

Despite the significant research on the impact of social media in people's lives, little is known about the extent to which social media impacts on compulsive buying behaviour (CBB). Moreover, previous studies of this relationship sampled heterosexual or non-sexually identified populations. This study addresses this gap in knowledge by examining the impact of social media use and its addiction on CBB, together with the moderating influence of self-efficacy (SEF), through a comparative analysis of heterosexual and LGBT+ consumers. The results reveal that LGBT+ consumers are significantly more prone to both addictions than heterosexuals, but that social media addiction (SMA) has a stronger impact on CBB amongst heterosexuals. Moreover, SEF has a non-significant influence on CBB amongst both heterosexual and LGBT+ consumers and does not significantly moderate the impact of SMA on compulsive buying behaviour in either sample. Furthermore, the findings suggest that both heterosexual and LGBT+ non-compulsive consumers could be vulnerable to compulsive buying addiction through social media exposure and the fear of missing out.     

Addictive buying: causes, processes, and symbolic meanings. Thematic analysis of a buying addict's diary

The aims of this study were twofold. On the one hand, to reach an understanding of, and to illustrate the experience of addictive buying and, on the other, to throw some light on the controversial subject of addicts' personal responsibility for their behavior. With these aims, a thematic analysis of an extensive diary written by a compulsive buyer is presented. Four themes emerge from the analysis: the defining characteristics of addiction to buying that determine the boundary separating it from other forms of impulsive or careless buying; several causal factors; the role that money and material objects play in family relationships and friendships through the symbolic meanings they adopt; and the relationship of personal values with impulsiveness and self-control. In view of the results, the moral model of addiction to buying is discussed, and an explanatory model of the ambivalence that is characteristic of addiction to buying is proposed, based on a personal hierarchy of values.     

From Patterns To Prosperity: A Review Of Rachlin’s The Science Of Self-control.

The Science of Self‐Control (Rachlin, 2000) presents a clear overview of research and theory on self‐control, emphasizing important recent research by Rachlin and his students on temporally extended behavioral patterning as an aid to curbing impulsive decisions. We found the book well suited as a textbook in a graduate seminar on self‐control, particularly because it lucidly presents several provocative ideas about self‐control, decision making, addiction, and general theories of behavior. Of particular interest are his discussion of the “primrose path” to addiction and his behavioral research on the “prisoner's dilemma” as it relates to self‐control. Although we take some issue with teleological behaviorism, the theory of behavior advocated by Rachlin, we recommend this book to anyone interested in self‐control.     

Cognitive behavioral therapy for compulsive buying disorder

To our knowledge, no psychotherapy treatment studies for compulsive buying have been published. The authors conducted a pilot trial comparing the efficacy of a group cognitive behavioral intervention designed for the treatment of compulsive buying to a waiting list control. Twenty-eight subjects were assigned to receive active treatment and 11 to the waiting list control group. The results at the end of treatment showed significant advantages for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) over the waiting list in reductions in the number of compulsive buying episodes and time spent buying, as well as scores on the Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale—Shopping Version and the Compulsive Buying Scale. Improvement was well-maintained at 6-month follow-up. The pilot data suggests that a cognitive behavioral intervention can be quite effective in the treatment of compulsive buying disorder. This model requires further testing.     

Linking family structure to impulse‐control and obsessive–compulsive buying

Compulsive buying affects the well‐being of millions of consumers globally by resulting in depression, unmanageable debt, and lower satisfaction with life. This research examines the mechanisms that link aversive family events experienced in childhood to compulsive buying tendencies in early adulthood. The article develops a set of hypotheses derived from the main theoretical perspectives of the multi‐theoretical life course paradigm, and it uses a sample of 492 young adults to test them. The results suggest that social processes are the underlying mechanisms that promote the development of compulsive buying tendencies. Family disruptions reduce intangible family resources that then shape the nature of interactions with peers and parents. Peer communications in formative years are directly linked to both obsessive–compulsive and impulse‐control dimensions of compulsive buying in early adulthood. The study findings help interpret and integrate previous research streams on compulsive buying from different fields of social sciences. Implications of the findings are offered along with directions for further research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Influence of Culture on Consumer Impulsive Buying Behavior

Impulse buying generates over $4 billion in annual sales volume in the United States. With the growth of e‐commerce and television shopping channels, consumers have easy access to impulse purchasing opportunities, but little is known about this sudden, compelling, hedonically complex purchasing behavior in non‐Western cultures. Yet cultural factors moderate many aspects of consumer's impulsive buying behavior, including self‐identity, normative influences, the suppression of emotion, and the postponement of instant gratification. From a multi‐country survey of consumers in Australia, United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, our analyses show that both regional level factors (individualism–collectivism) and individual cultural difference factors (independent –interdependent self‐concept) systematically influence impulsive purchasing behavior.     

The role of negative urgency impulsivity and financial management practices in compulsive buying

Previous research has shown that negative urgency impulsivity is associated with compulsive buying even after controlling for depression. The aim of the present study was to replicate this finding and to examine if financial management practices mediated this relationship. A community sample of 162 participants (34 male and 128 female), aged between 18 and 82 years, completed online self‐report questionnaire measures. As expected, results revealed (1) significant positive associations between compulsive buying and both negative urgency impulsivity (NUI) and psychological distress; and (2) a significant negative association between compulsive buying and financial management practices. We also found that after controlling for psychological distress (3) NUI was still significantly correlated with compulsive buying, and (4) financial management practices partially mediated the relationship between NUI and financial management practices. Our findings are consistent with an extension of the theory that compulsive buying is motivated by relieving negative mood states, positing both negative affect‐driven impulsivity and psychological distress as important factors in understanding compulsive buying. These findings also support current cognitive‐behavioural interventions for the treatment of compulsive buying that target psychological distress, NUI, and financial management practices.     

Compulsive buying – a growing concern? An examination of gender,age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors

Compulsive buying is an understudied, but growing, dysfunctional consumer behaviour with harmful psychological and financial consequences. Clinical perspectives treat it as a psychiatric disorder, whereas recent proposals emphasize the increasing endorsement of materialistic values as a cause of uncontrolled buying (e.g. Dittmar, 2004b ; Kasser & Kanner, 2004 ). The present research aims to improve understanding of compulsive buying through examining gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as key predictors in three UK questionnaire studies, which sampled individuals who had contacted a self‐help organization and residentially matched ‘controls’ (N=330), consumer panelists from a multinational corporation (N=250), and 16‐ to 18‐year‐old adolescents (N=195). The results confirmed previously documented gender differences, and showed that younger people are more prone to compulsive buying. The central findings were that materialistic value endorsement emerged as the strongest predictor of individuals' compulsive buying, and that it significantly mediated the observed age differences.     

大脑皮层-背侧纹状体通路在吗啡强迫性觅药和用药行为中的作用

药物成瘾是以强迫性觅药和用药行为为核心特征的慢性脑疾病。从初始用药到强迫性用药是成瘾者的觅药行为从目标导向性向习惯化发展的过程。强迫性觅药和用药行为是依赖于背外侧纹状体的习惯化行为, 同时前额叶皮层-背内侧纹状体通路对行为的控制减弱, 导致感觉运动皮层-背外侧纹状体通路对行为的控制持续占主导地位, 是成瘾行为具有强迫性特征的重要神经基础。本项目围绕这一重要问题展开研究, 在建立具有成瘾特征的动物模型的基础上, 采用行为学、行为药理学和组织形态学等方法揭示皮层-纹状体通路在强迫性觅药和用药行为中的作用。研究结果有望为进一步寻找该神经网络参与成瘾行为的分子机制提供重要线索。     

网络环境下第三方评论对冲动购买意愿的影响机制：以产品类别和评论员级别为调节变量

采用问卷调查和实验研究的方法, 构建了以情感为中介的第三方正面评论与网络消费者冲动购买意愿的关系模型, 并检验了产品类别和评论员级别对该模型的调节效应。研究结果表明：第三方评论的好评度、好评数、时效性直接正向影响冲动购买意愿; 好评度以快乐和唤起情感为中介、好评数以快乐情感为中介间接正向影响冲动购买意愿; 消费者购买低涉入度(VS：高涉入度)产品和阅读高级(VS：初级)评论员发布的评论时, 第三方正面评论对冲动购买意愿的影响更强。     

结伴购物情境下消费者冲动购买行为发生机理

冲动性购买是生活中的常见现象, 也是消费者行为研究的重要子领域。围绕单人购物情境下的冲动购买研究成果较多, 而对结伴购物情境下的冲动购买行为研究明显不足。聚焦结伴购物情境下消费者的冲动购买现象, 基于“欲望-意志力”模型, 在情绪感染理论、归因理论等理论基础之上, 采用焦点访谈法、实验法、问卷调查法等研究方法, 从欲望和意志力两个方面, 深入探讨结伴购物消费者冲动购买行为发生的内部决策机理。研究结论将丰富现有结伴购物情境下的冲动购买行为研究内容, 也为企业营销实践、个人冲动购买行为管理以及政府部门开展消费者教育提供理论指导。     

Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Consumer Behavior

This article describes a dual‐system model of consumer behavior. This model is based on the assumption that all human behaviors are a joint function of reflective and impulsive mechanisms. Those mechanisms have different principles of operation but contribute to the act of buying. However, the relative contribution of impulsive and reflective processes depends on personal and contextual circumstances. The operation and interaction of the 2 systems at different stages of information processing is described and applied to the dynamics of consumer behavior, with a special emphasis on impulse buying.     

The neurobiology of substance and behavioral addictions

Behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, compulsive buying, and compulsive sexual behavior, represent significant public health concerns and are associated with high rates of psychiatric comorbidity and mortality. Although research into the biology of these behaviors is still in the early stages, recent advances in the understanding of motivation, reward, and addiction have provided insight into the possible pathophysiology of these disorders. Biochemical, functional neuroimaging, genetic studies, and treatment research have suggested a strong neurobiological link between behavioral addictions and substance use disorders. Given the substantial co-occurrence of these groups of disorders, improved understanding of their relationship has important implications not only for further understanding the neurobiology of both categories of disorders but also for improving prevention and treatment strategies.     

Identification With All Humanity: The role of self‐definition and self‐investment

Identification With All Humanity (IWAH) relates to higher levels of concern and supportive behavior toward the disadvantaged, stronger endorsement of human rights, and stronger responses in favor of global harmony. So far, IWAH has been conceptualized as a one‐dimensional construct describing the degree with which one identifies with all humans as a superordinate ingroup. However, recent group identification models suggest a multi‐dimensional model to provide a more differentiated approach toward the understanding of the highest level of social identification. Using principal axis (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses, we suggest that IWAH sub‐divides into two dimensions—global self‐definition and global self‐investment. Study 2 revealed that global self‐investment was a stronger predictor for both convergent measures (e.g., social dominance orientation and authoritarianism) and behavioral intentions than global self‐definition. Finally, in Study 3, we manipulated IWAH to test its causal effect on donation behavior. Participants in the experimental condition, compared with the control condition, showed higher global self‐investment, which in turn predicted greater giving to global charity. These findings suggest that two dimensions with different behavioral outcomes underlie IWAH.     

REVIEW OF HEYMAN'S ADDICTION: A DISORDER OF CHOICE

Gene Heyman's Addiction: A Disorder of Choice (2009) advances the important, albeit controversial, view that addiction is not a chronic, relapsing brain disease, but instead is an example of typical everyday choice that is both voluntary and self‐destructive. This review highlights Heyman's arguments for conceptualizing addiction as choice and discusses the utility of the treatment implications that are derived from the melioration model in which Heyman frames addiction. Self‐control and behavioral economics are presented as additional complementary frameworks for understanding addiction as choice, from which pragmatic, evidence‐based treatments for addiction (e.g., contingency management) might more easily be derived.     

Mindsets,shopping motivations and compulsive buying: Insights from China

This study investigates how mindsets (i.e., the beliefs that individuals have about the nature of human characteristics) are associated with compulsive buying behavior (i.e., the tendency to buy impulsively and obsessively). In particular, we test the relationships between consumer mindsets, three shopping motivations (deal proneness, social comparison, and hedonic motives) and compulsive buying. Based on a survey of 421 respondents conducted in China, our findings reveal the mechanism through which mindsets affect compulsive buying. The results show that when consumers believe in the consistency of personal traits (fixed mindset), they tend to be more vulnerable to deal offers and social comparison. These motivations increase the desire to seek hedonic pleasure, which is associated with a greater propensity for compulsive buying. However, when consumers believe that personal traits can be changed and developed (growth mindset), they seek hedonic pleasure in shopping, which result in a greater tendency to engage in compulsive buying. The present study adds to the existing body of knowledge by unveiling how different mindsets are associated with compulsive buying. In terms of practical implications, this study provides policy makers and marketers with a better understanding of the different motivations that lead to compulsive buying.     

The relationship between lottery ticket and scratch‐card buying behaviour,personality and other compulsive behaviours

The study examines how demographics, other forms of compulsive behaviour and personality are related to the buying frequency and compulsiveness in lottery tickets and scratch‐cards. An integrative framework is developed and tested in a sample of respondents. Results indicated that the buying compulsivenesses in lottery tickets and scratch‐cards have the same correlates. The buying compulsivenesses in both lottery tickets and scratch‐cards were found to be positively related to cigarette consumption and the extraversion dimension of personality and negatively related to the agreeableness and intellect dimensions of personality. Copyright © 2002 Stewart Publications Ltd.     

The effect of individual differences on adolescents' impulsive buying behavior

This study posits a relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Impulsive Buying Tendency (IBT). A survey of 574 adolescents found that high-EI adolescents manifested less impulsive behavior than did low-EI adolescents, and high-IBT adolescents were more likely to engage in more impulsive buying behavior than were low-IBT adolescents. Finally, possible extensions of the research to the area of adolescents' impulsive buying are suggested.     

Just a Little Bit Longer: Viewing Time of Erotic Material from a Self‐Control Perspective

For many individuals, watching erotic material constitutes a self‐control conflict in which reflective tendencies compete with impulsive urges for the control of behavior. Boundary conditions such as the ability to control attention determine which influence will prevail over the other. Here, we tested this framework in the context of viewing erotic videos. Reflective tendencies, as indicated by self‐reported attitudes, predicted viewing time of erotic videos for individuals high, but not low, in attention control. By contrast, impulsive tendencies, as indicated by automatic associations toward sex, predicted viewing time for individuals low, but not high, in attention control. This effect was particularly pronounced for single individuals. The adoption of a self‐control framework to research on viewing erotic material has several advantages, including a better understanding of the psychological processes involved in watching erotic material, an illustration of these processes' interactive dynamic, and a more fine‐grained prediction of viewing time behavior. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SPENDING WELL: HOW TIME PERSPECTIVES IMPACT CONSUMER VALUES AND FINANCIAL DECISIONS AMONG MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS

The current research extends the time perspective literature by exploring the relationships between time perspectives and financial outcomes across several adult age groups. In combining various demographically diverse samples, our study includes a total of 9,065 adults that completed some form of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). We found that people who are Future-oriented tend to have more responsible financial lifestyles. On the other hand, Past-Negative, Present-Hedonism, and Past-Fatalism orientations are associated with more detrimental financial lifestyles. Thus, the greater the deviation from a balanced time perspective middle-aged adults were, the (1) more they reported being materialistic, (2) more impulsive, compulsive, and conspicuous they were when shopping, and (3) less financially secure they felt. Also, our mediation models revealed that increased impulsive buying, compulsive buying, and conspicuous consumption partially mediated the negative relation between Past-Negative and financial security. However, decreased conspicuous consumption partially mediated the positive relation between Future and financial risk tolerance. We discuss potential ways to shape individual time perspectives, the developmental implications for time perspectives, consumer profiles, and well-being, as well as limitations.