Balancing the balance: Self-control mechanisms and compulsive buying

• Published in: Journal of economic psychology Vol. 49; pp. 120 - 132
• Main Authors: Horváth, Csilla, Büttner, Oliver B., Belei, Nina, Adıgüzel, Feray
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.2015; Elsevier Sequoia S.A
• Subjects: Balance theory; Compulsive buying; Consumer behavior; Interventions; Interviews; Quantitative analysis; Self control; Strategies; Studies; Consumer behavior; Self-control; Interventions; Compulsive buying; Strategies; I21; M31; 3920
• ISSN: 0167-4870; 1872-7719
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2015.05.004

•Two studies investigate how compulsive buyers try to control their buying behavior.•Results show that compulsive buyers engage in self-control attempts, but these attempts might be guided by very different goals depending on the phase of shopping and the temporal distance to new monetary resources.•Results further demonstrate how strategies employed by compulsive differ from those employed by prudent buyers.•Findings point towards areas in which interventions would be most helpful to assist compulsive buyers in strengthening their self-control. Previous research has mainly focused on identifying why compulsive buyers engage in excessive buying, while their attempts to control problematic buying behavior have largely been ignored. The present research examines the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 1 uses qualitative in-depth interviews to provide initial insights into the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 2 adopts a quantitative survey approach, and examines how prudent and compulsive buyers differ in their self-control attempts. The studies demonstrate that compulsive buyers engage in self-control, but differ from prudent buyers in how they apply self-control measures. These differences have implications for interventions that aim to enhance the success of compulsive buyers’ self-control.