Fooling Yourself: the Role of Internal Defense Mechanisms in Unsustainable Consumption Behavior

Sustainability offers a fertile ground for the rise of intrapsychic conflicts. In-depth interviews reveal that consumers use specific psychological defense mechanisms to continue unsustainable consumption. Only in case of intense conflicts, actual behavior is modified. This research proposes a theor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAdvances in Consumer Research Vol. 40; p. 408
Main Authors Stich, Alexander, Wagner, Tillmann
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Urbana Association for Consumer Research 01.01.2012
Subjects
Consumer behavior
Consumption
Defense mechanisms
Studies
Sustainability
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Sustainability offers a fertile ground for the rise of intrapsychic conflicts. In-depth interviews reveal that consumers use specific psychological defense mechanisms to continue unsustainable consumption. Only in case of intense conflicts, actual behavior is modified. This research proposes a theoretical framework of how consumers deal with inner conflicts.
ISSN:0098-9258