Analysis of Shopping Addiction - Essay Example

 Analysis of Shopping Addiction Introduction All humans tend to possess some form of shopping personality although dissimilar. Empirical studies have identified four key shopping personality traits including normal, compulsive, neurotic, and psychotic. Our shopping personality positively correlated with our behaviour. Humans tend to be anxious about lavish shopping displays and frenzied adverts that dominate shopping displays especially during holidays. Societies in developed nations tend to fuel impulsive consumer spending without regard to whether one already has more possessions than required or not. The advertisers employ ingenious persuasion tactics of duping people into impulse buying. This has also encouraged socially undesirable and abnormal consumption pattern among compulsive buyers. The ad tactics tend to distort the consumer’s impressions and decision-making. As marketers become increasingly aggressive, more people fall into trap of believing that their buying of the products would make them happier because the products seem to improve their lives. Our neighbours also shape our beliefs regarding particular products through imitating their consumer behaviour and presume that it is okay to seek to meet our insatiable desires. This engenders narcissism among individuals because such temporal beliefs create competition in order to receive admiration from others. Previous research has linked compulsive shopping with preoccupation with material possessions or has been satirical of women spending. However, recent evidence indicates that compulsive buying is regarded as a form of mental disorder (Hemler, n.d). There exist speculations that compulsive buying may be included in the subsequent editions of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Efforts of medicalizing this condition are underway. The media has fuelled materialism because many people tend to overindulge in watching TV. Nonetheless, people who watch TV too much derive little overall satisfaction with their lives. Empirical studies have indicated that certain forms of consumption have high likelihood of underlying unhappiness. When an individual becomes overly materialistic or becomes addicted, consumption becomes disadvantageous. The marketer’s disguising of advertising aspects tends to exert psychological effects on people (Giles, 2003). The object-relations concept of psychoanalysis asserts that our relationship with others provides a mechanism of meeting our insatiable desires. Compulsive buying is growing problem whose social consequences threaten to spiral out of control. This paper will discuss addictive shopping behaviour with regard to compulsive buying. The paper will highlight some of the variables that fuel binge spending among consumers, including advertisement and emphasis on materialism. Harmful and addictive consumption activities Consumption of certain products can have detrimental and addictive effects upon consumers. This may be attributable to irrational behaviour consumers tend to display because they choose to participate in such consumption activities. Some unwholesome consumer products such as tobacco, drugs, and alcohol, usually engender habits that consumers may fail to control. Moreover, overindulgence in numerous products can harm consumers. High materialistic value orientation (MVO) consumers tend to hold worldly possessions with high regard. Such consumers are likely to possess greater number of credit cards and would eventually end-up bankrupt as well as experience psychological and practical life consequences (Dittmar, 2005). Research indicates that individuals who had experienced socio-economic disadvantages during childhood have high chances of becoming materialistic in adulthood. Jansson-Boyd (2009) attributes this to their utilitarian approach to products and services in a bid to fill gaps in their lives. Teenage consumers are likely to be more materialistic than younger children are. This may be attributable to increased autonomy from parents, peer pressures and the amount of possessions owned during childhood. Materialistic adults are generally unhappy. Materialistic adults have low self-confidence and tend to suffer from life’s anxieties. The values and beliefs held by these people at the present likely stem from childhood. There exists a strong correlation between compulsive buying and power-status an anxiety, although distrust is negatively correlated to compulsive buying. The international motivating factors for compulsive shopping may include low self-esteem, anxiety and autonomy, while external stimuli may include materialism, loneliness, rejection, impulsiveness, and coping (Palan, Morrow, Trapp, & Blackburn, 2011). Workman and Paper (2010) indicated that such compulsive behaviours entail desperate effort to address underlying issues that have remain unresolved for a long time. Compulsive buyers are different from impulsive buyers because impulse buying is often triggered by external stimuli, which when consumed once, the internal desire becomes satisfied. Even though impulsive buyers are engaged in recreational or incidental form of uncontrolled buying, their unbudgeted purchases are performed with little or no intention. This is often coupled with inadvertent mood states often in contrast with the better judgment of the buyer. However, compulsive buyers engage in irrational albeit unconscious and uncontrollable spending spree in an attempt to address unresolved negative feelings of anxiety and stress (Edwards, 1993). Compulsive behaviour is repetitive and incessant, sometimes obsessive. This would not satisfy the unresolved compelling and underlying desire within. Moreover, anxieties become increasingly overwhelming to these individuals when faced with difficulties in life and therefore would seek to ward off pent up anxieties through engaging in shopping spree as a matter of consolation. Excess TV watching makes people to believe that material possessions are necessary in life. This explains why consumers use purchase goods in order to achieve satisfaction (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). Recognition of compulsive buying as a mental disorder by incorporating it into editions of DSM has significant consequences because the medical, legal and health care fraternities would recognize it as a mental illness. This implies that pharmaceutical companies would market new drugs for the condition, with healthcare providers shifting from therapy towards drug covering. In fact, clinical trials are currently being conducted by researchers and are mainly sponsored by pharmaceutical corporations. There exist no official criteria for drug testing and diagnosis for this condition because the condition is said to be non-existent. Compulsive buying is a unique activity fuelled by society and is unlike alcohol and drug consumption or gambling and to some degree sexual intercourse. It is comparable to bulimia because both activities are necessary. Excessive consumption of both can be detrimental although bulimia is physically harmful to an individual self, whereas compulsive buying is destructive to social bonds and credit reputation. Compulsive buying is classified as a form of consumerism but in extremity and can only afforded by the rich. Medicalization is an indication that Americans society is less tolerant of behaviours that deviate from the norm and removes the blame for deviant behaviour from society (Hemler, n.d). Subliminal advertising in fuelling consumer behaviour The shopping displays, a form of subliminal advertising, contain adverts that expose consumers through mind-seizing concise texts that are persuasive. This serves to embed advertising messages into our iconic memory. In fact, our plastic memories tend to retain such displays much better than we can possibly conceive. Empirical evidence suggests that our shopping behaviour tend to be influenced by cognitive priming process of subliminal advertising. However, research evidence on the influence of hidden messages that are invisible or be heard consciously dupe people into purchasing spree are still scant. Humans tend to have the abilities to snatch unconscious information in the process subliminal learning. We use this information to gain knowledge of new language, improve our memory ability, reduce anxiety, lose weight, or even boosting our self-ego (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). The advertising slogans are usually brief and repeated on media such that it becomes almost irresistible for our memories to forget because the popular slogans keep on ringing in our minds. Our hearing of iterative ad slogans in the media irresistibly percolate into our unconscious minds by the process of neural firing pattern reactivation. Ads snatch out attention only by chance rather than through a conscious and deliberate process. Humans tend to pay little attention to commercial ads and yet the ad messages successfully embed into our unconscious minds. Our emotional reaction towards particular programmes affects our cognitive processing of television commercials. Research indicates that humorous and violent programmes dampen our degree of attention. Jansson-Boyd (2009) disproved this by arguing that subliminal messages are unlikely to affect consumers because the sitting style and location, noise, and our neighbours determine whether sub-conscious variables affect people. Consumer attitude Giles (2003) observed that our decisions to purchase goods are largely based on rationality, and may occur within a social context. Our attention and perception towards ad slogans provide adequate impetus for consumers to purchase products based on the premise that shopping. Instead, the successfulness of an advert is determined by whether shoppers like the product as well as the advertisement, rather than the inspiration consumers draw from ads. Furthermore, the music and humour of ads tend to be emotionally luring to consumers. In fact, music can increase consumer liking of an ad and its product. The extent of consumer involvement with an ad slogan or product is plays a crucial role in persuading consumers into purchasing the product. According to Petty and Cacioppo persuasion concept of Elaboration Likelihood, consumers tend to pay greater attention to ad slogans when they feel that they are highly involved with a particular product they hold with high regard. Therefore, different shoppers tend to have different degrees of product development. This has underlain shift from product-oriented advertising to consumer-oriented advertising, with a corresponding move from perceptual ad aspects towards discursive and narrative aspects of advertisement. Empirical evidence indicates that soft selling and hard selling practices of advert tend to have different influence on diverse people (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). Normal shoppers tend to derive satisfaction through product utility and are cautious about their spending rather than being spendthrifts. These utilitarian shoppers spend within their own means and are moderate. They would rather save for a product than buying it at the present especially if the product is unaffordable. Neurotic shoppers purchase products on the premise that it would meet their emotional needs rather deriving satisfaction from product utility. These determined shoppers are spendthrifts although are not impulsive buyers. In fact, rather than going out blind spending spree, they plan for what they intend to purchase. They would only spend if the product were of high quality no matter how expensive the product might seem. These perfectionist shoppers would go at great lengths to seek a product they desire. However, such shoppers tend to be ambivalent, which represents their individual problem. Their indecision drives them to doubt the quality of product to the extent of returning them if the product fails to meet their ideals (Lite, 2008). Compulsive shoppers purchase a product in order to relieve their anxiety and stress. Approximately 18 million Americans suffer from compulsive buying disorder. Their behaviour is involuntary although can be detrimental because most waste a lot of time and money in buying products that they do not need and tend to maintain such a behaviour without regard to how it affects their lives. Such huge spending has caused most of these shoppers to be bankrupt, which is aggravated further by the ease of access to credit. This behavioural disorder has underlain impaired social relationships and fund embezzlement (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). These impulsive buyers would engage in blind shopping spree repetitively. The excessive spending by compulsive buyers drives them to excessive borrowing. The usefulness of a product is not their concern. Rather, the manner of purchase and their relationship with salesperson is what relieves their overwhelming anxiety, which drives them into purchasing spree. Compulsive shoppers are more vulnerable to lavish decorations and ads. Such displays tend to arouse anxiety within them, which may depress or even overwhelm them. Most compulsive consumers make at least two shopping trips in a week on average. Psychotic shoppers tend to display bipolar disorder. Their mood shifts between depression and mania. These shoppers can engage in spending binges when experiencing manic, which often puts them into trouble with authorities or cause them harm. They are the worst form of compulsive buyers (Lite, 2008). Jansson-Boyd (2009) observed that increasing incidences of compulsive buying behaviour and diagnosis of individuals with this condition might be a direct result of increased awareness of compulsive buying. The media may have played a major role, although inadvertently, in glamorizing shopaholic attitude through writing numerous articles that raise awareness among the psychologists and compulsive buyers to seek professional assistance. Workman and Paper (2010) observed that advertisers should understand the social and economic repercussions associated with aggressive marketing that has caused put the lives of many into disarray because of excessive spending. Compulsive buyers often find it difficult to control their spending and are only comparable to substance abusers. The fierce advertising campaigns, whether intentional or not, in the media tends to contribute to higher consumption rates among compulsive buyers who are unable to afford their purchases. Not only does the consequences of their behaviour affect them, but also other parties, including financial institutions offering customer and retailer credit, retail corporations, consumers, and other economic sectors due to accumulating costs and irrecoverable debts (Workman & Paper, 2010). High self-monitoring consumers who are highly self-conscious are likely to adjust their behaviour to suit the circumstance and tend to harbour positive attitudes towards soft-sell adverts. Such consumers prefer soft-sell ads, which often hide facts about a particular product than hard-sell adverts. Hard-sell ads offer more information about a product, with low self-monitor consumers preferring them to soft-sell ads. Low self-monitor consumers are utilitarian and careful about purchasing a product unless they are sure of the product usefulness. These normal shoppers are prudent and product image does not matter to them. Psychographic profiling of consumers enables marketers to design adverts that appeal to different personality characteristics of different consumer segment. Advertisement is a manifestation of consumers’ dreams or aspirations for the future rather than the status of the consumer. People are different stages towards attainment of individuality. There usually exist difference between an individual’s current self-concept and actualized self, which constitutes one of the possible self that a particular individual conjures at any given moment. Ads represent ideal future self (Giles, 2003). Personalities more vulnerable to shopping addiction Individuals with high materialistic value orientations (MVOs) have greater probability of becoming shopping addicts. The degree to which people value material possessions significantly varies among individuals. However, there is no sufficient corroborating evidence to support this conclusion. There exists a strong correlation between low self-esteem and compulsive buying. Therefore, individuals with low self-esteem likely have a belief that owning certain material possessions would boost their self-confidence. Empirical evidence indicates that narcissistic individuals have higher likelihood of becoming victims of shopping addiction. This may be attributable to their desire for admiration from other people based on the premise that their own of certain possessions will other people envious of them due to people’s yearning to own such belongings (Jansson-Boyd, 2009). The misuse of credit cards is rife among American college students. Palan et al. (2011) attribute this to power prestige, carefree and self-esteem variables. The misuse of credit serves a reconciliation of the interplay between power prestige, carefree and self-esteem variables and compulsive buying. Compulsive buying is a growing problem especially among American college students. This may be attributable to culture that underscores preoccupation with material possessions. A great number of Americans have desire to use and display products that depict status and power as well as satisfying needs for pleasure. Some empirical studies have indicated that the desire to become consumer culture members is becoming the norm in American society (Palan et al., 2011). Americans mainly use credit cards to manage and control their lifestyles. The college student’s misuse of credit cards was something not expected. College students use these cards for meeting the expenses of secondary needs such as restaurant foods, tobacco, and alcohol. When these students leave college, they have accumulated a debt of at least $ 19,000 on average. This implies that such heavy debt impede their capacity to achieve full economic autonomy. In fact, college graduates having tendencies for compulsive buying will sink deeper into financial problems. In addition to debts, most of these graduates are anxious, depressed, and broken up from relationships (Palan et al., 2011). This vulnerability stems from the fact that college student’s pander to peer pressures in participating in activities and procurement of goods that are beyond their financial reach. Conclusion To summarize, our shopping personality are directly related our life behaviours. Aggressive marketing has play a major role in encouraging socially undesirable and abnormal consumption pattern among compulsive buyers. Emphasis on materialism and consumer culture by the society has fuelled compulsive shopping. Compulsive consumers tend to purchase products in an attempt to resolve deep issues within them. Compulsive buyers are high materialistic value orientation (MVO)consumers are likely to possess greater number of credit cards and would eventually end-up bankrupt as well as experience psychological and practical life consequences. Psychotic consumers represent the worst form of compulsive buyers. The shopping displays, a form of subliminal advertising, contain adverts that expose consumers through mind-seizing concise texts that are persuasive. This serves to embed advertising messages into our iconic memory. References Dittmar, H. (2005). A New Look at "Compulsive Buying": Self-Discrepancies and Materialistic Values as Predictors of Compulsive Buying Tendency. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology , 24 (6), 832-859. Edwards, E. A. (1993). Development of a New Scale for Measuring Compulsive Buying Behavior. Financial Counseling and Planning , 4, 67-85. Giles, D. (2003). Media Psychology. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,Inc. Hemler, J. R. (n.d). The Medicalization of Compulsive Shopping: A Sociological Analysis of a Disorder-in-the-Making. Draft , pp. 1-76. Jansson-Boyd, C. V. (2009). Consumer psychology. Maidenhead: Berkshire Open University Press . Lite, J. (2008, Dec 18). Your shopping personality explained. Retrieved June 7, 2012, from Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=your-shopping-personality-explained-2008-12-18 Palan, K. M., Morrow, P. C., Trapp, A., & Blackburn, V. (2011). Compulsive Buying Behavior in College Students: The Mediating Role of Credit Card Misuse. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice , 19 (1), 81-96. Workman, L., & Paper, D. (2010). Compulsive Buying: A Theoretical Framework. The Journal of Business Inquiry , 9 (1), 89-126. Read More