Rise of Consumerism in a "Modern" World [Part 5: Impulses and Cravings]

Another culprit for the rising consumerism may be our unending demand and lack of self-control, according to social psychologist Roy Baumeister. He says that when we are burdened with other stress such as deadlines at work, dealing with a difficult relationship, illness, personal sadness etc., we are at a risk for spending more. Our will-power is like a muscle—it gets tired after too much use. So, having many tasks in our life that makes use of our will-power, drains us of it, resulting in us "giving in" and consuming more. 

Credit Cards and Impulse-Buying

Credit facilities further undermine our will-power. Before the deregulation of credit card interest rates in 1978, only wealthy consumers qualified for a credit card. However, now the credit card industry has begun targeting even high school students. It is conditioning people into building debt at a very young vulnerable age. A study in A Journal of Consumer Research (Vol. 13, No. 3) shows that credit cards condition us to give in to our impulses. Simply making consumers aware that an establishment accepts credit cards as a means of payment makes them more likely to make a purchase. Strangely, these findings were true even if the consumer did not use a credit card. 

Irrational Purchases and Current Moods

A research paper suggests that impulse buying is a real psychological phenomenon which is related to the Projection Bias. This is the tendency for the mind to believe that current conditions are going to continue into the future and that current tastes will be the same as future tastes. The extensive study examined more than 40 million cars sold over eight years. The findings indicate that on a hotter-than-average day or in the summer, 8.5% more convertibles were sold. These are classified as impulse purchases because convertibles bought on such days were more likely to be returned. 

Also, houses with pools sell much more during summers. 

On hot days, lesser black cars are sold. 

These are all findings of the study and are examples of irrational purchases that are influenced by current events. The brain expects the future to be like the present, even when logic dictates quite the opposite.  

In a study conducted by Daniel Read and Barbara van Leeuwen, it provided evidence that shopping on an empty stomach is more likely to lead to impulse buying as did making decisions in the spur of the moment. We are more likely to make poor decisions in the present because we are irrational and overestimate the value of our current feelings. 

Best Time To Make Decisions?

Decisions are best made when we are psychologically stable (i.e. not extremely happy or very upset or angry) and physiologically neutral (i.e. not hungry, tired or ill) and also when they are made in the course of planning for the future rather than made quickly in the moment.  

[This post is a part of a series of posts on the same topic. 

Part 1: Rise of Consumerism in a "Modern" World [Part 1: Role of the Industrial Revolution]

Part 2: Rise of Consumerism in a "Modern" World [Part 2: Desire for Prestige]

Part 3: Rise of Consumerism in a "Modern" World [Part 3: Personal Insecurities]

Part 4: Rise of Consumerism in a "Modern" World [Part 4: Role of Peer Pressure] ]