FEATURE
than six days.Whether it's online, in a store, from a catalog or on TV, shopping consumes more of our daily lives than cleaning the house, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
College students are particularly fond of shopping: A 2005 study by the International Council of Shopping Centers found that young adults ages 18 to 24 visited the mall approximately three times per month, spending an average of almost $70 per visit. Some students are self-professed shopping addicts and admit to spending money on things they don't really need.
But shopping involves more than just exchanging money for a cute top or a new iPod. Behind each decision, from where to go, what to buy and how much to spend, there are hidden mechanisms that tie into our emotions and psychological well-being. In fact, in extreme cases, shopping can be just as addictive as drugs or alcohol.
IN YOUR HEAD
If you've ever felt bombarded with promotions and ads upon entering a store, there's a reason for that. If you've ever been unconsciously drawn to logos with the color red in them, there's a reason for that, too. Advertisers have conducted countless hours of research to find out the secrets to getting consumers to open their wallets.
Many students have noticed the effects of such research when going into a store with the intention of only purchasing one item but coming out with more. For Jennifer Frederes, her downfall happens to be Target, the store with the bright red bull's-eye as its logo.
"You can't walk into Target and just buy one thing," says Frederes, Overland Park freshman. "I always spend at least $20 to $30 every time I go."
This isn't an uncommon experience. Studies have shown that a large majority of purchases are made on impulse. Taking advantage of this, stores put signs advertising their sales or special promotions right at the entrance. Because these purchases are unplanned, people are forced to come up with a reason for getting the item.
A common excuse many people give, especially if the item is expensive, is that it's worth it because they'll use it a lot. A $150 pair of jeans can have its price drastically slashed to $20 or less once the person does some mental math. The person simply divides the price by how many times per month he or she will wear them, and the jeans are magically less expensive.
"Sometimes you have to justify things because you know what you're buying is impractical," says Carolyn Knop, Liberty freshman.
For example, two students who asked not to be named say they've purchased a particular brand of tanning lotion that sells for about $100. Both students say the lotion is worth the price for many reasons: It has 20 bronzers in it, which lead to better and faster results. It comes in a larger bottle than many tan accelerators, meaning they can use it for longer. And, because of the
results, they don't have to go tanning as often saving money on how much they spend at the tanning beds.
WHY WE DO IT
Instead of heading to the bars or devouring a pint of Ben and Jerry's after a rough day, Jennifer Harness, Ottawa senior, calls her friend, and the two go shopping.
"Shopping happens to be what we do best," Harness says. "I've adopted a motto I saw at the Mall of America: Shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist."
Harness isn't alone. As it turns out, our emotional state has a lot to do with our financial decisions. According to a June 2008 study by Carnegie Mellon University researcher Cynthia Cryder called "Misery is not Miserly," people are likely to hand over more dough when they're feeling sad or upset. Sadness typically leads to an increase in self-centered thinking, which causes people to spend more money.
Although Cryder's study was only published recently, this phenomenon is not new. After all, the phrase "retail therapy" has existed for years. One of the first publications of the term was on Christmas Eve in 1986 in the Chicago Tribune: "We've become a nation measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills through retail therapy."
Cryder says she was originally interested in the topic because previous studies showed that sadness leads to an increase in valuation. In other words, when people are sad, they overestimate the value of various items. This concept, called the "endowment effect," has been confirmed by psychologists who study behavioral economics. Psychologists say that when people are sad, they feel the need to change something about their lives. To fulfill this need, they are willing to pay higher prices for new items, which are symbolic of change. Cryder says she wanted to delve further into the topic, and discovered that self-centered thinking also plays an important role. She says her next study will investigate how guilt and shame may influence decisions to spend money.
April Benson, psychologist and author of I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self, says that consumers typically go shopping to seek comfort from a negative internal state. However, Benson says this relief is only temporary.
"With any problem, you'll have to do more and more to get the same kind of relief." Benson says. "Someone who is constantly shopping, looking for objects to fill holes that they can't fill, will never be satisfied."
Other reasons for making purchases include rewarding oneself for a recent accomplishment, being influenced by shopping's social aspects, and even patriotism. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, President George W.Bush repeatedly encouraged Americans to go shopping in order to keep the economy alive.
ADDICTION
Instead of developing a dependency on drugs and alcohol, shopping can turn out to be some people's dangerous vice. In extreme cases, shopping for relief from a negative emotional state can lead to a shopping addiction, or what Benson calls compulsive buying disorder.Although it isn't yet in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a handbook that lists mental disorders and criteria for diagnosing them, compulsive buying disorder—and what contributes to it—are gaining more recognition by the mainstream media.
Compulsive buying disorder is characterized by frequent shopping trips, purchasing items that you can't afford, using shopping as relief from everyday stressors, lying or covering up purchases and essentially spending yourself into debt.
The disorder is not gender-exclusive.Although studies show that the majority of retail purchases made in a year are made by women,men can be just as addicted to shopping as women.
"The issue is whether it's impairing your life," Benson says. "If you're using shopping as kind of an equal opportunity, all-purpose mood changer, that is a sign of the beginning of compulsive buying disorder."
Some consumers claim they feel a rush when they go shopping or when looking at their new purchases. It turns out a shopping trip can have similar effects to those of a drug. Both release dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with things that are new or exciting to a person, according to an article from Psychology Today Magazine.
This high is essentially an overwhelming amount of dopamine to the brain. The subsequent fall, which typically involves feeling guilty about the purchases made, happens when the dopamine levels return back to normal. Shopping becomes an addiction when consumers can't live without this high. In order to get rid of the guilt, they buy something else, thus feeding their dependence like a drug addict getting a fix.
The realities of compulsive buying disorder hit very close to home for Jennifer Harness. She says a member of her family is a shopping addict, spending money on purchases that are usually never used. Like many compulsive buyers, the items still have their tags and never come out of the packaging. Instead, they pile up around the house as the bills pile up as well.
For compulsive shoppers, it's not the merchandise they are excited about, but rather the high they experience when shopping and when buying something new. Aware of this, and of her own tendency to become addicted to "trivial things," Harness says she tries her best to keep her spending under control.
Continued on page 12
October 2,2008
11