“Passionately confused,” which nicely sums up our current national conversation about health care,image also characterizes the personal financial grasp of most overshoppers. Few compulsive buyers have a clear idea of how much they spend and what they spend it on. (The incentive for their confusion is straightforward: it supports denial. As for the passion, it’s… Continue reading Weighin-In (Part 1)
Category: Compulsive Buying
Current Research
Astrid Müller, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher from Erlangen University in southern Germany, has been studying compulsive buying for the past six years. She’s recently published a study with several colleagues that replicated the finding of James Mitchell’s 2006 pilot study of a 12-session cognitive-behavioral group treatment with overshoppers. Overshoppers who participated in this group reduced… Continue reading Current Research
Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior (Viking, 2009) . An old philosopher’s question asks: “If a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound?” An updated version, tongue-in-cheek, is this: “If a man speaks in the forest and there’s no woman to hear him, is he still… Continue reading Consumer Behavior: Messages into the Void?
16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction
I’ve given you the three main strategies for stopping compulsive buying and curbing a shopping addiction. Now, I want to share with you some more tips to stop overshopping, things to think about, and questions to ask yourself if you think you’re at rick of developing a compulsive shopping addiction. First, keep in mind the… Continue reading 16 Strategies to Curve A Compulsive Shopping Addiction
3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1
Are the current economic conditions feeling scary to you? Are you having to rein in your buying and having difficulty doing it? The current economic crisis can serve as an extra motivator, a support to help you stop overshopping. Almost all of us need to think more seriously about our own buying behavior now. It’s… Continue reading 3 Proven Strategies for Stopping Overshopping, Part 1
Recommended Reading: In the Red: The Diary of a Recovering Shopaholic, by Alexis Hall
Recently, a number of overconsumers have decided to make radical changes in the course of a year and then write about their experiences. Mary Carlomagno did it in Give it Up: My Year of Learning to Live Better with Less, which we reviewed in Vol. 1, Number 2, March, 2006. She chronicled giving up one… Continue reading Recommended Reading: In the Red: The Diary of a Recovering Shopaholic, by Alexis Hall
Important New Test for Compulsive Buying Comes Out in December
After years of rigorous testing and research, a new test of compulsive buying tendencies is being published in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Designed to identify consumers who “have a strong urge to buy, regularly spend a lot of money, and have difficulty resisting the impulse to buy,” the new test… Continue reading Important New Test for Compulsive Buying Comes Out in December
Compulsive Buying on the Internet: Recent Research
Are you addicted to eBay? Do you overshop at Amazon? Have you found yourself spending a lot of time on the Internet comparing prices? Instant access, whether from home or office, has created an easy and hassle-free shopping experience, enticing unprecedented numbers into the online shopping world. Current research suggests that at least two out… Continue reading Compulsive Buying on the Internet: Recent Research
Research Reported in the New York Times
Three recent articles in the New York Times attracted our attention. “Money Doesn’t Talk,” by Shivani Vora, looks at the practice among women of disguising some of their purchases by paying cash, a practice that has grown in recent years even though more and more women are themselves wage earners. Why do they do it?… Continue reading Research Reported in the New York Times
How do Identity, Spirituality, and Life Purpose Interface with Compulsive Buying?
Dr. Kathleen Galek and Ms.Marcela Torres of StoppingOvershopping, LLC are currently conducting a research study among an urban female college population that examines how themes of identity, spirituality, and life purpose interface with compulsive buying. Their study tests the hypothesis that a stable identity, a sense of purpose in life, and a mature spirituality are… Continue reading How do Identity, Spirituality, and Life Purpose Interface with Compulsive Buying?