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COMPULSIVE CONSUMPTIONRonald J. Fabe r, University of Texas

Thomas C. O'Guinn, University of IllinoisRaymond Krych, Scott and White Clinic and Hospital

AbstractRecently, psychologists have begun to realize that spend-ing can be a compulsive behavior similar to gambling, fooddisorders and alcoholism. However, to date, virtually nopublished literature exists about this form of fanaticalconsumption. This paper discusses how compulsive spendingfits the etiology of compulsive behaviors and describesthe different ways compulsive consumption can be manifest -ed.

IntroductionFor most people a large part of consumer behavior is simp-ly a part of their everyday routi ne. Only unusual, specialor major purchases stand out as being particularly signifi-cant to the typical consumer. Many consvunption activitiesreceive little thought and require little involvement.Even fanatical consumption by enthu siasts, collectors andcognoscenti is typically limited to a small number of con-sumption objects or areas. To some individuals, however,consumption itself can become particularly central anddeeply involving. It can have major, often severe, impli-cations for many aspects of their lives. In these cases,consumption becomes dysfunctional, and is often typifiedby a compulsive quality.This paper attempts to call attention to this dysfunction-al form of buyer behavior, discuss some of the major con-cepts and issues involved, and report some very prelimi-nary research findings on the topic. Unfortunately, thereis virtually no published research on the problem of com-pulsive consumption. Therefore, to accomplish the goalsof this paper we have to rely in large measure on anecdot-al accounts, as well as observation and participation inself-help group discussions with credit abus ers, and theresults of a small pilot survey.The subjects for the pilot study were 23 people attendingmeetings of a San Francisco based self-help support group.The respondents had been members of the group for differ-ing lengths of time ranging from three weeks to over ayear. The majority were women (19 women and 4 men) , andmost were in their thirties and forties (78.2%). Approxi-mately half of the respondents were married (47.8%), 30.4%were single and the remaining 21 .7% were divorced orseparated. Annual household income varied greatly amongthe respondents ranging from one person who earned under$10,000 a year to three respondents who reported house-hold incomes of over $100,000 a year. The majority of therespondents had yearly household incomes of between$20,000 and $50,000.

General DescriptionWhen we use the term "compulsive consumption," we arespeaking about a type of consumer behavior which is inap-propriate, typically excessive, and clearly disruptive tothe lives of individuals who appear impulsively driven toconsume. The person who buys several identical sweatersin different colors because he simply "has to " or because,"I felt good in i t," even though he knows he cannot affordto pay for it, is a classic example. Even though the con-sequences may have severe effects on his daily life, thecompulsive consumer buys anyway. As a result, normalactivities such as opening the mail or answering the phonetake on new meaning. For many compulsive shoppers thereis a constant fear of being confronted by another largebill, or angry creditor. Many try to hide both the billsand the items purchased for fear of being discovered . Insome instances, people have even engaged in criminal ac-tivities in order to pay for their bills and maintaintheir line of credit.

The behaviors of the compulsive consumer seem fairly silar to common manifestations of addictive behavior. Hoever, the definition of the term "addiction," is a debaable poiht among clinicians. For some, addiction may orefer to substances, and require the presence of thephysiological habituation and abstinence syndrome. Be-cause of this controversy, we have chosen to use the tecompulsive rather than addictive consumption.

Characteristics of Compulsive BehaviorThe literature suggests that there are a number of cardnal features common across different types of compulsivbehaviors (Anderson and Brown 198 4; Miller 198 0; Russel1979). These include physical and/or psychological de-pendence on the substance or acti.vlty, as well as occasal loss of control regarding the behavior and subsequeninterference with normal life functioning. Other com-monalities include the presence of a drive, impulse orurge to engage in the behavior; denial of the harmfulconsequences of continuing the behavior; and repeatedfailure in efforts to control or modify the behavior.The compulsive behavior is often used as a means of coping with stres s, escaping demands and pressure or toovercome unpleasant emotions or situations. Often alowered sense of self worth is presen t. AnecdotiSl evi-dence and our preliminary research indicates that thesecharacteristics are generally present in compulsivespenders.

Compulsive behavior can sometimes involve psychologicaldependence. Psychological dependence is a rather elu-sive clinical term generally reserved for substances. Hever, it has been used in the context of behaviors suchas work, exercise, and sex. In such a context, the de-pendent individual predictably turns to a behavior likework in response to some environmental stimulus such asinterpersonal difficulty.In our resea rch, we encountered behavior which wa s certaly suggestive of psychological dependence. Group dis-cussions with compulsive consumers often revealed a seeingly inappropriate consumption response to various sitations. The stimuli precipitating this varied fromshopper to shopper, but the buying responses were fairlsimilar . The lainguage employed by these individuals waalso very suggestive of a dependency. They would commorefer to the shopping response as "a need," or somethingthey simply "had to do," in response to something else their lives.A behavior is considered compulsive when it results frocompelling impulses or urges and is inappropriate or diruptive (Ullman and Krasner 1969). Interviews conductewith compulsive consiimers typically contain accounts ofshopping sprees in which they described themselves as bing completely "out of contro l," buying th ings theydidn't need and sometimes couldn't even use. These be-haviors w6re said to be precipitated or accompanied byan irresistible urge to buy. Respondents frequently expressed confusion and considerable frustration at theirinability to control this urge. They often spoke of siations where the urge to buy was just too powerful toresist, and how it was as if something were controllingtheir actions. This response is typical of compulsive havior in that it involves the notion of an "ego-alien"force, or; an external locus of control. According toCarla Perez, M.D., a psychiatrist who has treated manycomptilsive spenders, "The compulsive shopper doesn'tjust shop-she must shop." (Jacoby, 1986 , p. 31 9) .Technically, a behavior is not classified as truly compsive if it is ego'^syntonici or "consonant with the immeate wish of the indlvidttal" (American Psychiatric

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Association 1980, p. 291 ). If there is "pleasure,cation or release at the time of committing the act," thebehavior would instead be termed "a disorder of impulsecontrol" (American Psychiatric Association 198 0, p. 29 1).The extent to which "compulsive consumption is ego-dystonic or ego-syntonic is still unknown. In many casesit does seem more to follow the true compulsive model andbe the result of involuntary thoughts which "invade con-sciousness, and are experienced as senseless and repug-nant" (American Psychiatric Association 1980,, p. 235).However, in some cases the act itself does appear pleasur-able, at least initially. This distinction may eventual-ly prove to be an important diagnostic and research cri-terion. For now, however, we will use the term "compul-sive consumption" to apply to both situations.For many, if not most compulsive purchase rs, buying is areaction to stress or unpleasant situations. One sectionof the questionnaire that we administered to compulsiveconsumers asked them to complete a number of sentences.One sentence fragment read, "I am most likely to buy my -self something when . . ." Among our respondents, 43..5%completed this sentence by giving a negative emotion suchas "I'm depressed" or "feel bad about myself" as theirfirst response. An additional 30.4% talked about negativefeelings as some part of their response although not thefirst thing they menti oned. Belk (1985) used this samesentence fragment in his study of materialism acrossthree generations in families. In his study, only 20% ofthe respondents completed this sentence by mentioning anytype of emotional state (either negative or positive) orby mentio ning impulse pulrchases.Compulsive consumers' use of shopping as an escape fromunhappiness can also be seen in the responses to the fol-lowing sentence completion question used both in our studyand by Belk: "When I don't feel good about myself I'mlikely to . . ." The major responses that Belk reportsare: "act depressed" (32%); "try to feel better" (25%);and "withdraw from others" (20%). Unfortunately, he doesnot indicate what types of answers comprise the remaining22% of the response s, so we don't know what percent i n-volve buying behaviors. However, the likelihood is it isvery small. In our sample, "spend money/shop" (30.4%)was tied with "sleep/withdraw" (30.4%) as the most commonresponse. Thus, it seems that for at least some compul-sive shoppers buying is a predominant way of coping withunhappiness.Group interv iew responses also supported thiss not ion. Al -most all respondents at some point linked an affective ormood state to their compulsive behavior. Interestingly,however, it was not always a negative one. Some respond-ents experienced the presence of tbis powerful urge tospend excessively when they were elated. This is somewhatsuggestive of an affectual state relationship, as well asa more simple arousal model.Other characteristics of compulsive behavior deal with thenegative consequences of the behavior and the desire anddifficulty of trying to quit. Even though the compulsivebehavior may lead to unpleasant consequences and interferewith one's lif e, the individual persists in this behavior.Based on anecdotal data and our pilot study there seems tobe little doubt that this is true of compulsive consumers.Interviews revealed a wide array of negative consequencesassociated with the compulsive behaviors. These rahgedfrom grossly over-extended credit lines to forced sales ofproperty and even writing bad checks or embezzling money tcover debts incurred during shopping sprees. Interesting-ly, many respondents perceived these acts as desperate,and "un lik e" themselves , but had sometimes repeated themseveral times.While compulsive consumers may sometimes gain pleasure orexcitement from the act of buying, several of them indi-cate that they get little enjoyment or use from the thingsthey buy. Some people state that after buying they wereso afraid that someone would find out (usually their

spouse) that they hid their purchases in the trunk oftheir car or in a closet and never used these things.Others reported buy ing so many things that they nevergot to use all of them. One question we asked on oursurvey tried to get at the degree to which this occurs.We asked the people to respond on a five-point scalegoing from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" toseveral statements. One statement read, "My closetsare filled with sti ll unopened item s." Vfhile no compari -son exists from a general population, it is consideredunlikely that many people would agree with this state-ment. Among the compulsive consumers , however , 43. 4%either strongly or somewhat agreed with it.Both the fear of bein g disc overed and the. reality ofspending beyond their means Interferes with the livesof many compulsive spenders. Almost all report somefeelings of guilt and anxiety over their behavior. Itis, perhap s, this reaction to buying which most clearlydistinguishes compulsive consumers from other shoppers.The fear and guilt associated with buying was evident inresponses to another sentence completion question weused, which began, "When I use my credit card . . ."Many respondents naturally finished this sentence withsome reference to spending more than if they paid cash(27.3%), or feelings of power or importance (13.6%).These responses would probably also be cOTsmon among non-compulsive consumers. More interesting, however , was thenumber of people who completed this sentence by mention-ing either feelings of fear/anxiety (18.2%) or guilt(18.2%). For these people, it would seem that buying isnot totally an enjoyable activity. Thus, based on ourpreliminary research it appears that compulsive consump-tion matches most, if not all, of the characteristicsassociated with compulsive behaviors.

IncidenceSince compulsive consumption is just now being recognizedas a problem and many compulsive spenders may be unawarethat they have a problem or deny that it is a problem, agood estimate of its magnitude is unavailable. However ,mounting evidence from different sources indicates thatthis may well be a large and growing affliction.We can look for indications of the number of compulsivespenders from both subjective and objective sources.Subjective measures come from the number of people whoreport themselves as being compulsive spenders or who areseeking help from one of the few available supportgroups. These numbers are likely to be deflated becausemany compulsive spenders may be unwilling to admit theproble m (even to themselv es) or ar e unaware of places to gto seek help. Nonethele ss, growing evidence indicatesthat there are many people who desire help for this prob-lem.One source of help is Debtors Anonym ous, a self-help grouppatterned after Alcoholics Anonymous with chapters inseveral cities. Chapters are generally loosely organizedby volunteers and most do not appear to make much effortto publicize their existence. Still, they estimate theirmembership to be approximately 4000 and they are addingnew chapters at the rate of about 5 a month (Mundis 1986)Another organization devoted to helping compulsive con-sumers is Spender-Menders. While to date, Spender-Menderonly has chapters in and around the San Francisco Bay arethey have a file of over 50 00 people from all over thecountry who have contacted them asking for help.A final indication comes from a leading women's magazinethat asked readers who thought they were compulsive buy-ers to write in. Within just a couple of weeks, over1500 readers responded.While these subjective indications would suggest thatthere are many people suffering from the afflictio n,other indicators suggest that the extent of this problem

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may be even greater. Although not all people who are inserious debt are compulsive consumers, it is likely thatsome percentage of these people are. Objective measuresshow that the number of people In serious debt situationsis rising (Rice 1979; Raske 1979). Credit experts con-sider a ratio of debt to take home pay beyond 20% (notincluding mortgage payments) to be a dangerous level ofdebt. A recent estimate indicates that in America , themean debt to take home pay ratio has now reached 19.4%(Groves 1985); and it must be remembered that not every-one has consumer debts. Raske (1979) estimated that 25 %of families have no consumer debt and that 45 % useless than 10% of their income to retire their debts.Thus, he concludes, the remaining 3 0% must be devotingbetween 35 - 5 2% of their income to pay for past pur-chases. While some people undoubtedly find themselvesin this situation because of economic necessity or poormoney management ski lls, some proportion of them mayhave reached this predicament because of a buying compul-sion which has led to credit abuse. One of the Importantfirst steps In studying this problem will be to developconceptual and operational definitions to Identify andseparate people suffering from compulsive spending fromthose having f inancial difficulties, for other reas on^.

TypologiesAs is the case with so many other forms of behavior, noone typology seems completely appropri ate. If there issome conmionality among compulsive spenders it may be thatthey have a low self-esteem, and that they spend much oftheir lives trying to please other people. These two re-lated characteristics are almost always mentioned bypeople working with compulsive consutaers and creditabusers.One of the biggest stereotypes regarding compulsive spend-ing is that it strikes mainly women. However, many ex-perts disagree with that belief. They believe that menare as susceptible as women to compulsive consumption,although It may be somewhat morfe common in women be causewomen are more likely to have been socialized to derivepleasure from shopping. Women are also thought to bemore likely to admit to this problem than men and thusit may be more apparent among them since they seek helpat a greater rate. According to Sandi Gostin, directoror Spender Menders, half of the phone calls received arefrom men, but only about ten percent of them actuallyfollow through and get help.While both men and women suffer from compulsive spending,it tends to manifes t itself different ly among them.Women tend to spend more on clothes and jewelry while menseem to spend more on tars and electronics. However , Itmay be that these different products actually serve thesame go al t o bolster self-esteem. For women, a largepart of their self-esteem has been socially conditionedto be derived from how they look. Clothes and jewels mayhelp them feel more attractive or successful. Men, onthe other hand, are traditionally rewarded for possessingexpertise and/or wealth. Being an innovator in newelectronic gadgets (VCR's, PC' s, stereos, etc.) may givesome men a feeling of being knowledgeable, and thereforeimportant, while cars serve as a symbol of wqalth, statusand power. In each case, However, what the compulsivespender may really be tryliig to buy is an enhanced selfperception.While the above descriptions may be comm on, compulsiveconsumption like other compulsive behaviors tends to mani-fest Itself in many different forms. For example, notall compulsive spenders buy for themselves. Some mostlybuy things for other people. Many seem to use purchasingto relieve anxiety or unha ppine ss, but some seem compelledto spend simply to get rid of money . They may be drivenby a feeling that they are undeserving of wealth or be-cause having money conflicts with their self image.Still others seem to spend the most when someone elsesays they can't. They may be rebelling from externalcontrols being placed on them.

While profiling compulsive spenders would be an impor-tant task, it is unlikely to be an easy one . If it Ispossible at all . It is likely to require several differ-ent profiles or typologies rather than just one characteization. The dimensions which seem most Important toinclude in building these typologies are demographicslike age, income, sex, and marital status , as well aspurchase ch aracteristics such as what types of thingsare bought, when they are bought and for whom they arepurchased. Still, this task may prove just as proble-matic and elusive as it has in the case of other com-pulsive behaviors.

EtiologyAlong with determining the sis ^ of this problem and de-scribing the different types of compulsive consumers,it is important for us to. begiil to determine wh at causespeople to become compulsive spenders. This may prove tobe the most difficult task since little agreement existsin psychology as to the underlying causes of compulsiv ebehavior.Many theories have been proposed to explain the etiologyof compulsive and addictive behaviors. Most theoreticalmodels focus on biologica l, psychological or sociologi-cal causes. Biological models suggest that there may bea genetic predisposition to conipulsive beha vior s. In thfields of alcoholism and drug dependency there is increaing support for this viewpoint. Some researchers havesuggested that compulsive behaviors may be due to vary-ing brain activi ty. For exampl e. Milkman, and Sunderwor t(1983) suggest that compulsive gambling is an "arousal"mode of gratification which effects neurotransmltters ina similar way to amphetamines and cocaine. Other re-searchers have hypothesized that individual differencesIn cortical arousability may be a determining factor(Anderson and Brown 1984). Still other researchers areexamining the effects of individual differences in endorphin levels In various types df addicts (Blaszczynskiet al. 1986). These data,: while not definitive, are suggestive of a neurological substrate for cotapulsive be-haviors.Psychological theories and models suggest that compulsivbehaviors relieve stress experienced by the individualfrom pressure to perform or succeed at tasks or causedby low self-esteem. Sociological models suggest thatcompulsive be havio rs ste m front peer pr essure or from be-liefs about cultural norms . These models suggest thatsociety in general, as well aa important subgro ups, con-done and may even encourage some of these behaviors.Until recently In the U.S. this was true for alcohol andsmoking and, to a lesser extent , gambling and drug Use.The media also contribute by glamourizing these behaviorIn ent erta inmen t w ork s an d conimercials, ijir by mak ing theappear to be expected behaviors.Most likely, some factors emanating from each of thesedifferent theories, play a role ih contributing to compulsive consumption. The possibility of a chemical orneurological connection was accidentally touched upon inour discussion with compulsive;spending groups. In onegroup, a person mentioned her enjoyment Of speeding dowthe highway in her car. Several other people spontane-ously and enthusiastica lly agreed. Somewhat surprised bthis reaction, we brought the topic up with anothergroup of compulsive consumers. While some members agreone person vigorously rejected'this idea. After a slighesitation he said he preferred parachute jumping. Surprisi ngly , two other peop le in^ the group (out of about total people) said they also parachute jump. While harly conclusive, the disproportipnate incidence of thrillseeking behavior s is at least bomewhat suppo rtive of thnotion that compulsive behaviors may be partially causeby a lack of some chemical produced by eixcitement orstimulation, this fits well with notions of "type~Rpersonalities," and sensation seeking (Zuokermah 1979).

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Support for psychological and sociological bases for thisproblem also exist. Most of the people who have workedwith compulsive spenders and credit abusers report thatthese people generally have low self-esteem. Compulsiveconsumers themselves often believe the roots of theirproblem, go back to their childhood. However , there islittle congruity over just what types of early consumptionbehaviors may cause the problem. Some people feel itstems from not having any money of their own to spendwhen they were young. Others attribute it to not havingany controls placed on their spending. Again, whilethere may not be one uniform type of upbringing whic hleads to compulsive consumption^ some investigations intochildhood consumption activities and parental rul es, com-munication patterns and beh3.viors may be worthwhile.The final area which deserves attention is the role ofadvertising and the mass media. In discussions we hadwith co mpulsive consu mers , most fe.lt that advertising didnot play a major role in their problem. They thought thatit was other factors which triggered their need to buy.However, it is possible that advertising and the massmedia hav e a less overt role, in promoting this probl em.They may contribute to the belief that happiness can befound through consumption. Thus, while advertising andmedia presentations may not directly cause or trigger thisproblem, they may encourage people with low self-esteemto manifest their problem through buying.Additionally, advertising for one particular service mayplay an important role in compulsive consumption andcredit abuse. This is advertising for bank cards. Up un-til recently, almost all of these ads appealed to desirefor status and the belief tha t, "you can have it all."Compulsive consumers are likely to be particularly vulner-able to these appeals. This particular service can causeserious problems since bank cards allow compulsive con-sumers to run up huge debts. It may not be just coinci-dence that the problem of compulsive consumption has be -come more noticeable with the rapid growth in the bankcard industry (from about 20,000,000 cards in 1970 to over150,000,000 in 1985).It is in the interest of both people who suffer from com-pulsive spending and society in general to try to reducethe incidence of this problem. For society, compulsiveconsumption and credit abuse increase the amount of baddebt and drive up interest ra tes, to say nothing of thehuman misery it can cause. For the compulsive spendersthemselves, this problem can become a nightmare whichoverwhelms all other parts of their lives. In both ourstudy and Belk's, there was another sentence completionquestion wh ich started, "T he one thing whi ch vrould make mehappiest at this point in my life is . . .". In Belk'sinvestigation, 15% of the respondents mentlone^d money orfinancial success. Among compulsive consumers, 55,5%said, "no more debts" was the one thing in life whichwould make them the happiest, and an additional 8.7% said"more money."One of the most important questions which needs to be an-swered is whether compulsive consumption is both quantita-tively and qualitatively different from societal norms.This is a central issue In many so-called abnormal behav-iors. Many of us experience positive feelings and grati-fication from shopping and purchasing. At what point doesthis en joyment become abnormiil?

As consumer re searcher s it iss Important that we study andunderstand the dysfunctional aspects of consumption aswell as the advantageous. Compulsive consumption is par-ticularly important to consumer research in that it is notsimply a negative side-effect of some marketing effortsuch as misinformation or even outright deception. Forthese Individuals, consumption has an abuse potential verymuch as if it were a substance. Whereas consumer herhavior has examined a few of the negative consequences ofmarketing effort s, it is now time to examine the consump-tion experience itself In these terms.

ReferencesAmerican Psychiatric Association (1980), Diaanostic andStatistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Third Edition.Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Assiociatlon.Anderson, George and Iain Brown (1984), "E.eal and Labo-ratory Gambling, Sensation Seeking and Arousal ," BritishJournal of Psychology, 75, 401-4 10.Belk, Russell (1985), "Materialism: Trait Aspe cts ofLiving In the Material World," Journal of Consumer Re-search, 1 2, 265-280.Blaszczynski, Alexander P., A. C. Wilson and NathanielMcConaghy (1986), "Sensation Seeking and PathologicalGambling," British Journal of Addiction, 1 0, 113-117.Groves, Martha (1985), "Holiday Shoppers Give CreditCards a Workout," Austin American-Statesman (Dec. 18 ) .Jacoby, Susan (1986), "Compulsive Shopping," Glamour(April), 318-319; 348-351.Milkma n, Harvey and Steven Sunderworth (1983), "TheChemistry of Craving," Psychology Today, 1 7, 36-44.Miller, Peter M. (1980), "Theoretical and PracticalIssues in Substance Abuse Assessment and Treatment," inW. R. Miller (ed.), The Addictive Behaviors, Oxford:Pergamon Press, 265-290.Mundis, Jerrold (1986), "A Way Back from Deep Debt, " New- ork Times Magazine (Jan. 5 ) , 22-26.Raske, Arthur (1979), "Patterns in the Debt-Delinquency-Credit Addiction Picture," Credit World, 67, 38-41.Rice, R. Michael (1979), "The Growing Consumer Debt Bur-den," Bankers Monthly, 96 , 14-16, 35 .Russell, Gerald (1979), "Bulimia Nervo usa: .An OminousVariant of Anorexia Mervousa," Psychological Medicine, 9,429-448.Ullman, Leonard F. and Leonard Krasner (1969), A Psycholo-gical Apptoach tti Abnormal Behavior, Englewood Cliff s,Prentice Hall.

Zuckerman, Marvin (1979), Sensation Seeking; Beyond theOptimal Level , Hillsdale , N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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