A new study has found that a simple action such as buying a lottery ticket can trigger materialistic thoughts, which cause consumers to lose self-control.
The study found that impulsive buying and excessive debt can be viewed as manifestations of poor self-control, as they trigger materialistic thoughts in the consumers.
Author Hyeongmi Kim from Johns Hopkins University, investigated why materialism leads to poor self-control and found that materialistic thoughts are specific and concrete, and that the more materialistic thoughts a consumer has, the more likely he or she is to demonstrate a lack of self-control.
In one study, researchers instructed one group of participants to buy a lottery ticket with a jackpot of 1 million dollars, while a second group of consumers did not. Participants in both groups wrote down their thoughts and indicated how much they preferred a small, immediate reward to a large, delayed reward. The consumers who bought a lottery ticket wrote down more materialistic thoughts and showed stronger preferences for a small, immediate reward.
In another study, participants received lottery tickets and were prompted to write either about products they would buy or trips they would take if they won.
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"The consumers who were asked to write about products or brands that they would like to buy with a possible windfall indicated stronger preference for a small, immediate reward than did those who wrote about travel," the author explained.
The author concluded saying that it is well-documented that materialistic consumers struggle with their materialistic longings and sometimes show poor self-control. Self-control is perhaps one of the most important attributes that a person needs to have a successful life.
The study is published in the Journal of Consumer Research.