Abstract
Impulsive buying (IB), of which mood regulation function is well-documented, is among the methods for coping with psychological strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, IB is likely to hinder psychological well-being rather than repairing it in vulnerable periods. This study aims to answer: 1. Do negative psychological states promote IB during the pandemic? 2. Does IB lead negative emotions? 3. What is the role of pre-pandemic purchasing style on the process? 4.Does pandemic -related psychological strain fuel post-impulsive purchase negative emotions? A survey was conducted in Turkey with 405 participants. Results revealed that, regardless of pre-pandemic purchasing style, COVID-19-induced anxiety and loneliness promoted IB, and IB was followed by negative affect including guilt, regret, and shame. Furthermore, COVID-19-related anxiety and loneliness were found to fuel the negative affect induced by IB. The findings provide deeper insights into the dysfunctionality of IB for mood regulation and stress alleviation in a highly-stressful crisis period.
TopIntroduction
Since late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the whole world and caused the deaths of 5.9 million people (WHO, 2022). Governments have taken various precautions to prevent the further spread of the virus, such as home confinement, quarantine, social distance regulations, reduction of social activities, and closure of entertainment venues. These precautions have brought many negative effects across economic, social, and psychological domains. In particular, the direct and indirect adverse effects of the pandemic on the psychological well-being of individuals have been the subject of many studies. Researchers have described the loss of family members, fear of contagion, social isolation, and loss of income or employment for many people as hindering factors for psychological well-being (Morales-Vives et al., 2020). The pandemic has led to increased instances of anxiety, depression, stress, poor sleep quality, loneliness, and boredom (Droit-Volet, 2020; Mazza et al., 2020; Tutzer, 2021). Conversely, individuals have reported benefiting from different coping strategies to release these negative effects and mental states stemming from the pandemic. Coping strategies for addressing COVID-19 related psychological strain can involve behavioral therapy; drug treatments; self-distraction; seeking emotional support from family members and/or loved ones; and complementary therapies such as yoga, meditation, praying, spirituality, or using humor (Dagli, 2020; Fluharty & Fancourt, 2021; Savitsky et al., 2020). Self-distraction strategies involve “focusing more explicitly on doing things to take one's mind off the stressor” (Carver, 1997, pp. 95) and have been identified as the most common coping mechanisms for responding to psychological strain during the pandemic (Park et al., 2020). Accordingly, individuals have detached themselves from COVID-19 related stress through activities such as watching TV, cleaning or tidying up, spending time on the internet, listening to music, reading books, sleeping, exercising, and shopping (Park et al., 2020; Temiz, 2020; Taylor et al., 2020a, 2020b). Shopping, particularly impulsive shopping, has yet to be comprehensively examined as a self-distraction activity in the COVID-19 era.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Model: A commonly used framework for understanding the causes behind individual’s behavior, which includes “stimulus” representing the environmental elements, “organism” representing the internal structures and processes that occur between the stimulus and the response, and “response” representing the reactions of individuals. Thank you for your valuable support.
Self-Isolation: Separation of uninfected individuals from infected individuals to avoid diseases.
Anxiety: An excessive and difficult-to-control concern caused by pandemic-related events.
Loneliness: A feeling of being disconnected from the world mixed with a sense of emptiness.
Post-Purchase Negative Affect: Negative feelings such as shame, regret, and guilt that arise as a result of individuals find the purchase as redundant and wasteful after evaluating whether they need a product and whether it is the right option.
Self-Distraction Strategies: Strategies that are expressed as focusing one's own mind on doing something to reduce stress.
Impulsive Buying: An unplanned purchasing that occurs because of a sudden, often powerful, and persistent urge to buy something.