Master's Theses

Department

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

The current study examined the effect of self-control and desire for control on impulsive purchasing with stress as a moderator. Self-control has been found to be lower in individuals who engage in impulsive purchasing (Baumeister, 2002b), whereas little to no research on the effect of desire for control on impulsive purchasing has been completed. Stress has been found to relate with self-control and desire for control (Galla & Wood 2015; Leotti, Iyengar, & Ochsner, 2003). This study hopes to fill the research gap by exploring if stress moderates self-control and desire for control’s effect on impulsive purchasing. Participants were recruited from general psychology classes from a small Midwestern college. Price assignment, product switching and willingness to pay to get shipping the next day (expedited shipping) were used to assess impulsive purchasing. It was hypothesized that stress would have a moderating effect for both self-control and desire for control’s effect on impulsive purchasing. Though no moderation was found for stress on self-control and desire for control’s effect on impulsive purchasing items; it was found that those with lower self-control engaged more in impulsive purchasing, which fit with the literature. This research is important to show the relationship of stress and self-control on impulsive purchasing to help guide individuals into making smarter decisions when purchasing items.

Keywords

Impulsive purchasing, Self-control, Desire for control, stress, moderation

Advisor

Dr. Leo Herrman

Date of Award

Spring 2017

Document Type

Thesis

Rights

© The Author(s)

Comments

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