The term “consumers” is routinely used in place of “people” and “citizens.” While most people (consumers?) don’t notice or care much about the terms being used interchangeably, there are those who resent being labeled as “consumers,” as if their sole purpose and reason for existence on this planet is to consume—to eat, drink, use, watch, and buy stuff, and keep the economy humming along. Now, a new psychological study indicates that it may be in everyone’s interest if we stop referring to (insulting?) folks as mere consumers.
A new study questions the long-accepted wisdom of setting a budget and sticking to it. The purpose of establishing a budget is to rein in one’s spending, but under certain circumstances, setting a budget does the opposite — and actually increases the likelihood you’ll spend more.
It happens all the time: You buy an item at one price, and then see others buy the same item a little later on for a much cheaper price. This is standard practice nowadays, but it still gets customers angry. How angry? A new study demonstrates the “boycott effect,” in which consumers who pay full [...]
Men are known to go to great lengths—and great expense—to impress women. This is most obviously the case when the male population outnumbers that of females, and laws of supply and demand kick in.
Forget about diligent saving, careful spending, and avoiding debt. Forget about tax cuts and private investment. For the economy to blossom, it is essential—and morally, the right thing to do—for consumers and the government alike to increase spending substantially, according to one economic historian. How’s that as the ultimate justification for guilt-free shopping sprees?
Losing your home is a nightmare—enough to make you sick to your stomach, and then some. Just how stressful is it to go through a foreclosure? A new study indicates that a rise in foreclosures correlates to an increase in serious hypertension problems, ER visits, and suicide attempts.
If you think you make purchases because you logically and objectively evaluate the options at hand, then decide based strictly on your personal preferences and individual sense of value, think again. Here are four examples of how consumers make purchasing decisions in highly irrational, sometimes completely nonsensical ways.
“Lower-class” individuals—i.e., folks without much money or education—demonstrate more compassion and empathy than their wealthy counterparts, according to a series of psychological studies. In social scientist speak, “self-oriented behavior” is more likely to be exhibited by people with good educations, prestigious jobs, high incomes, and overall higher-ranking social status.
People are supposed to love other people. So why is it that consumers are prone to borderline-romantic infatuations with stuff ranging from cars to computers, and even guns? A new study says loneliness is primarily to blame.
Studies show that flexing one’s muscles may help fight off—or possibly cause—wasteful impulse purchases, and other weird money findings.
— WILLIAM EVANS, Notre Dame economist whose research shows people are more likely to die in the days after receiving a paycheck [via Freakonomics]
