Impulse Buying Behavior Among College Students in The Borderlands

IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOR AMONG COLLEGE
STUDENTS IN THE BORDERLANDS

AMELIE JAQUELINE TREMBLAY
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

APPROVED:
_____________________________
S. Fernando Rodriguez, Ph.D. Chair

__________________________
Howard Campbell, Ph.D.

___________________________
Osvaldo F. Morera, Ph.D.

___________________________
Gang Lee, Ph.D.

____________________________
Charles H. Ambler, Ph.D.
Dean of the Graduate School

IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOR:

IMPULSE BUYING BEHAVIOR AMONG COLLEGE
STUDENTS IN THE BORDERLANDS

By

Amelie J. Tremblay

THESIS

Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of

The University of Texas at El Paso

In Partial Fulfillment

of the requirements

for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS


THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO

MAY 2005
UMI Number: 1430979
1430979
2005
UMI Microform
Copyright
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest Information and Learning Company
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P.O. Box 1346
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by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The completion of this thesis has been a road of learning, patience and
dedication. This long path has though me that to success only come with good
time management and organization.
I am deeply grateful to many individuals who provided support and
encouragement during this process. The completion of this degree would not have
been possible without understanding, patience and guidance from my committee
members. A huge thank you to the Chairman of my thesis Dr. S Fernando
Rodriguez for everything! Dr. Rodriguez not only made this thesis possible but is
now also a trusted friend. I would not have made it without his help on day to day
life and problem solving skills.
Thank you Dr. Campbell for opening my mind to another way of thinking.
Cultural anthropology is sure useful on a day to day basis. Thank you Dr. Morera
for sitting down with me all these long hours and especially teaching me all SPSS
has to offer. A special note and thank you for Dr. Lee. Bumps in life only make us
stronger and more appreciative of little things life has to offer. We missed you
this year and out thoughts are with you. Come back strong!
This Masters would have never been possible without the help of family
and friends. A huge thank you to my dad, who 5 years ago, gave me the idea to
come to the United States on a golf scholarship to study a new language and new
culture. I will never be grateful enough to my dad, Bernard, my mom, Louise and
my brother, Renaud who gave me the courage to leave Montreal for an

iv
opportunity of a lifetime. I also owe the world to the love of my life, Christopher
who has been supportive and so caring since the day we first met at freshman
orientation. Thank you for being there for me all these years and many more to
come. I cant wait for what the future will have to offer us. A special note for my
little kitty, Whistler for her long hours of support for these long hours spent at the
computer staring at me!
Also a big thank you to my in-law family, the Barylas, Paul, Loraine, Grandma
and Amber. I admire your positivism and I am extremely grateful for the kindness
and support you have offered me. Thank you Nellie for being such a great
listener, I had a great time presenting with you at the SSSA Conference in New
Orleans. Lastly, thank you Julianne; you have always been there for me. I admire
your ability to push away negativity in people and also that you are such a strong
woman. You will always be the A golf player!

v
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................viii

I. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION..................................................1

II. CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE.............................4

What is Impulsive buying?................................................5

Definition of Impulse Buying....6

Empirical Evidence on Impulsive Buying Behavior..........8

Self-Completion Theory....................................................9

Other Factors Contributing to Impulse Buying ................9

Gender...9

Level of Income........................................................10

Credit versus cash.................................................11

Childhood Experiences.........................................12

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder............................13

Additional Attributes of Compulsive Buyers............13

Products usually bought on impulse..15

Summary........................16

III. CHAPTER III: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS................17

Qualitative research findings.....17

vi
Methodology........19

Informants................................................... 22

Analysis.................................................................. 22

Conclusion...................................................33
.
IV. CHAPTER IV: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS......... .34

Participants......34

Measures......35

Procedure..37

Results..38

Association Between Products Purchased...39
on Impulse and Gender

Association Between Products Purchased....40
on Impulse and Ethnicity

Hypothesized Relationship Between Impulse..41
Buying and Ethnicity, Gender and Self-Esteem

V. CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION.....................................44

Limitations and future research........46

Qualitative limitations.............46

Quantitative limitations...........48

Future research................49

Conclusion...............................................................49

REFERENCES........................................................51

APPENDIX

A. Time Schedule.......................................................56

vii

B. Journal of Shopping Trips.....................................57

C. Interview on Shopping Behavior...61

D. Informed Consent..................................................63

E. Student Lifestyle Part I......................................65

F. Student Lifestyle Part II.........................................69

G. Student Lifestyle Part III........................................73

CURRICULUM VITAE................................................................79

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1. Participation/Spending by College Students on Entertainment and Leisure
activities

2. Percentage of Products purchased on impulse by gender
3. Percentage of Products purchased on impulse by ethnicity
4. Multiple Regressions Predicting Impulse Buying from Age,
Gender, Ethnicity and Self-Esteem

1
CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Although the real world awaits college students upon graduation, their
purchasing power during their college years warrants further analysis. In todays
world, average Americans often use this purchasing power to acquire material
goods in attempts to define their image or fulfill certain emptiness in their lives
(Coley and Burgess 2003). A recent study from Harris Polls (2002) points out
that college students spend nearly $200 billion dollars a year in the US (Table 1).
It is therefore important to study this population since in 2000, 34.0% of the 18-24
year old age group was enrolled in college as either undergraduate or graduate
students (U.S Census Bureau, 2000). Today, college students face more
challenges than ever since achieving a higher education requires mental strength,
adaptation, and quick reactions to stress and pressure. Yet, according to the latest
data from Harris Polls (2002), college students have an average of 11 hours a
week of unscheduled time where they are not sleeping, working, studying or
attending class, time that can easily be filled by shopping.

2
Table 1

Participation/Spending by College Students on Entertainment
and Leisure Activities

Projected Yearly % of students
Spending (millions) participating in past year

Vacation Travel $4.607 61%
Purchase Videos/DVDs $2,754 70%
(Not including equipment)
Purchase Music CDs, $2,746 76%
Tapes, etc.
Purchase Video Games $2,284 37%
(Not including equipment)
Purchase reading material $1,009 83%
(Not for use in school)
Going to Movies $887 91%
Attending Music Concerts $791 49%
Going to an Amusement $456 41%
Park
(Source: Harris Polls 2002)

Previous research on impulse purchases in the United States generally
concludes that college students, particularly Hispanic students, have been under
analyzed. Given the recent growth of the Hispanic population, it should be
thoroughly investigated in order to have a more refined understanding of their
particular impulse-buying proclivities. Without adequate research on the Hispanic
population, now established as the largest minority group in the United States, the
discipline would be missing a significant part of the puzzle. In particular, areas
such as targeted research are further challenged as incomplete or unreliable
information on this population makes it difficult to develop strategies to target this

3
particular population.
According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau (2000), U.S
Hispanics number over 35 million individuals, surpassing African Americans as
the largest minority group. The U.S Hispanic population is also a youthful group,
with over 70% of the population under the age of 35. Hispanic youth, as a
demographic group, has a purchasing power exceeding $100 billion. However, to
date, very little is known about their impulse buying trends.
The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of Hispanic
college students and their current spending habits. Specifically, this study was
carried out by administering a survey asking about students lifestyles to
introductory sociology students at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
This may be the first attempt to measure the percentage of students, particularly
Hispanic college students, who can be classified as impulse-buyers. Findings from
this research will allow the researcher to provide ethnic-specific guidance and
recommendation. Other issues addressed include: Do Hispanics differ in their
impulse buying behavior from other race/ethnic groups? What is the target age of
college students who are most likely to impulse buy? How does self-esteem relate
to impulse buying? This research should help explain compulsive buying by using
some of the main variables described in the literature such as age, gender,
ethnicity, and self-esteem.

4
CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The subject of impulsive consumer behavior has been under scrutiny since
the late 1970s. Prior research on compulsive behavior related to consumption has
been spearheaded primarily by a US team and a Canadian team of researchers
(Scherhorn, 1990). The pioneers of these teams are Americans Faber and
OGuinn, as well as Canadians Valence and DAstous (Scherhorn, Reisch and
Raab, 1990). These two groups provide us with insightful information in the
understanding of consumers consumption habits. Both teams confirm that
compulsive shopping tendencies are influenced by environmental and personal
factors (Sherhorn, 1990). Other researchers point out that impulse buying has
increased in the last two decades due to economic and social changes. These
changes include a large increase in disposable income and credit options (Dittmar
and Drury, 1999). Despite the plethora of research on impulsive buying, the
literature discussing college students and their impulse buying behaviors is
minimal. In particular, the impulse buying behavior of Hispanic college students
has never been studied.

5
What is impulsive buying?
Impulsive buying is also known as compulsive buying. Researchers tend
to use different terminology to define this activity. One line of research
maintains that compulsive buying can also be called oniomania, buying mania,
compulsive consumption, compulsive shopping, and addictive or impulsive
buying (McElroy, Keck, Pope, Smith and Strakowski, 1994).
Impulsive behavior can also be described as an unplanned, unregulated or
spontaneous behavior. For example, impulse purchasing involves getting a sudden
urge to buy something without having any intention to buy the item upon entering
the store (Baumeister, 2002). There are many factors, which can lead to
unplanned purchases and impulsive behavior such as high anxiety levels and lack
of self-control (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese 1995a). Unplanned purchases are more
likely to occur when a consumer is unfamiliar with the stores layout or under
time constraints (Shoham, Brencic, 2003). Since the consumer might spend more
time looking through the store, he will be less likely to impulse buy.
The impetus for impulse purchases is important from both the viewpoint
of the individual and the marketing industry. At least one study has demonstrated
that impulsive purchases represent as much as 50% of all mall spending (Dittmar,
Beattie and Friese, 1995a). Dittmar, Beattie and Friese (1995b) also proposed that
impulse behavior is growing in significance. In addition, one of the pioneers on
impulse buying research, DAstous (1990), suggests that the actions of impulse
buying and becoming a compulsive buyer are gradual. Research suggests that the
short-term benefit of compulsive behavior has to be weighed against the long-

6
term negative consequences of compulsive behavior (Elliot, 1994).
Bellenger, Robertson and Hirschman (1978) further break down impulse
behavior into four specific categories. These social researchers conclude that the
four categories of impulse buying are: (1) Pure impulse buying, where the
individual had no intention of buying the item; (2) reminder impulse buying,
where the individual spontaneously decides to purchase an item based on a prior
experience or recollection; (3) suggestion impulse buying, when an individual
sees the product on the shelves and decides to purchase it; and (4) planned
impulse buying, where the individual goes to a store with intended purchases but
also considers making other purchases (Bellenger, Robertson and Hirshman,
1978). Most studies on impulse behavior agree that those individuals who make
impulse purchases lack self-control (Faber, OGuinn, 1989). Where there is an
imbalance in their life, even extremely small, these individuals lean toward
impulsive buying.

Definition of Impulse Buying
Researchers attempt to explain the patterns found among impulse
purchasers. For the most part, shoppers agree that impulse purchases are
unplanned and not regulated before entering a store. Impulse purchases can be
explained as a sudden urge to buy something, without any intention or plan, then
acting on that impulse without considering long-term goals, ideals, or plans
(Baumeister, 2002). Research by Jones, Reynolds, Weun and Beatty (2003)
argues that an impulse shopper experiences an immediate gratification upon

7
purchasing items. Consumers utilizing cognition will be more likely to make
rational purchases, decisions, and make fewer impulse purchases; consumers who
are more emotional will be more likely to make impulsive purchases (Coley and
Burgess, 2003).
Time pressure is another important factor that is related to impulse
purchasing. Iyer (1989) found that in time constraints, individuals processing
modes will differ from when the consumer has unlimited time to spend and shop
in a particular store (Iyer, 1989). A consumer will be more likely to make an
impulse purchase in a restricted time limit than in an unlimited time limit.
Impulsive behavior also seems to be an unconditional act despite lack of
credit or wealth. As a matter of fact, individuals seem to act on impulse no matter
the size or cost of the purchase. One researcher even mentioned that consumers
would act on impulse even if they had a gun held to their head (Baumeister,
2002). That is, some consumers will buy compulsively independent of their
financial situation.

Arnold and Reynolds (2003) divide shopping in six separate categories.
The first category is described as adventure shopping, in which people shop for
entertainment, adventure, and stimulation. The second category is social
shopping, where individuals shop for socialization and bonding with others. The
third category, gratification shopping, is described as shopping for stress relief.
The author uses the term special treat in order to further describe this category.
The fourth category is idea shopping where shoppers like to be up-to-date with

8
new trends and innovations. The fifth category is role shopping, where shoppers
get satisfaction by shopping for others. The final category is value shopping,
which refers to the enjoyment the consumer receives by buying material objects
because of their good value.

Empirical Evidence on Impulsive Buying Behavior
Although shopping is socially accepted as a hobby, it can also have
dangerous consequences. Compulsive buying can lead to serious problems and
financial burdens such as debt and bankruptcy (Friese, Koenig, 1993); it may also
decrease ones emotional stability, creating an increase in family, relationship,
and career stress (Schlosser, Steven, Black, Repertinger, Freet, 1994). One
researcher describes addictive buying as a behavior that runs out of control due to
an overpowering motive, which is controlled by negative pressure to make the
purchase (Scherhorn, 1990). Scherhorn (1990) explains that an addictive
experience taken into an individuals conscience can further pain, tension, and
anxiety in the persons life.

Self-Completion Theory
Impulsive behavior has been explained by one specific theory. The Self-
Completion Theory has helped to explain the social psychological aspect of the
impulsive behavior (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese, 1995a). The Self-Completion
Theory argues that when an individual experiences more self-control, the
individual will be less likely to make impulse purchases. Conversely, when the

9
individual either lacks or loses his self-control, he or she is more likely to impulse
purchase (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese, 1995a). In a later paper, Dittmar, Beattie
and Friese (1995b) expand on this theory by suggesting that emotional feelings at
the point of purchase are different from later emotions (Dittmar, Beattie and
Friese, 1995b). This assumption would explain why material objects in impulse
buying might create a quick feeling of joy and fulfillment that will probably be
short-lived.

Other Factors Contributing to Impulse Buying Behaviors
Gender
General literature on this topic seems to agree that men and women
respond differently to impulse purchases. Dittmar, Beattie and Friese (1995a),
found that women bought material objects on impulse for sentimental value while
men bought items for their leisure activities (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese, 1995a).
Regarding men, research has found that men are more likely to make
impulse purchases of high-tech, electronic, and sports equipment. Women tend to
buy material objects such as clothes, jewelry, and cosmetics on impulse (Dittmar,
Beattie and Friese, 1995b). Several studies emphasize that women are more likely
to be impulse buyers (Shoham, Brencic, 2003). Sherhorn, Reisch et al. (1990)
propose that women seem to cope with stress and other strains internally. When
women are stressed, they tend to make impulse purchases, thus they try to solve
their problems secretly; in addition their culture leads them to Shopaholism
(Coley, Burgess, 2003). They propose that buying material objects can remain a

10
secret hobby and that it is socially accepted by our society; therefore this would
explain why women tend to turn their problems into compulsive shopping.
Sherhorn, Reisch et al (1990) add that shopping is part of the housewifes job
description and can therefore be socially justifiable. Elliot (1994) suggested that
for some women, shopping might help repair a persons mood in a more
acceptable manner than tranquilizers.

Level of income
Money is discussed on a daily basis in our society. It is a powerful
influence on the behavior of our society but there has not been any research
quantifying its effects (Hanley, Wilhelm, 1990). Faber, Thomas and O Guinn
(1988) explain that television portrays a perfect world to the public. Faber,
Thomas and O Guinn (1989) argue that the characters are usually cast in affluent
positions, making the public envy them. The result of this casting leads to
unhappiness because the general public thinks that the characters portray an
achievable reality.

Credit versus cash
As was previously mentioned, impulse buying is described as a sudden
urge to buy. While some researchers find no direct relationship between
disposable income and impulsive buying, Sherhorn, Reisch et al. (1990) argue
that income plays an important role in how long the compulsive buyer can hide
their problem.

11
A study on credit abuse explains that within the overall amount of
consumer debt, there are a great number of individuals who cannot reimburse
their debt (Faber, Thomas and OGuinn, 1988). Faber Thomas and OGuinn
(1988) further mention that television portrays a world of wealth and fame, which
is desirable to the general public; the study explains the high debt caused by
television and the media and with the ease of getting credit cards, and it shows
that it has become extremely simple for individuals to spend money they simply
do not have.

Childhood Experience
The way a child was raised might also influence their beliefs, values and
behavior in the adult phase. Childhood family experiences and ways to solve
family problems differ in every family depending on the family structure (Friese,
Koenig, 1993). DAstous (1990) suggests that impulsive buying tendencies may
come from peoples early consumption experiences. DAstous (1990) links this to
individuals who, when they were young, could not help but immediately spend
the money they had in their pockets. Another consistent trait among impulsive
shoppers is that in many cases, as children, their parents satisfied their every
whimsical request. However, other studies suggest the inverse; that strict
parenting may also be implicated in the gradual unraveling of a compulsive
consumer (Elliot 1994).

12
Some researchers emphasize the adolescent phase as being an influential
part of life in which friends play an important role in an adolescents consumption
purchases (DAstous, Maltais and Roberge, 1990). DAstous, Maltais and
Roberge (1990) also found that these adolescents were extremely generous with
their friends and in fact enjoyed buying gifts for their friends for no particular
reason but to please them or make them happy.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Mental disorders may also be correlated to compulsive behavior such as
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A study suggests that a selected group of
compulsive consumers scored higher on a general test of Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (Faber, Thomas and OGuinn, 1988). Another study by Scherhorn,
Reisch and Raab (1990) finds that the addictive consumers scored significantly
higher on a specific test of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder than did normal
consumers.

Additional attributes of compulsive buyers
According to Sherhorn, Reish and Raab (1990), buying any material
object gives the consumer a feeling of being in control as though they are in a
position of authority. All researchers in the subject of impulse buying seem to
come to the same conclusion that people will always try to obtain a stable life.

13
Faber, Thomas and OGuinn (1988) suggest that compulsive consumers are
driven to consume and cannot control their behavior of buying material objects in
order to escape problems. They want to exercise, have balanced relationships, eat
healthy, and generally be successful.
Impulsive behavior generally arises from the same circumstances; when
people are generally upset they eat unhealthy or experience less self-control,
which may lead to impulsive behavior (Baumeister, 2002). Anxiety seems to play
an important role in symptoms of impulsive behavior. Valence, DAstous and
Fortier (1988) argue that anxiety provokes a spontaneous internal action, leading
the consumer to seek a solution to help calm the anxiety. Anxiety could thus be a
leading contributor to impulsive consumption.
Similarly, DAstous, Maltais and Roberge (1990) found that compulsive
consumers are more likely to be materialistic; they are also more likely to have a
family with compulsive behavior such as alcoholism, toxicomania or bulimia,
lack in self-esteem and impulsive shopping (DAstous, 1990). Other attributes,
such as deviant behavior or circumstances, can also occur in compulsive behavior.
At least one study links the possibility that impulsive buying behavior is related to
compulsive gambling, toxicomania and bulimia (DAstous, 1990). Valence,
DAstous and Fortier (1988) also propose that other compulsive behaviors such as
gambling and eating disorders offer a certain explanation to impulsive behavior.
Ones social self-esteem seems to also play an important role in impulsive
buying (Elliot, 1994). A qualitative study indicates that individuals want to
perceive themselves differently than they are in reality (Elliot, 1994). Other

14
studies also suggest that impulsive consumers hide their impulsive tendencies in
order to maintain a non-deviant image within society (Valence, DAstous, and
Fortier, 1988).
Coley and Burgess (2003) suggest that impulsive shoppers may be
influenced more by their emotions than by their cognitive state over purchasing an
item. Coley and Burgess (2003) further emphasize that even though individuals
might know that they do not need that particular item, they will still purchase it on
impulse because their feelings are stronger than their knowledge at the moment of
impulse. In regards to the Coley and Burgess (2003) researchs finding, we could
perhaps compare the effects of impulse buying to love in which some individuals
stay in unhealthy relationships and suffer tremendously.

Products usually bought on impulse
There appears to be many possible variables that will influence consumers
to purchase on impulse. Previous research finds that particular goods are more
likely to be bought on impulse (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese, 1995b). In addition,
certain variables, such as social environment, packaging of a product, nice smell,
attractive colors or pleasant atmosphere, could lead a consumer toward impulse
buying (Verplanken, Herabadi, 2001). A study by Sherhorn, Reish and Raab
(1990) suggests that certain types of material objects are bought on impulse more
than others. Their study cites clothing, books, groceries, arts, cosmetics, electrical
appliances, expensive gifts for other people, and sports equipment as items
commonly purchased on impulse. Prior research also demonstrates that shoppers

15
will usually change their specialization or type of impulse buying behavior over
time (Sherhorn, Reish and Raab, 1990).

Summary
The subject of impulsive buying has been studied since the late 1980s
mainly by two teams; one team is Canadian and one is American. The Self-
Completion Theory and the general literature on impulsive purchasing provide the
foundation for understanding purchasing power of college students in 2004.
Looking back, we can observe that some main variables such as gender, credit,
money, childhood experiences and obsessive-compulsive disorder can help
explain the high rates of impulse purchases among college students in America.

16
CHAPTER III
QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

The current study was conducted in two separate phases. In the first phase,
students were first asked to complete an auto-ethnography in the form of a journal
of their spending protocol (APPENDIX B). This research was first explored by
Jones et al. (2003). The journal was completed over a period of two weeks. This
idea was later dropped because of the quality of answers that were given by the
students; the majority of students did not take the time to fill out the journal
appropriately, yielding few answers that could be used in the study. This exercise
did not help explain compulsive behavior or any of the attributes of compulsive
buying. The first phase of the study is explained in the second part of the methods
chapter. The second part of the analysis was strictly quantitative and will be
discussed in detail in chapter IV.
Qualitative research findings
For the purpose of this fieldwork study, I sought to investigate and gain an
understanding of the actions and reactions of shoppers and customers views,
behavior and values toward shopping, as well as impulse purchases. An additional
goal was to observe shopping behavior in different cultures, primarily the
Hispanic culture. I will describe the findings of the shopping behavior and
impulsive shopping from the interview process.
I have always been fascinated by consumer behavior and have always had
a certain interest in understanding consumers motives and intentions to buy

17
products. This fieldwork study helped me answer many questions I had consumer
behavior. Many of my colleagues and professors had suggested that I do the study
at UTEP since it included such a rich population of Hispanic students; I thought it
was a great idea, knowing that the Hispanic population had never been studied in
regards to compulsive buying. On the other hand, I also wanted to incorporate
other ethnic groups in my study and be able to draw a comparison between my
informants. It was important for me to first learn specific behavior patterns
associated with cultures and to answer the question Are there any behavioral
differences between cultures when it comes to shopping and compulsive buying?
My first step was to find a way to accomplish my purpose most
effectively. I thought that interviews would be the best way to get some of my
questions answered. I decided to seek and discover these patterns through one on
one interviews with the students at UTEP (APPENDIX C). These students were
enrolled in one of the Introduction to Sociology classes. Interviews were
conducted over a three-week period in the department of sociology. By
conducting these one on one interviews, I was attempting to further probe about
modes of shopping among college students and further understand the reasoning
behind certain behaviors. The interviews helped me clarify my understanding of
the buying behavior of college students as well as their general behavior in stores.
From a marketing research standpoint, this research has the potential for
providing tools for positioning certain products and targeting specific products to
college students across America. This research will also provide answers to
marketing researchers about different values and shopping behavior among

18
college students within their different cultures. My main interests in college have
always been linked to consumer behavior, where I discovered the topic of impulse
buying. I then found myself committed to the subject for my research thesis in my
Masters program.

Methodology
One previous study by Jones et al. (2003) guided my research. These
researchers had individuals keep a journal of items they bought as well as in
which store they made their purchases, how much time they spent in the store, and
how they were feeling that day. Each of these questions was to be answered in
complete sentences. The subjects also had to indicate if they had intended to buy
the product prior to their shopping trip and if the product was on sale.
The subjects kept a journal during all their shopping trips for the duration
of a month (APPENDIX B). Jones et al. (2003) then collected the journals and
made an interpretation of the subjects responses. For the purpose of my
advancement in the understanding of impulse behavior, I first thought that a
comprehensive approach was absent from their research method and compilation
of data. It did not take into account how busy students are, not only with school,
work and family, but also with other activities such as shopping. Although I
personally disagreed with much of their methodology, I still went ahead and
decided to test their methods myself. The way Jones et al. (2003) described his
research the subjects did not have much leeway in the purchase descriptions, and
also the commitment of the participants to keep records of items purchased was

19
questionable.
I first included a similar journal entry process. I then wanted to meet with
my subjects to confirm their answers and their train of thought. This method of
research was intriguing. I attempted the journal entry process on 14 subjects.
This was an example of auto ethnography where the students would be able to
express themselves in a semi-structured way. I selected students who wanted to
contribute to my research. I would randomly ask individuals who were students at
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Students who participated
demonstrated a high level of willingness to participate in the research. Their part
was voluntary and no rewards or payment were given.
The subjects were asked to keep a structured journal entry of their
purchases for a period of two consecutive weeks. They were to complete specific
questions such as the store at which they had made their purchases, the time spent
in the store, and their emotional state at the times of their shopping trips. They
had many spaces and opportunities to describe their shopping trips. Half a page of
extra observations and questions were also included in the journal in order to
leave more freedom for interpretation. I felt a strong disappointment when the
journals were returned to me at the end of the two-week period. The journal
entries were extremely short, usually consisting of two sentences or less. I quickly
decided to drop this idea because I did not feel that it sufficiently addressed the
way students shop, why they buy what they buy, and what attracts them to
certain stores.

20
My second idea was to conduct one on one interview with college students
in order to learn more about their shopping behavior.
The students were first informed of my research project at the end of a
class period. I was brief in my description of the project and informed them that
the research was for students who loved to shop. I wanted to keep my explanation
simple so that the students would not draw any trepidation from this. Students
were informed they would then receive two extra points for the class for
participating, two points out of a possible one hundred and three points. The
professor and I decided on this reward in order to attract participants and possible
impulse buyers. These two points were to replace one of the campus events the
students had to attend during the semester. There were a total of fifty-eight
students who signed up for the interview. A total of fifty-one interviews were
conducted during my fieldwork. My sample was composed of thirty-six females
and fifteen males. The interviews lasted anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour,
depending on the willingness of my informants to discuss various matters. The
fifty-one interviews were all conducted in a two-week period during the last week
of February and the first week of March.

Informants
The sample in this research was diversified. Personally, it would have
been ideal to have more males participate in the study in order to have a better
ratio of males to females. Some informants were extremely cooperative; they
were willing to answer most of my questions and go into greater depth in some

21
areas of my research. I wanted to conduct an interview that would allow me to ask
structured questions, then deviate into deeper subjects, and finally ask other
questions according to some of the information that some of my informants would
give me. To my surprise, many informants were more than willing to share
stories, emotions, and behavioral patterns with me. Many questions that were
asked of my informants would often lead to interesting and rich conversations.
The interviews were all tape recorded so that I could go back and recreate the rich
moments of the interview.

Analysis
The large number of interviews allowed me to observe particular patterns
within the participants responses. The interviews were strategically structured in
order to first put the informants in a more comfortable environment. The first set
of questions in the interview just informed and directed the informant about the
subject, and was intended to make them comfortable with the researcher. I asked
them to explain what they enjoyed about shopping, the downfalls they had
encountered, and how it made them feel. To my surprise, however, these
questions actually made some of my informants nervous, hyperactive, and
anxious. Here are some quotes from some of them; all names are fabricated in
order to protect the identity of the respondents.

22
Sarah
I love to shop, its my favorite thing to do but I hate going shopping at night
because of all the crowds. I go shopping early in the day when I know that no one
will be there to judge me or stare at me. I just hate people, they just stare at me
like if I should not be there or like if I am too fat to try on these clothes.

Samantha
Shopping is my passion; its basically my only leisure activity. Just the thought
of associating it with money, it just fucking stresses me. Like why do we even
have to pay for material stuff, we should just get an allowance from the
government.

Hallie
Shopping is just what I do, if I want to buy things, Ill do it no matter what.

Although this introduction of the questionnaire was first written with the
intention of creating an atmosphere where the informants were comfortable with
me, to my surprise I had already created discomfort in some cases. I was a little
puzzled by the outcome of the situation but I was also excited to get such strong
responses.
My next few questions asked the informants to talk about themselves and

23
describe some characteristics of their personalities. I noted that there was an
alarmingly high percentage of informants that appeared to be under extreme stress
and had a dangerous anxiety level. Many of them also explained how they tended
to worry a lot. Three informants gave me exactly the same response when
discussing their personalities and what it entailed.
These three informants were a Caucasian female, a Hispanic female and a
Caucasian male. They explained that they worried a lot, up to a point where they
could not concentrate during the day on basic tasks or sleep at night. In addition,
they also felt like they could not share this problem with others, or at least with
the people that they were close to. They did not want their friends and family to
experience their pain with them.
Other dimensions of their personality were also discussed. These three
informants all told me that they felt it necessary to hide many things from friends
and families, not just simple emotions. They shared with me some small events,
or even bigger moments in their lives, which they did not feel they could share
with anybody. Their main hidden characteristics were all negative emotions; they
would tell me in a simplistic way that it was the way they had preceded through
their entire life and the way they were most comfortable.
The next set of questions focused on how people and society behave with
money. More than 90% of my informants believed strongly that it was a good
idea for people to save money, at least for a small emergency such as a car
problem or a family emergency. Many of them also explained that living day-by-
day was crucial for them and that they did not want to start saving money for

24
bigger things such as a house or for starting a family. These informants
recognized that their next step in life would probably include buying a house and
raising a family, but they did not feel that they should have to invest in it or even
think about it right now. This response could have been related to the fact that the
informants were randomly selected from an introductory class, meaning that they
were probably at an early stage of their adult lives. At this point I began to
understand the reality of some college students. Many of them shared with me
that they were already in debt and were extremely nervous just thinking about it.
One of my informants mentioned:

Nathan
I just bought so much shit after shit, I have no clue why and now I have
to deal with all the trouble that comes with it, I have no money at all.

One good aspect of some of their responses is that college consumers
seem to be capable of differentiating right from wrong. For the most part, my
informants seemed to understand the importance of saving money. On the other
hand, some of my informants did not seem too concerned with personally saving
money.
Another observation was that many of my informants still lived at home
with their parents and/or grandparents. I had an interesting conversation with
Anna, one of my best informants, about her spending situation and her living
situation. She explained that she always felt secure at home, in part because she

25
did not have to pay any of the housing or food bills. Anna also knew that she
always had people behind her to help her if she needed anything. She described
her family as well off. She told me that she and her sister had never been raised in
luxury, but she mentioned that she had everything she wanted. She does not have
the stress to pay for bills or worry about getting them paid on time.
Another part of my interviews required that I initiate a conversation
regarding their actual shopping behavior. One of my questions looked at shopping
and happiness. I would question my informants as to whether they would buy
specific products that would make them happy or if they would buy varied
products for themselves to make them happy. I was amazed at the material
products and the clothing items my informants would name, and their answers
were for the most part all spontaneous. These questions confirmed the general
literature on impulse purchasing. For the most part, my male subjects seemed to
be more oriented towards their finances and leisure activities when it came to
buying something to make them happy.

Vincent
When I have a bad day, I go to the sports club in Juarez. There I gamble and
drink and there are not all these annoying women like at the bar. It makes me feel
better after a while but sometimes it costs me a shit load.

Other male informants spoke to me about their cars and how important it
was to always upgrade them. They liked to buy new auto parts or new equipment.

26
Their cars were important to them and that was just what would make them
happy. My female informants bought many different things to make themselves
happy. My female informants, for the most part, also confirmed the general
literature. The general literature on impulse purchases mentions that women are
more likely to buy on an emotional basis (Dittmar, Beattie and Friese, 1995a).
Many of my female informants would buy specific material objects on impulse
that would hopefully enhance their appearance or give them comfort emotionally
in some way. On the other hand, I disagree with the statements from some of
these researches. I sometimes felt like these researchers were trying to group
people in specific class divisions. I occasionally thought that some of the
researchers were trying to make assumptions on categorizing people. For
example, some researchers would correlate compulsive shopping with mental
disabilities such as eating disorders and anxiety disorders. Therefore, I think it
will be important to revise these statements and try to understand certain decision-
making processes on a greater level.

Florence:
I love to buy handbags, I dont know why but I own so many of them, I just buy
them, it makes me happy.

Many of my female informants, just as the males, seemed to have particular
products that made them happy or at least provided them with temporary comfort.
Many of my female informants owned unimaginable quantities of makeup and

27
could not explain why they had bought so much of it. Other females seemed to be
more oriented towards clothes. All of them disclosed that they have an enormous
quantity of shirts or any sort of tops but that they always tried to buy a limited
amount of pants or bottoms.

Ivanka:
I love to buy tops. Even when I gain weight, I still fit in most all my tops. Pants
just stress me out. When you buy a top its like medium or large but pants are just
so stressful, I hate to try them on. Pants are like size 8-10-12-14 I mean you
gain five pounds and your pants are really tight They should change that and I
would buy more.

By this point in the interview, many of my informants looked stressed or even
panicked. I thought that some of them would even tell me to stop the interview
because they looked really uncomfortable with our conversation. Many of my
informants thought that the interview process would entail only discussing
shopping. The deeper into the interview, the more some of them would stop our
conversation and add some comments. They would tell me that what I was asking
them makes sense. Many of my informants could associate some of the
questions with compulsive buying. I guess as an investigator, it is possible to take
this in many different ways. At this point, I was grateful that they were still
talking to me about specific aspects of their lives.
The next phase of the interview addressed the subject of credit cards and

28
their personal credit card habits. Due to their young age, many of my informants
had in their possessions credit cards that were not theirs. For the most part, the
monthly bills would go directly to their parents. Some of the informants feared the
day their credit card bills would arrive at the house while others did not care
because their parents had never mentioned anything. One of the questions focused
on how people used credit cards and how they perceived them. I did not observe
cultural or gender differences in credit card use based on the qualitative
interviews. My informants all had different ways in which they perceived the best
use of a credit card. Some of them generally feared them.

Miles:
I saw how my parents used credit cards when I was younger and promised
myself to never do the same thing. They did not care; they had so many credit
cards I never wanted to count how many, but it was scary. Now were paying for
it We used to have a comfortable lifestyle and now I just dont want to end
up like them. Im only 24 you know so Im just building my life up now.

For the purpose of this research, it was important to understand the
different perceptions my informants had of paying with cash versus paying with a
credit card. There again I got all types of answers, and I was amazed how some
people viewed credit cards versus cash differently. For some of my informants,
credits cards were extremely stressful. If they put something on a credit card they
would stress the entire month about it. They were scared that something dramatic

29
was going to happen or that they somehow would not be able to pay their
minimum payment at the end of the month. Some of my informants believed that
they should pay the entire credit bill every month. Other people preferred paying
the minimum balances even though they knew they would end up paying more at
the end.

Sarah:
Paying with cash is so stressful, I just see the money coming out of my wallet
and I know its gone forever. I know my credit card will always be there, I just
give it to the cashier and I get what I want, how simple is that.

Sarah:
The other day was just such a bad day. Everyone was giving me a hard time so I
decided to go to the mall to buy some things and relieve my stress. I picked up a
bunch of random crap and I just felt relieved. But then I opened my wallet and I
did not have my credit card with me. I cant explain how I felt but its like if my
heart stopped. I needed these things now and I could not have it, it just made me
panicked.

In this part of our interview Sarah was extremely emotional. Her face even
turned red. I did not really know if she was nervous or ashamed or if she was
having an anxiety attack. Tape recorders are extremely useful, but I just wish that
I could have had a video camera during the process of my conversations with

30
many of my informants. Their facial expressions, the changing colors of their
skin, and especially their changing tones of voice were indescribable.
The next set of questions referred to my informants childhood but did not
necessarily go into details in this part of our interview. There is not much
literature linking childhood experiences to shopping or impulse shopping. The
literature is extremely limited, and I admit to being just as brief for this interview.
In further research, I will be sure to add more questions about childhood
experiences and link it to the science of shopping.
I had short conversations relating to how my informants felt when they
were kids. I would ask them if they felt like they had everything they needed and
wanted as children. Many of my informants told me that their parents were never
there for them when they were younger. They told me that whenever they would
go to stores with their parents, mommy or daddy would never buy them what they
wanted. Now they feel like they were somewhat deprived as children. As they
grew older they realized they had more control with money and with their
material possessions. Most of my informants were surprised that this information
began to clear up perceptions they had of themselves. I would sometimes question
these responses, but I observed that many of these informants who often felt
deprived as children now have problematic spending behavior.

Conclusion
Coming from a quantitative background in the business department at
UTEP, this research has helped me answer many questions relating to impulse

31
buying behaviors. The literature I read for the purpose of this fieldwork while not
extensive still provided important knowledge needed to investigate and test this
research on my own. I am happy to observe that everything I have read so far on
shopping behavior, impulsive behavior, and compulsive behavior was largely
supported by my one-on-one interviews. The lack of observed differences both
across race/ethnicity as well as gender were the impetus for the quantitative
portion of this work.

32
CHAPTER IV

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

For this part of the study, students completed a survey, which included
three separate scales to measure impulse buying, type of shopping and level of
self-esteem. This chapter is divided into following sections: (1) participants, (2)
measures, and (3) procedures. The second phase is discussed in this present
chapter.

Participants
A survey was administered to students at The University of Texas at El
Paso (UTEP). UTEP has a high population of Hispanic students and, given that
this is the target population for the study, it was an ideal setting. Therefore, the
study aimed at testing the following hypotheses:

H1: Compared to Hispanics, the Anglo/Caucasian population will score higher
on the compulsive buying scale

H2: Compared to males, females will score higher on the compulsive buying scale

H3: Individuals with lower self-esteem will have higher impulse buying scores
than those which higher self-esteem scores.

Findings from this research should to provide ethnic-specific guidance
and/or recommendations for this problem. Participants were students at UTEP in
the Introductory Sociology (1301) classes registered in the fall 2004 semester.
The participants were 18 years or older. Students under 18 years of age were not

33
allowed to participate in the survey due to lack of parental permission as per
Institutional Research Boards guidelines. Surveys were conducted during class
after explaining the purpose of the research and having each participating student
sign an Informed Consent Form. The sample was made up of both male and
female participants. In addition, participants were solicited from a variety of
nationalities and ethnicities.

Measures
In an attempt to further understand impulse purchasing among college
students, the present study used a survey method in order to develop measures
specifically geared to the population of interest. Specifically, open-ended and
multiple-choice surveys were administered. The first part of the survey is called
Student Lifestyle Survey Part I (APPENDIX E). Gilles Valence and Alain
DAstous developed this scale in 1988. This scale is a continuous measure of
compulsive buying and includes 13 statements, which can be summed up to
derive a measure of compulsive buying. The four basic dimensions of compulsive
buying include: tendency to spend (statements 5-6-13-14-15-16), reactive aspect
(statements 7-8-9-12), and post-purchase guilt (statements 10-11-17).
1
The
continuous measure of Compulsive Buying Scale has demonstrated high internal
validity ( = .89).
The first part of the questionnaire included some demographic questions,

1
The authors also proposed these additional items that constitute family environment. Valence et al. (1998)
do not include these items. Therefore, these items were excluded in the present study.

34
which were added in order to test our hypotheses (APPENDIX E). There are a
total of four questions regarding age, gender, marital status and race/ethnicity.
Part I question 21 was also added to survey Life Style Part I. This question was
added in order to further understand the impulsive gender-specific buying pattern.
This question emerged after conducting interviews in the qualitative portion of the
study.
Mark Arnold and Kristy E. Reynolds developed the second scale in 2003
and I then named it Student Lifestyle Survey Part II (APPENDIX F). This scale
was first intended to calculate the level of motivational shopping within
individuals. It is made up of twenty-three statements, which analyze adventure
shopping; value shopping; role shopping; idea shopping; social shopping; and
gratification shopping (see explanation of the various types of shopping on page
7-8). This scale has an alpha of .77 to .87 (Arnold, Reynolds, 2003) but was later
dropped in the study because it did not address the study answer the hypotheses.
In addition, The Rosenberg Self-Esteem (SE) measure Rosenberg (1979)
was administered. The SE Scale (1979) was named Student Life Style Part III and
appears in appendix G. The Rosenberg SE Scale (1979) is a 10-item Guttman
Scale. This scale was developed with the intent of determining an individuals
level of self-esteem. Scale item I is compiled from the responses to items 3, 7 and
9. If the respondent answers two out of three or three out of three positively, he
receives a positive score for Scale item I. Scale item II is compiled from the
responses of items 4 and 5. One out of two, or two out of two positive responses
are considered positive for scale item II. Scale items III, IV and V are scored

35
positively or negatively to items 1, 8 and 10. Scale item VI is compiled from the
responses to items 2 and 6. One out of two, or two out of two positive responses
are considered positive. In order to score the 10 items, a value was assigned to
each of them. For items 1-2-4-6-7: Strongly Agree=3, Agree=2, Disagree=1, and
Strongly Disagree=0. For items 3-5-8-9-10, which are reversed in Valence:
Strongly Agree=0, Agree=1, Disagree=2, and Strongly Disagree=3. This scale has
an alpha of .77 to .88 (Rosenberg, 1979). The Compulsive Buying scale is a
continuous measure of compulsive buying in regards to students. An additional
scale was also used in order to define the students level of self-esteem. This was
used to determine whether a correlation existed between students of different
ethnicity and gender, gender. I was also used to determine the effect of self-
esteem to the effect on compulsive behavior.

Procedure
Prior to data collection, the survey was described briefly at the beginning
of class. The students were told that on a voluntarily basis, they could participate
in a survey of student lifestyle which addressed the subject of shopping. Students
who participated in the survey were also offered a 2-point increase in their final
grade. Students received a package with an Informed Consent Form; a description
of the survey as well as contact numbers of the researcher was included in the
Informed Consent form. All participants signed an Informed Consent Form
(APPENDIX B) prior to participation, which outlined their rights.

36
Results
The first step of the analysis was to test the reliability of the Compulsive
Buying Scale (Valence et al.1998). For the purpose of this research, the
Continuous measure of the compulsive buying scale was introduced as Student
Lifestyle Part #1. The reliability of this scale was 0.86 (95% confidence interval:
.82, .89). Valence et al. (1988) reported a measure of internal consistency of 0.88;
their point estimate of reliability falls in the observed confidence interval and does
not statistically differ from the obtained reliability estimate.
In addition, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (SE) measure was administered.
For the purpose of this research, the SE measure also demonstrated acceptable
reliability, with a Cronbach () =.81 and replicated other studies (Blascovish and
Tomaka, 1993).

37
Association between products purchased on impulse and gender
The second step of the analysis was to test a question which had emerged
during an earlier investigation of qualitative interviews. The question was found
in Student Life Style Part 1 as question 21. The question asked participants to
check if they had purchased various types of products on impulse. These types of
products were: a) Clothing, b) Jewelry, c) Accessories and d) Entertainment
(CD/DVD etc). If the student checked one of the four above-mentioned
categories, the student had purchased the item on impulse. Cross-tabulations were
performed to assess the relationship between gender and impulse buying. As can
be seen in Table 2, women were more likely to purchase clothing, jewelry and
accessories on impulse. Men were more likely to purchase entertainment products
on impulse.
Table 2
Percentage of Products Purchased on Impulse by Gender
Men Women Chi-Square Statistic
Clothing 45.2%(n=95) 64.4%(n=87)
2
(1)= 6.69, p=0.01
Jewelry 44.2%(n=95) 67% (n=87)
2
(1)= 9.25, p=0.002
Accessories 13.7%(n=95) 26.4%(n=87)
2
(1)= 4.65, p=0.031
Entertainment 44.2%(n=95) 26.4% (n=87
2
(1)= 6.25, p=0.012
Note: Sample size is in parenthesis

38
Association between products purchased on impulse and ethnicity
Crosstabulations were also performed with regards to ethnicity and
products purchased on impulse. In these analyses, the three Asian Americans
were not included due to small sample size. Of the products purchased on
impulse, ethnicity was statistically related to clothing purchased on impulse. As
can be seen in Table 3, 81% African Americans reported purchasing clothing on
impulse. Mexican Nationals, Hispanic Americans and Caucasian each reported
overall lower percentage of impulse buying. With respect to buying jewelry,
accessories, or entertainment on impulse, ethnicity was not associated with
impulse buying behavior.

Table 3
Percentage of Products Purchased on Impulse by Ethnicity
African-American Mexican National Mexican American Caucasian America Chi-Square Statistic
Clothing 81.3%(n=16) 66.7%(n=12) 50.3%(n=127) 48%(n=27)
2
(3)=6.33,p=0.09
Jewelry 75%(n=16) 75%(n=12) 52%(n=127) 14.8%(n=27)
2
(3)=5.51,p=0.09
Accessories 31.3%(n=16) 16.7%(n=12) 14.8%(n=127) 14.8%(n=27)
2
(3)=1.82,p=0.61
Entertainment 43.8%(n=16) 25%(n=12) 33.9%(n=127) 44.4%(n=27)

2
(3)=2.14,p=0.54
Note: Sample Size is in parenthesis

39
Hypothesized Relationship between Impulse Buying and Ethnicity, Gender and
Self-Esteem
In order to test the three hypotheses, a hierarchical regression was
performed. In the first step of the regression age was entered as a predictor. In the
second step of the regression ethnicity and gender were entered as predictors.
Entering these variables allowed for the assessment of the hypothesized
relationship between ethnicity and impulse buying (Hypothesis 1) and gender and
impulse buying (Hypothesis 2). Finally, self-esteem was entered as a predictor to
test Hypothesis 3.

on the compulsive buying scale

Hypothesis I predicted that the Anglo/Caucasian sample of the survey would
generally score higher on the continuous compulsive buying scale. Overall, this
hypothesis was not supported by the data. As Table 4 demonstrates, after
controlling for the effect of age, African-Americans had higher impulse buying
scores than their Anglo/Caucasian counterparts. Additionally, Mexican Nationals
and Hispanic American did not statistically differ from the Caucasian group.

H2: Compared to males, females will score higher on the Compulsive Buying Scale.

Hypothesis 2 proposed that females would score significantly higher on the

40
compulsive buying scale then males. Females reported higher rates of impulse
buying for clothing, jewelry, and accessories while males only reported higher
rates of purchase buying on entertainment items. This can be seen in Table 2; this
hypothesis was supported by our study.


Hypothesis 3 proposed that high self-esteem would be inversely related to
impulse buying. After controlling for Age, Ethnicity, and Gender the addition of
self-esteem to the model was statistically significant at the .10 level. As seen in
Table 4, the findings suggest that respondents with higher self-esteem scores were
less likely to buy impulsively. This result should be interpreted with caution, as
self-esteem was not statistically significant at the .05 level and only accounted for
an additional 2% of the variance in compulsive buying.

41

Table 4

Multiple Regressions Predicting Impulse Buying from Age, Gender, Ethnicity and
Self-Esteem

Total Impulse Buying _________________________

Measure Change in R
2

_________________
Step 1: .015

Age -.12

Step 2: .135***

Ethnic1 .29***
Ethnic2 .02
Ethnic3 .09
Gender .34***

Step 3: .02*

Self-Esteem -.15*

Note: * p <.10, ** p < .05, *** p <.01
Ethnic1: 0 = Otherwise, 1 = African-American;
Ethnic2: 0 = Otherwise, 1 = Mexican National
Ethnic3: 0 = Otherwise, 1 = Mexican-American/Hispanic;
Gender: 0 = Male, 1 = Female

42

CHAPTER V

DISCUSSION

The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of Hispanic
college students and their current spending habits. Specifically, this study was
carried out by administering a survey of student lifestyle to introductory sociology
students at the University of Texas at El Paso. The findings of this study provide
further development in the subject of compulsive buying. Both qualitative and
quantitative analyses generally supported existing literature on the subject.
Overall, the analysis explored certain patterns of compulsive buying, looking
predominantly at gender and ethnicity. This study explores compulsive buying,
looking at gender and for the first time in the literature, specific ethnicity.

The present study was conducted in order to examine three specific
hypotheses:

on the Compulsive Buying Scale

H2: Compared to males, females will score higher on the Compulsive Buying
Scale


Specifically, this study examines possible associations of compulsive
buying, focusing on age, gender and ethnicity. One of the most significant
variables in compulsive buying is certainly the degree to which individuals are

43
able to monitor their spending and take control of their impulse purchases. In
regards to consumer behavior, self-control plays an important role in the decision
process of impulse buying. Self-control represents the capacity to resist certain
temptations, especially in regards to compulsive buying.
By and large, results of this study indicate associations between
compulsive buying and gender. Consistent with previous literature on compulsive
buying, result indicated that women have a propensity to purchase items on
impulse at a higher rate than men. An association between compulsive buying and
gender enables us to validate hypothesis number 2, which indicates that women
would generally score higher on the compulsive buying scale.
This study indicates both quantitatively and qualitatively that women
tended to buy items impulsively such as clothing, jewelry and accessories.
Alternatively, men reported both in the qualitative and quantitative analysis that
their impulse purchases tended to be directed towards the entertainment category
(CDs, DVDs, etc).
Results of the Quantitative study also indicated a relationship between
compulsive buying and ethnicity of our sample. The African American population
scored considerably higher than the other three ethnicities, incorporated in our
survey.
Qualitative findings proffer a possible association to compulsive buying
and the retailers. In reference to the one-on-one interviews, impulse buying was
evidently identified as being a different action from planned buying. In the course
of the one on one interview, individuals were able to distinguish impulse buying

44
from planned buying. After compiling results of the one on one interviews, it was
apparent that retailers acceptance of credit card and easy access to cash flow made
it easy for the consumer to buy items compulsively. Consumers tended to be more
likely to buy items on impulse when they had time constraints. As for the retailer,
the most vital aspect will be to identify their target market. Retailers should work
on identifying their customers profile in order to generate a higher profit margin.
Knowing specific customer profiles will able retailers to catch the attention of
consumers from their target market.

Limitations and Future research
Qualitative limitations
Like most studies, the present study is not without limitations. On the
qualitative side, the way informants were approached had an impact on the data
pool. With some of the informants provided little useful information. Others felt
that they had to talk to me about were their favorite stores or what they loved to
buy. In retrospect, I should have approached students in a different way or
perhaps should have given a more detailed description of my research.
One of the main objectives was to try to determine if different shopping,
impulsive or compulsive patterns would differ in various cultures. I did observe
that Hispanics tended to be more family oriented and many of them seemed to
have more down to earth values. On the other hand, I did not observe that they
were more or less impulsive in their shopping behavior. In conclusion, I feel that

45
one-on-one interviewing opened my eyes for areas of possible research. I feel that
I have grown in my understanding of consumer behavior.
Another of limitation was that many Hispanics were already married or
had families at a young age. It was difficult to decide if they should be treated as a
separate category. I also observed that these individuals make many impulsive
purchases like any other individual who did not have any dependents. I had to
acknowledge and accept that some of my informants had dependents and
sometimes a smaller disposable income. The literature on compulsive shopping
indicates that the individual will do it no matter what their income is or no matter
what responsibilities they have.
An additional limitation was that I was familiar with all of the students,
and we met in my office. However, they perceived me as their teaching assistant,
so they probably had already passed judgments for or against me. Because of my
lack of budget, I was unable to offer any monetary compensation. I am uncertain
if it would have made a difference.

46

Quantitative limitations
The quantitative portion of the study also had its limitations. The scales
used for this study provided simplistic vocabulary on a general basis but some
questions could have been interpreted differently for some individuals. In certain
cases, a language barrier might have occurred considering the high percentage of
Mexican American/Mexican National respondents in this survey. In addition,
every participant was recruited from an Introduction to Sociology class where the
majority of students fall in the 18-21 age-group thus restricting our ability to test
for age effects. Not surprisingly, age was not significant in this study.
The recruitment process for the one on one interview did not mention the
subject of impulse buying but identifies for individuals who loved to shop. By
recruiting participants in this way, students might have been deceived or
compulsive buyers might have not signed up for the interview because they might
not necessarily love shopping. Also, in regards to ethnicity, it was hard to group a
specific ethnicity with particular distinctiveness. However, it was unproblematic
to identify strong family value with the Hispanic population of our sample. One
last limitation of the qualitative study was the setting of the interviews. The
setting of a small office with no windows might have made informants
uncomfortable to enter a rich discussion with the interviewer.

A final limitation is the fact that this study was conducted in El Paso,
Texas only. While there is no possible link to believe that El Paso, Texas college

47
students would respond in a different way than the rest of the college students in
the United States, it is subject to possible errors and ought to be tested in other
parts of the country. Moreover, there might be additional possible dimensions,
which might have remained unexplored.

Future research
Further research should investigate compulsive buying and ethnicity with
the Asian group. Due to low self-report, the Asian category had to be eliminated.
Compulsive buying should be further investigated in the long term for better
understanding. Further research should investigate compulsive buying with
special attention paid to mental disorders, especially anxiety disorders. Further
research might also want to explore compulsive consumption in relationship with
body image and with plastic surgery.

Conclusion
This thesis has demonstrated an exploratory analysis of Compulsive
Buying. The study explored three demographic variables (gender, ethnicity, and
age) which helped to support our hypotheses. The variable gender helped support
literature demonstrating that women generally score higher on the compulsive
buying scale than men. The variable ethnicity also demonstrated that African
Americans at UTEP scored higher on the compulsive buying scale than the other
ethnic groups. Consideration should be given to further clarify this finding since
none of the literature addresses this issue. Similarly, the fact that Mexican

48
Nationals and Mexican Americans according to this study do not vary
significantly from each other is worthy of further research. It may well be that
culture shapes our perception of appropriate consumption; however, so does
social class but testing for cultural or socioeconomic variables while desirable,
was not the focus of this work. Future research should address these issues for a
fuller understanding of the intersection of gender, culture and social class.

49
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53
APPENDIX A
TIME SCHEDULE

Spring 2004
Completed 80% of Literature Review.

Fall 2004
Completed Literature Review.
Completed Informed Consent form.
Completed Interview Questions.
Submit informed consent and research protocol to Institutional Review Boar
(IRB).
IRB approved
Submit Thesis Proposal to Thesis Committee.
Administer survey questionnaire to students.

Spring 2005
Analyze interview data.
Complete remaining sections of the thesis.
Thesis defense.

54
APPENDIX B

Personal Journal
of
Shopping Trips

Spring 2004

55

Date :
Name:

-1- How are you feeling today?

-2- -A- What store did you go to:

-B- How much time did you spend there?

-3- -A- How often do you visit this store:

-B- Why do you feel that this store will be able to satisfy your needs?

-4- For this section,

-A- List the items you bought

-B- Indicate if you intended to purchase these items before
entering the store

-C- The price you paid for each item

-D- Indicate Sale if the item you purchased was on sale

56

ITEM # 1

ITEM # 2

ITEM # 3

ITEM # 4

ITEM # 5

57

**** (If you purchased more than five items please indicate them below).

-5- Any extra comments or questions:

For any questions or comments please dont hesitate to call me or email me.
Thank you for your participation,
Amelie J Tremblay
Sociology Graduate Student
Email: amelie_tremblay@hotmail.com
Office: 747-6838

58
APPENDIX C
Questionnaire
Interview on shopping behavior

Principal investigator: Amelie J Tremblay

Interview Questions Outline:

How much do you enjoy shopping?

What do you enjoy most about shopping?

How does shopping make you feel?

What do you like least about shopping?

How would you describe your personality?

How would your family describe your personality?

How important do you think it is to save money?

How much money do you routinely save?

How much money do you think people should routinely save?

Do you ever feel as though you must buy something to be happy?

Do you ever buy things that you do not want to show anybody because you fear
that they will perceive you as different, laugh at you or make comments?

Do you feel guilty sometimes when you get home after a shopping trip?

What types of products do you buy that you feel are unnecessary?

How do you best describe the best use of credit card?

Do you feel differently when you buy something with you credit card versus
buying items with cash?

Do you feel that as a child you had everything you needed?

59

Do you feel that as a child you had everything you wanted?

As a child, how did your parents behave with you at a store?

What do you like best about yourself?

What would you like to change about yourself?

Are you more likely to save money to purchase an item or to purchase an item
because you have money available?

When you purchase a big-ticket item (an item with very significant cost) are you
excited or apprehensive

60
APPENDIX D
Informed Consent Letter
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)

Principal investigator: Amelie Tremblay Phone: (915) 747-
6838
Graduate Faculty Advisor: Dr. Fernando Rodriguez Phone: (915) 747-
5740

Purpose of this project:
The department of Sociology and Anthropology at UTEP invites you to
participate in a study of university students lifestyle. The purpose of this study is
to understand certain students shopping behaviors. Specifically, you participating
in this study will help design a survey that will help us understand particular
behaviors in college students.
This survey will later be used in a larger sample. The answers obtained
from you today will guide us towards a correlation in shopping behavior. The
foundings in this study will be presented in a database and your name will never
be used or appear on any of the data sheet. Participation in the study will involve
a 45-minute interview.

Nota Bene:
Before starting this interview you will need to agree to these terms:

-I- You must be 18 years or older to participate in this interview

-II- This interview is strictly confidential. Your name will not appear on any of our
database

-III- This interview is voluntary and you have the right not to answer questions
And/or to stop the interviews at all time

-IV- This interview will be recorded. The tapes will later be stored in a sealed and in a
confidential area and will never be used be any individual outside the study

-V- There are no risks to participating in this study

Amelie Tremblay, principal investigator, and Dr. Fernando Rodriguez, would be
happy to answer any questions, comments or concerns about this study.
For any further questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact
Karen Hoover at 747-7939.

61
Thank you for your participation
( ) I have read this letter, understand it, and agree to participate in this study
(Name) ________________________________________________
(Signature)______________________________________________
(Researchers signature) ____________________________________

62
APPENDIX E
Student Lifestyle Part I

-1- Age: _________

-2- Gender (1) female (2) male

-3- Marital Status: (1) Single
(2) Single Parent
(3) Married No Children
(4) Married with Children

-4- Race/Ethnicity: (1) African-American
(2) Mexican Citizen
(3) Mexican-American / Hispanic/ Latino
(4) Caucasian / Anglo / White
(5) Asian-American
(6) Other, please specify: __________________

-5- When I have money, I cannot help but spend part or the whole of it
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-d- Strongly disagree
-e- Dont know

-6- I am often impulsive in my buying behavior
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-7- For me, shopping is a way of facing the stress of my daily life and of
relaxing
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

63

-8- I sometimes feel that something inside pushed me to go shopping
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-9- There are times when I have a strong urge to buy (clothing, books,
etc.)
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-10- At times, I have felt somewhat guilty after buying a product, because
it seemed unreasonable.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-11- There are some things I buy that I do not show to anybody for fear
of being perceived as irrational in my buying behavior (a foolish
expense).
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-12- I often have an unexplainable urge, a sudden and spontaneous desire,
to go and buy something in a store
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-13- As soon as I enter a shopping center, I have an irresistible urge
to go into a shop to buy something.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

64
-14- I am one of those people, who often respond to direct mail offers
(e.g. books, records).
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-15- I have often bought a product that I did not need, while
knowing that I have very little money left
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-16- I am a spendthrift
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-17- I have sometimes thought, If I had to do it over again, I
would and felt sorry for something I have done or said
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-18- During my adolescence, I had enough money to myself, from time to
time some things that I enjoyed.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

65
-19- During my entire teen-age years, I was told what I should do with my
money
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-20- In the event that I had some financial problems, I know that I could
rely on somebody to help me out
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-21- The products I buy the most on impulse are
-a- Clothing specify __________________
-b- Jewelry specify___________________
-c- Accessories specify___________________
-d- Entertainment (CD/DVD etc) specify___________________

66

APPENDIX F
Student Lifestyle Part II

-1- To me, shopping is an adventure
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-2- I find shopping stimulating
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-3- Shopping is a thrill to me
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-4- Shopping makes me feel like I am in my own universe
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-5- For the most part, I go shopping when there are sales
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-6- I enjoy looking for discounts when I shop
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

67

-7- I enjoy hunting for bargains when I shop
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-8- I go shopping to take advantage of sales
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-9- I like shopping for others because when they feel good I feel good
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-10- I feel good when I buy things for special people in my life
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-11- I enjoy shopping for my friends and family
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-12- I enjoy shopping around to find the perfect gift for someone
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-13- I go shopping to keep up with the trends
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

68

-14- I go shopping to keep up with the new fashions
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-15- I go shopping to see what new products are available
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-16- I go shopping to experience new things
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-17- I go shopping with my new friends or family to socialize
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-18- I enjoy socializing with others when I shop
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-19- To me, shopping with friends or family is a social occasion
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

-20- Shopping with others is a bonding experience
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

69

-21- When Im in a down mood, I go shopping to make me feel better
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree
-e- Dont know

70

APPENDIX G
Student Lifestyle Part III

-1- I feel that Im a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with
others.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-2- I feel that I have a number of good qualities.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-3- All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-4- I am able to do things as well as most other people.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-5- I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-6- I take a positive attitude towards myself.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-7- On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

71
-8- I wish I could have more respect for myself.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-9- I certainly feel useless at times.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

-10- At times I think I am no good at all.
-a- Strongly agree
-b- Agree
-c- Disagree

72
CURRICULUM VITAE

Amelie Jaqueline Tremblay was born January 30, 1981 in Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. The first child of Bernard and Louise Tremblay, she graduated
from Le College Durocher, Saint-Lambert in 1998. She then attended cejep one
year at cejep Maisonneuve and one year at Champlain cejep. She attended The
University of Texas at El Paso on a golf scholarship, where she graduated in
2003. While pursuing a bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, she
also served as a President/Vice-President on The Student Athlete Advisory
Committee where she was selected to attend National Leadership Conference. In
the fall of 2003, she entered the Graduate School at The University of Texas at El
Paso (UTEP). While in graduate school, she presented at the Southwestern Social
Science Association Conference.

Permanent Address: 7322 Corona Del Sol
El Paso, Texas 79911

This thesis was typed by Amelie Jaqueline Tremblay

Impulse Buying Behavior Among College Students in The Borderlands

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