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BODY IMAGE, SELF-ESTEEM, AND COMPULSIVE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR AMONG TELEVISION SHOPPERS
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Seung-Hee Lee, M.A., M.S.
*****
The Ohio State University
1998
Dissertation Committee:
Professor Sharron J. Lennon, Adviser Approved by
Professor Nancy A. Rudd, Co-Adviser Adviser Professor Marsha A. Dickson -Adviser Professor Pamela S. Highlen Textiles and Clothing Graduate Program UMI Number: 9911221
UMI Microform 9911221 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.
This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to examine the extent to which a linkage exists among television shopping channel viewing time, self-esteem, body image, compulsive shopping and binge eating in 334 female television shoppers. Using survey methodology, television shoppers' shopping behaviors were appraised to determine the extent to which compulsive buying tendencies are high among television shoppers and if compulsive buying tendencies are related to television shopping channel viewing time, body image, self-esteem, and binge eating. For this research, a theoretical model was proposed which suggests a connection between consumer behavior and body image, specifically television shopping, compulsive buying and binge eating. This model explains the relationships among television shopping, body image, self-esteem, media exposure (television shopping charmel viewing time), and compulsive buying. Multiple and simple regression analyses were performed.
The present research showed: 1 ) some relationships between body image and self esteem in television shoppers; 2) a relationship between compulsive buying scores and self-esteem in television shoppers; 3) one relationship between compulsive buying scores and body image in television shoppers; 4) a relationship between compulsive buying scores and binge-eating scores; 5) one relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and body image in television shoppers; 6) relationships among television shopping channel viewing time, compulsive buying scores, and binge-eating scores in television shoppers; 7) some relationships among binge eating scores, body image, and self-esteem.
II Dedicated to my parents
111 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to express my most sincere appreciation and gratitude to my advisors, Drs.
Sharron J. Lennon and Nancy A. Rudd, for their endless help and encouragement through my studying, without whose guidance and insight this study could not have been completed. I would also like to confess that 1 am such a lucky person to have Drs.
Lennon and Rudd as my advisors, mentors and teachers in my life.
I am also truly indebted to my committee members. Dr. Marsha Dickson for her insightful advice and invaluable comments and suggestions throughout the research. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Pamela Highlen. As my minor advisor and dissertation committee member, she has shown me warm and kind guidance during my graduate work. She has always encouraged and supported me one hundred percent.
Special thanks go to Drs. Sook-Ja Lim and Kyung-Hee Shon. Their trust, guidance and spiritual support are highly appreciated. 1 am especially grateful to the
Department of Textiles and Clothing for financial support through my years of graduate study at The Ohio State University. 1 also wish to extend my sincere thank to Drs. Hae-
Kyung Yoo, Jung-Hae Yoon, Young-Sook Kim, Mi-Sook Kim, Choon-Soon Ahn, Mi-
Kyung Je, and Young-Keum Chung for their encouragement and support.
Special gratitude also goes to Ok-Hee Kim, Dong-Sook Kim, Ok-Hee Jin, Drs.
Sun-Young Park, Jin-Goo Kim, Yoon-Ja Nam, Kil-Soon Park, Kyu-Seok Chung, and
Soonwha Yoo for their sincere prayers.
To my dear friend, Betsy Breseman, I note special thanks for her true friendship.
She has been most refreshing and will be cherished by me. Also, special thanks to
Ungsik, Jaemin, Neimg-Sik, and Changryul for their help and encouragement during my studies in the U.S.A.
IV I wish to extend my sincere thanks to my lovely brother, Seung-Jae for his endless assistance and support. I wish to especially thank my parents, for their support, continued patience, understanding, and expectations. Without them, none of this would have been possible, nor would it have meant anything.
I thank my Lord, Jesus Christ, for giving me all desires of my heart. VTTA
March 25, 1964 Bom - Seoul, Korea
1986 ...... B.S. in Clothing and Textiles Ewha Womans University. Seoul. Korea
1990 ...... M.A. in Home Economics Education Yonsei University. Seoul, Korea
1991- 1994 ...... High School Teacher in Home Economics Unam High School, Seoul, Korea
199 7...... M.S. in Textiles and Clothing The Ohio State University. Columbus. OH
1994 - 1998 ...... Graduate Teaching & Research Associate The Ohio State University, Columbus. OH
1998 - Present ...... Lecturer in Consumer & Textile Sciences The Ohio State University. Columbus. OH
PUBLICATIONS
Research Publication
1. Lee, S. H.. & Rudd. R. (1998. in press). Body image and disordered appearance management behaviors among Korean females in Korean fasting center. In N. Owens (Ed.), Intemational Textiles and Apparel Association Proceedings. Monument, CO.
2. Lennon. S.. Bums. L.. Lee. S. H.. & Choi. M. (1997). A cross-national comparison of consumer attitudes toward a natural fiber textile product. In Scott M. Smith (Ed.), Six Svmposium on Cross-Cultural Business and Consumer Studies, pp. 425-428.
3. Lee. S. H.. Rudd. N.. & Kim. J. (1997). A cross-cultural comparison of ideal beauty, body image, and appearance behaviors: A qualitative study of Korean and American females. In N. Owens (Ed.), Intemational Textiles and Apparel Association Proceedings, p. 46. Monument. CO.
vi 4. Lennon, S., Bums, L., Choi, M. J., & Lee, S. H. (1996). Market Assessment for cotton socks. In C. M. Ladisch (Ed.), International Textiles and Apparel Association Proceedings, p.52. Monument, CO.
5. Lee, S. H., Lee, M., & Rudd, N. (1996). Korean women's body image, gender role attitudes, and appearance management behaviors in the U.S., In C. M. Ladisch (Ed.), Intemational Textiles and Apparel Association Proceedings, p. 134. Monument, CO.
6. Lee, S. H., Stanforth. N .. & Lennon, S. (1995). Korean students' perception toward customer service in the U.S., In C. M. Ladisch (Ed.), Intemational Textiles and Apparel Association Proceedings, p.93. Monument, CO.
FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Textiles and Clothing
Minor Field: Psychology
Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapters Page
1. Introduction...... 1
Purpose...... 5 Definition of terms...... 6
2. Review of literature...... 8
Body image...... 8 Body image disturbance ...... 10
Binge eating...... 11
Media exposure and social comparison...... 15 Social comparison theory...... 15 Social comparison, self-esteem, and appearance...... 16 Rudd and Lennon model of body image and self-esteem ...... 18 Media exposure, body image, self-esteem, and binge eating ...... 19 Media exposure, social comparison, and consumption...... 22
Compulsive buying ...... 24 Compulsive buying, body image, and binge eating ...... 27
Television shopping...... 30 Television shopping, compulsive buying, body image, self-esteem, and binge eating ...... 32
Model of the effects of television shopping channel exposure on the evaluation of television shopper's body image, binge eating, self esteem, and compulsive buying ...... 35
Hypotheses...... 39
3. Methodology...... 42
Sample...... 42 Procedures ...... 42 viii Instrument ...... Pilot test...... 48
4. Analysis of results...... 49
Respondent characteristics...... 49 Demographics...... 49 Television shopping behavior...... 55 Body mass index...... 59 Overall scores for self-esteem, body image subscales, compulsive buying, binge eating, and TV viewing Time ...... 60 Regression analysis for Hypothesis ...... 1 66 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 2...... 68 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 3...... 69 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 4...... 70 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 5-a and 5-b...... 71 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 6-a and 6-b...... 73 Regression analysis for Hypothesis 7-a and 7-b...... 75
5. Discussion and implications...... 78
Discussion...... 78 Conclusions and implications...... 85 Limitations...... 103 Further study ...... 104
List of references...... 108
Appendices ...... 128 Appendix A...... 129 Appendix B...... 137 Appendix C...... 139 Appendix D...... 141 Appendix E...... 143 Appendix F...... 145 Appendix G...... 147 Appendix H...... 149 Appendix 1...... 152 Appendix J...... 155 Appendix K...... 157 Appendix L...... 159 Appendix M...... 161
ix LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Demographics...... 51
2. Education background ...... 52
3. Ethnic background ...... 52
4. Marital status ...... 53
5. Community size...... 53
6. Occupation...... 54
7. Yearly income...... 54
8. Disabled status ...... 54
9. Homebound status ...... 55
10. Frequency of purchasing from shopping channels in the past 12 months 56
11. The mean of frequency of watching shopping channels...... 57
12. The mean of frequency of buying from shopping channels...... 57
13. The mean of frequency of purchase of items from shopping channels 57
14. The mean of frequency of payment type...... 58
15. The mean of frequency of paying extra to have the item shipped sooner 58
16. Return ...... 58
17. The mean of frequency to return something...... 58
18. The mean of frequency of satisfaction with method of return...... 59
19. The number of credit cards ...... 59
X 20. Knowledge of credit limit...... 59
21. Body Mass Index...... 60
22. The mean comparison between compulsive buyers and non-compulsive buyers for television shoppers...... 63
23. Overall scores for self-esteem, body image subscales, compulsive buying, and binge eating ...... 64
24. The number of hours of television shopping channels watched...... 65
25. Regression analysis for Hypothesis ...... 1 67
26. Regression analysis for Hypothesis 2...... 69
27. Regression analysis for Hypothesis ...... 3 70
28. Regression analysis for Hypothesis 4...... 71
29. Regression analysis for Hypothesis 5-a and 5-b...... 73
30. Regression analysis for Hypothesis 6-a and 6-b...... 75
31. Regression analysis for Hypothesis 7-a and 7-b...... 76
XI LIST OF FIGURES
Table Page
1. Model of the relationships among television shopping channel exposure, body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, and binge eating in television shoppers...... 41
2. Revised model of the relationships among television shopping channel exposure, body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, and binge eating in television shoppers...... 93
XII CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
It is well known that physical appearance influences one's psychological development, self-esteem, and body image (Cash & Harton, 1983). Body image is important to individuals because it affects self-esteem (Jackson, Sullivan, & Rostker,
1988). People evaluate their bodies depending on their environment through comparisons with others. People who place importance on their bodies often perceive a discrepancy between their actual image and their ideal image (Sullivan & Haraish, 1990). Women tend to evaluate their bodies more negatively than men; women engage in more behaviors related to their appearance (Jackson, Sullivan, & Rostker, 1988), including healthy as well as hazardous behaviors or unwise consumer behaviors such as compulsive buying.
The existence of several multi-billion-do liar industries support this idea; they have an appearance emphasis, such as those selling cosmetic products, diet programs, fitness equipment and services, and cosmetic surgeries (Thompson & Hirschman, 1995).
According to Hillestad (1980), as an aspect of culture, appearance is a total idea that contains two structural units — dress and body. In his taxonomy, the body and the dress are central components for the structure of appearance within sociocultural norms.
In appearance, dress and the body are interrelated with each other; that is, dress is the result of assembling articles of clothing and articles of adornment for the body, while the body works as a vehicle for dress. "In the American culture of the late 20th Century, the body is a very important component of personal appearance and contributes significantly to judgments of attractiveness" (Rudd & Lennon, 1994, p. 163). It is apparent that the perception of ideal beauty and body image appear to be highly influenced by social and cultural factors
(Hueston, Dennerstein, & Gotts, 1985). American cultural norms prescribe that women conform to a relatively narrow range of body sizes and shapes, pursuing thinness above other characteristics (Gamer & Garfinkel, 1982). Idealized media images are thought to strongly influence this "thin standard of beauty" among women.
Social comparison with media images may lead many women to have negative feelings about their own failure to meet the standard, to experience a greater desire to be attractive in order to be positively evaluated by others, and, ultimately, to consume more appearance-related products (Richins, 1995). In fact, societal pressures to attain the ideal image of beauty may trigger unwise consumer behavior such as compulsive buying behaviors. According to Faber, O'Guinn and Krych (1988), among compulsive buyers, women tend to spend more on clothing and jewelry while men seem to spend more on cars and electronics. This perhaps means that clothes, jewelry, make-up, and exercise equipment may help women feel more attractive or successful, enhancing their self-esteem because a large part of a woman's self-esteem has been derived from her physical appearance (Beebe, Holmbeck, Schober, Lane & Roa, 1996).
Although the driving forces behind these behaviors have not been established with certainty, there is increasing evidence that issues of self-esteem are directly linked with these motivations. Recent studies of compulsive shopping behaviors have suggested a link with levels of self-esteem ("Compulsive shopping," 1995; D'Astous, 1990; Faber,
1992; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989; Tkac, 1987). Self-esteem acts as a major factor in the shopping behavior of compulsive buyers by influencing purchases (Faber & O'Guirm, 1988; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Furthermore, positive correlations have been found between self-esteem and body image (e.g., Jackson, Sullivan & Rostker, 1988; Silberstein,
Striegel-Moore, Timko & Rodin, 1988; Wells, 1983). It is possible that levels of self esteem and body image will be positively correlated and that lower levels of both will be reflected in higher levels of compulsive shopping behaviors.
Also, it has been increasingly recognized that compulsive buying and binge eating disorder (one type of body image disturbance) have a number of important similarities in that both are viewed as impulse control disorders, are associated with lower levels of self-esteem, and are associated with higher levels o f depression and a higher prevalence of other psychiatric problems (Faber, Christenson, Zwaan, & Mitchell, 1995; McElroy,
Keck, & Phillips, 1995). These behaviors (compulsive buying and binge-eating) are more common and occur more frequently in women than in men (McElroy, Keck, & Phillips,
1995). This suggests that there might be a link between compulsive buying and one type of body image disturbance, binge eating. In addition, McElroy, Keck, and Phillips
(1995) reported that "having access to credit cards, shopping catalogs, or home shopping television programs seemed for people to 'enable' compulsive buying" (p. 18).
Direct marketing or non-store shopping such as television shopping and catalog shopping has become a popular retail patronage mode during the last two decades
(Stanforth, Lennon, & Moore, 1997; "The New Competition," 1994). As one of the newer modes of non-store retailing, television shopping reached sales of 2.5 billion in
1992 ("The New Competition," 1994). Consumers have entered a new realm of shopping experiences with the ease, safety and convenience of the television shopping networks
(Harden, 1996; Lumpkin & Hawes, 1985), and these may provide shoppers with new opportunities to shop compulsively. While there certainly could exist cases of planned buying in connection with television shopping, the majority of shopping experiences seem likely to be motivated by impulses given the nature of the television shopping format in which buyers do not preview most of the merchandise. Furthermore, the convenience afforded by telephoning orders and using a credit card may promote shoppers' compulsive buying. This is evident by some research (e.g., Libbey, 1991), which found that 97% of television shoppers hold credit cards and some 82% of television shopping transactions are made with credit cards. In addition, since the published program titles, if they exist, of the hourly television shopping programs are often not reflective of merchandise content, it may be difficult for shoppers to plan purchases.
Due to the possibility that one segment in particular, large-sized women, has indicated low body satisfaction or low self-esteem (Allan, Mayo, & Michel, 1993), they may be even more prone to use television shopping than many other groups such as average-sized women. In fact, recent research (e.g., Stanforth, Lennon & Moore, 1997;
Zinn, 1993; Underwood, 1993) suggests that a growing number of television shoppers are large-sized individuals who are ordering plus-sized clothing and jewelry. This may indicate that large-sized women have found a convenient source of plus-size clothing in addition to catalog and in-store sources. Television shopping is a good choice for large- sized women because shopping channels offer large merchandise assortments and they may not be embarrassed about their bodies when shopping from their homes.
Additionally, if these large-size women have low self-esteem or experience negative affect regarding their bodies, they may find themselves compulsively shopping from television.
It is possible that television shoppers spend more time viewing television than non-television shoppers. If so then television shoppers might be more susceptible to the influence of media effects than non-television shoppers. While media may not directly cause this behavior, media may encourage the compulsive buyer with low self-esteem or low body image to relieve their problems through consumption (Faber & O'Guirm, 1988).
Thus, it is possible that there might be a link between compulsive buying, body image, body image disturbance (especially binge eating), and self-esteem among television shoppers.
For this research, a theoretical model is proposed which suggests a connection between consumer behavior and body image, specifically television shopping and compulsive buying. This model explains the relationships among television shopping, body image, self-esteem, media exposure (television shopping channel viewing time), and compulsive buying. Because little research has connected subsequent consumer behavior to consumer's body images, this study is valuable for examining how consumers' body images, specifically binge eating, their subsequent feelings of self-worth, and their consumption behavior such as compulsive buying may be shaped by media exposure.
This study also provides some strategies to cope with a negative body image and unwise compulsive spending, strategies to strengthen aspects of self-concept such as self esteem, and strategies that might be used in treating compulsive shopping and compulsive eating.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among television shoppers with respect to body image, specifically binge eating, self-esteem, television shopping channel exposure, and compulsive shopping behaviors. Television shoppers' shopping behaviors are assessed: (1) to determine whether or not compulsive shopping is prevalent among television shoppers and (2) if compulsive shopping is related to levels of self-esteem, body image, and compulsive eating behavior (binge eating).
Definition of Terms
Terms that are used in this study are defined below:
(1) Body image: Mental picture of one's own body (Fallon, 1990)
(2) Self-esteem: One's feeling of self-worth (Rosenberg, 1965)
(3) Body image disturbance: A syndrome of perceptual, cognitive, motivational, and
emotional phenomena encompassing two related but distinct aspects: body
dissatisfaction and body size overestimation (Gamer & Garfinkel, 1981)
(4) Compulsive buying: Chronic, and repetitive purchase behavior, based on negative
feelings, that leads to harmful consequences (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992)
(5) Dress: "The total arrangement of all the outwardly detectable modifications of a
person's body and all material objects added to it" (Roach & Musa, 1980, p. 68).
(6) Social construction of appearance: A total concept as the result of interconnected
factors of dress and body within sociocultural norms (Hillestad, 1980).
(7) Eating disorder "One of a subclass of disorders that includes any one of the multiple
disturbances of eating behavior" (Taber, 1997, p. 595). For this research, it is
considered as a continuous variable, not a discrete variable.
(8) Binge eating: Ingesting large amounts of food within short periods of time with
accompanying fears about not being able to stop eating and depressive moods
(Gormally, Black, Datson, & Rardin, 1982). (9) Television shopping channel exposure: Total time of watching the shopping channels
a week. For this research, the number of hours television shoppers watched
television shopping channels on an average weekday, an average Saturday, and
an average Sunday were summed . CHAPTER2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This research investigates possible relationships between body image, self- esteem, and compulsive shopping behaviors of television shoppers. This chapter includes sections on body image, media exposure and social comparison, Rudd and
Lennon's model (1994) of body image and self-esteem, binge eating (one type of body image disturbance), compulsive buying behavior, and television shopping. Based on the literature review, a new model is then presented to illustrate the theoretical associations among body image, self-esteem, television shopping channel exposure, and compulsive buying among television shoppers.
Body Image
Physical attractiveness and beauty standards have been the most important factors in interpersonal relationships and interactions (Fawcett & Frye, 1980). According to Mathes and Kahn (1975), physical attractiveness is more important for women than for men. Attractive women are happier, more psychologically healthy, and prouder of themselves than unattractive women. Through mass media such as television and magazines, society has consistently promoted a narrow ideal of beauty. Today, thinness is the primary characteristic of the idealized female beauty standard in Western cultures
(Irving, 1990; Striegel-Moore, Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986). For example, two studies (Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz, & Thompson, 1980; Morris, Cooper & Cooper, 1989) found that through examinations of fashion models and Miss America contestants, the ideal body shape for women has become thinner over the last 30 years, moving "from a voluptuous, curved figure to the angular, lean look of today" (Gamer et al., 1980, p. 483).
Interestingly, Gamer et al. (1980) discovered that while ideal female models have become thinner, average females of similar age in the U.S. have become heavier.
One consequence of the emphasis on thinness is distortions in body image. Body image, defined as the mental picture of one's own body (Fallon, 1990), consists of two concepts: body-perception and body-attitude (Fawcett & Frye, 1980). Body-perception refers to one's mental experience of the physical body, while body-attitudes refer to one's feeling, attitudes and emotional reactions toward the body (e.g., satisfaction/dissatisfaction). Recently, the number of studies of body image has increased in the research literature (e.g., Fallon, 1987; Lermon & Rudd, 1994; Striegel-Moore et al.,
1986) because of the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among women (Altabe, &
Thompson, 1993; Fallon, 1987; Heinberg & Thompson, 1992). For example, 75% of
American females are dissatisfied with their bodies (Cash, Winstead, & Janda, 1986).
Many women experience their own body size and weight as excessive and unacceptable, having negative feelings about their own failure to meet the standard (Heinberg &
Thompson, 1992). They see themselves as heavier than their actual weights (Sullivan &
Haraish, 1990). According to Fallon and Rozin's research (1985), while 32.5% of men consider their actual figures as heavier than their ideal figures, 69.7% of women consider the actual figure as heavier than their ideal figure. In addition, Thompson (1986) found that more than 95% of females overestimated their body size on the average by 25%.
Cash and Green (1986) noted that this propensity is more common among underweight women than among average or overweight women. Failure to attain the cultural standard of beauty may result in negative self-esteem and body image because women's self-esteem is positively associated with physical appearance (Mathes & Kahn, 1975; Rudd & Lennon, 1994; Sullivan & Hamish, 1990).
Low self-esteem has a direct relationship with low body image (Stowers & Durm, 1996;
Sullivan & Hamish, 1990).
Many investigators (e.g, Brenner & Cunningham, 1992; Crago, Yates, Fleischer,
Segerstrom, & Gray, 1996; Heinberg & Thompson, 1996) found that women have significantly lower levels o f self-esteem, lower levels of body satisfaction, and more disordered eating behavior than men. This may indicate that the cultural standard of beauty has made American women pursue thinness as a current cultural definition of physical attractiveness (Martin & Kennedy, 1994).
In summary, body image research has focused on individuals' evaluations and feelings about their appearances. Many researchers (e.g.. Gamer & Garfinkel, 1980;
Greenfeld, Quinlan, Harding, Glass, & Bliss, 1987; Streigel-Moore et al., 1989) propose that women's pursuit of thinness has contributed to the increasing emergence of body image disturbances.
Bodv Image Disturbance
Cultural factors affect the norms against which women evaluate their appearances and influence how they subconsciously construct their body image based on their own and others' perceptions (Hueston, Dennerstein, & Gotts, 1985). There has been increasing interest in the role of socio-cultural factors in the development of body image disturbance
(Rosen, 1990). Body image disturbance may be associated with depression (Mintz &
Betz, 1986), eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia (Abrams, Allen, & Gray,
1 0 1993), lowered self-esteem (Cash, Winstead & Janda, 1986) and cosmetic surgery (Coin
& Coin, 1986).
Recent investigations have established a link between body image disturbance and the self-concept (e.g.. Cash & Pruzinsky, 1990; Strauman & Glenberg, 1994). Body image disturbance may result in psychological discrepancy between the internalized ideal body and the actual body (Strauman & Glenberg, 1994; Strauman, Vookles, Berenstein,
Chaiken, & Higgins, 1991). Concerns about physical appearance are widely considered to play a central role in the development of eating disorders. Much research (e.g., Heinberg
& Thompson, 1992; Koenig & Wasserman, 1995) has found that negative body image is a strong predictor of eating disorders.
Many researchers (e.g., Rosen, 1990; Streigel-Moore, Silberstein, Frensch, &
Rodin, 1989) have shown that eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have increased among young females. For example, the occurrence of bulimia has been estimated to be as high as 20% in American college women (Kessler, Gilham, & Vickers,
1992). Symptoms of binge eating have been detected in up to 90% of college women
(Streigel-Moore et. al, 1989).
Binge Eating
Binge Eating Disorder (BED) is a new category of eating disorder, defined in the
1994 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. BED describes the eating disturbance of a large number of individuals who suffer from recurrent binge eating but who do not regularly engage in the compensatory behaviors to avoid weight gain seen in bulimia nervosa (Striegel-Moore, Wilson, Wilfley, Elder, & Brownell,
1998). Spitzer et al. (1991) proposed that individuals be diagnosed with binge eating
1 1 disorder (BED), with binge eating as its central feature. Several studies (e.g., Spitzer et al,
1992; 1993) have reported rates of BED as high as 30% of the obese population and 2 -5
% of the general population satisfying diagnostic criteria.
In the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994), binge-eating disorder is defined as recurrent episodes of binge eating associated with subjective and behavioral indicators of impaired control over, and the absence of the regular use o f inappropriate compensatory behaviors characteristic of bulimia (e.g. self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives and other medications, fasting, and excessive exercise). Binge-eating disorder is defined as follows : (1) eating an amount of food in a two-hour period that is definitely larger than most people would consume in that time period; and (2) a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode. In addition, for eating episodes to be identified as a binge, it must satisfy at least three of the following five associated features: (1) eating much more rapidly than normal; (2) eating until feeling uncomfortably full; (3) eating large amounts of food when not feeling physically hungry; (4) eating alone because of being embarrassed by how much one is eating; (5) and feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or very guilty after overeating.
Some research (e.g.. Cooper, Cooper, & Fairbun, 1989) suggests that individuals with BED differ in other clinically meaningful ways from those diagnosed with bulimia nervosa. Spitzer et al. (1993) study found that BED subjects reported a history of severe obesity and greater weight fluctuations than did bulimia nervosa. In addition, BED has been associated with severe obesity, marked weight fluctuations, impaired social and work functioning, overconcem with body shape and weight, psychopathology, amount of adult lifetime spent on diets, and a history of treatment for emotional problems (Marcus,
Smith, Santelli, & Kaye, 1992).
1 2 Antony, Johnson, Carr-Nangle, and Abel (1994) compared binge eaters (BED group), non-binge eaters, and normal groups. The BED group reported higher levels of psychopathology than normal subjects on measure of depression, anxiety, fatigue and confusion. In general, nonclinical binge eating subjects scored between the BED and normal groups. Research examining binge eaters has found that they have lower levels of self-esteem, higher levels of depression and a higher prevalence of other psychiatric problems and personality disturbances than nonbinge eaters of similar weight (de Zwaan
& Mitchell, 1992). For example, Antony et al. (1994) found that although both those with binge eating disorder (BED) and nonbinge eating subjects reported similar levels of episodic overeating, the BED sample displayed significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, fatigue, and confusion. These data highlight the importance of criteria such as loss of control.
The diagnosis of binge eating disorder is not limited to overweight individuals, although in clinical settings the majority of people with BED are overweight (Spitzer et.,
1993). The frequency of severe binge eating problems in weight loss participants has been found to be surprisingly high, ranging from 23 to 46% in various studies (de Zwaan
& Mitchell, 1992). Obese individuals who binge eat exhibit significantly more eating and weight-related pathology, such as maladaptive dieting behaviors and attitudes, as well as more psychopathology such as low self-esteem, high levels of depression, and a high prevalence of other psychiatric diagnoses and personality disturbances, compared to nonbinge eating obese individuals (Marcus, Smith, Santelli, & Kaye, 1992). However, some studies (e.g., Spitzer, et., 1993) suggest that obese binge eaters are less severely disturbed when compared with patients meeting the full criteria for purging bulimia nervosa, de Zwaan et al. (1994) examined whether BED subjects participating in a weight loss program differ from non-BED subjects. As a result, there was a tendency for
1 3 patients with more severe binge eating problems to have a longer history o f dieting experiences. They reported more weight fluctuations in the past, started dieting at an earlier age, and spent more time of their adult life trying to lose weight. BED subjects tended to report lower self-esteem than non-BED subjects. Low self-esteem is a strong predictor of binge eating severity regardless of weight (de Zwaan et al., 1994; Wolf &
Crowther, 1983). Women who describe themselves as relatively impulsive and less controlled tend to engage in binge eating.
Some research (e.g., de Zwaan et al., 1994) found that body dissatisfaction is significantly greater in binge eaters than non-binge eaters. Body size overestimation and body dissatisfaction are significant clinical features of anorexia and bulimia nervosa
(Johnson & Torgrud, 1995). However, in individuals with binge eating disorder, body dissatisfaction seems to be more serious than body size overestimation (Johnson &
Torgrud, 1996). That is, individuals with BED are more dissatisfied with their appearance or their bodies (de Zwaan et al., 1994; Spitzer et al., 1993) and body shape concern (Smith, Marcus, & Kaye, 1992) than nonbinge eaters. Several studies suggest greater dissatisfaction among individuals with BED than those with bulimia (Williamson et al., 1990), while some research shows little difference between both (Williamson et al.,
1992). On the other hand, some research supports (e.g., de Zwaan, et al., 1994) that there is a positive relationship between binge severity and body dissatisfaction in obese subjects (de Zwaan et al., 1992), and between BED diagnosis and weight and shape concern.
Much research (de Zwaan et al., 1992; Marcus et al., 1992; Spitzer et al., 1991;
Spitzer et al., 1993; Striegel-Moore et al., 1998) has found that obese binge eaters reported a longer history of dieting experiences. Some studies (e.g., Spitzer et al., 1993) found that, in BED, binge eating more commonly precedes dieting, while other studies
1 4 have reported dieting precedes binge eating (e.g., Fairbun & Cooper, 1982). For example, Spitzer et ai. (1993) found that 48.6% of women indicated that they began binge eating before dieting, compared with 37.0% of women who reported the reverse.
On the other band, Buiik, Sullivan, Carter, and Joyce (1997) found while 80.5% of women indicated that dieting preceded bingeing, 17% of women reported early binge eating prior to any dieting behavior. However, other research (Spitzer et al., 1993;
Wilson, 1993) revealed that in BED binge eating more commonly precedes significant dieting. This may mean binge eating occurs prior to any attempts to lose weight by restricting food intake.
In summary, binge eaters have been found to hold themselves to stringent standards and are highly aware of failures to live up to these standards (Heatherton &
Baumeister, 1991). Based on previous research, comparison to idealized media images may cause women's body dissatisfaction. More body dissatisfaction may lead to more binge eating in women because they may feel failure in reaching the ideal standard. Then, they begin dieting to reduce their weight, decreasing the frequency and severity of binge eating (Spitzer et al., 1993). Indeed, television advertising's overemphasis on dieting may lead to dietary restraint, which has been associated with binge eating (Polivy & Herman, 1985).
Media Exposure and Social Comparison
Social Comparison Theory
In 1954, Festinger proposed a theory of social comparison based on the individual's comparison of the self with other people. Since 1954, social comparison
I 5 theory has been applied to a great deal of research (Goethals, 1986; Taylor & Lobel,
1989).
Festinger's social comparison theory hypothesized that individuals have a basic drive to evaluate their own opinions and abihties. Festinger thought that individuals compare their opinions and abilities to others, and that the comparison may affect self- evaluation. People tend to choose similar others for comparison (Festinger, 1954) because highly divergent others will produce imprecise, uncertain, and inaccurate self- evaluation (Taylor & Lobel, 1989). Thus, only similar others provide truly useful information and comparisons with highly divergent others should be avoided (Goethals &
Darley, 1977). For any given individual, similar comparisons will be more frequent with close friends, and dissimilar comparisons (upward and downward) will involve more distant relationships (Wheeler & Miyake, 1992). Research (e.g., Richins, 1995; Taylor &
Lobel, 1989; Wood, 1989) reported that, upward comparison, referred to as the comparison with "better-off others, may cause negative self-feelings such as threatened self-worth, inferiority, and dissatisfaction. Downward comparison, referred to as the comparison with "worse-off others, may lead to positive self-feelings such as self enhancement, superiority, and satisfaction.
Social Comparison. Self-Esteem, and Appearance
Even though Festinger (1954) did not mention it specifically, researchers (e.g.,
Morse & Gergen, 1970; Richins, 1991) have linked social comparison and self-esteem.
Goethals (1986) indicated that Morse and Gergen's research (1970) was the first research which examined the effect of social comparison on self-esteem; job applicants were exposed to a stimulus person of either a socially desirable ("Mr. Clean") or socially undesirable ("Mr. Dirty") appearance. "Mr. Clean" was manipulated as socially
1 6 acceptable in appearance and appeared well-groomed and well-organized, whereas "Mr.
Dirty" was manipulated as socially unacceptable in appearance and appeared unkempt and disorganized. Results indicated that social comparison can affect self-esteem but how much depends on the individual. Subjects exposed to the socially desirable stimulus person ("Mr. Clean") had lower self-esteem than subjects exposed to the undesirable stimulus person ("Mr. Dirty"). Thus, upward comparison may lead to lower self-esteem, while downward comparison may lead to higher self-esteem.
Wheeler and Miyake (1992) studied 94 college students and recorded details of their social comparisons using a new instrument, the Rochester Social Comparison
Record. The results indicated that high self-esteem was related to a greater frequency of downward comparison. That is, upward comparison decreased subjective well-being, while downward comparison increased it. This study provides evidence that while upward comparison is related to lower self-esteem, downward comparison is associated with higher self-esteem.
Scholars (e.g., Heinberg & Thompson, 1992; Lennon & Rudd, 1994; Richins,
1991; Rudd & Lennon, 1994; Thompson & Heinberg, 1992) have increasingly applied social comparison theory to the evaluation of physical appearance. The ways in which comparison of one's appearance might occur are through comparison with family, friends, or media (Heinberg & Thompson, 1992; Irving, 1990). Thompson, Heinberg and Tantleff
(1991) pointed out that appearance comparison is related to body dissatisfaction.
Thompson and Heinberg (1992) suggested that females tend to make upward comparisons, finding themselves to be lower on appearance than the comparison target, while males tend to make downward comparisons, rating themselves better than the target. Thus, social comparisons may influence women's body disturbance to a greater degree than men's body disturbance.
1 7 Stormer and Thompson (1996) examined whether or not social comparison and sociocultural pressures may lead to body image disturbance among 162 female college students. The sample consisted of 162 female college students ages 17-30 years who were asked to complete questionnaires. As a result, social comparison and societal factors were significant predictors of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. In other words, the majority of variance in body dissatisfaction and eating disorders was accounted for by the tendency to make social comparisons, and to internalize sociocultural norms of being thin and attractive. These results suggest that social comparison and exposure to social standards of beauty correlate with body image disturbance.
Rudd and Lennon Model (1994) of Body Image and Self-Esteem
Rudd and Lennon (1994) used social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) to develop a model to explain the relationship between the cultural ideals of beauty, the creation of individual appearance through appearance management behaviors, and the individual's evaluations of their appearances. In this model, cultural categories of attractiveness impact individual appearance standards. Mass media such as television, music videos, movies and magazines may be strong influences on individuals as they define "attractive" appearances. When individuals compare themselves with others, social comparison occurs. Social comparison affects individual creation of appearance through appearance evaluations and subsequent appearance management behaviors. According to
Rudd and Lennon (1994), these social comparisons and cultural categories work together in social identity theory (Tajfel, 1981). "Any improvement in personal identity or social identity will lead to an improvement in self-image" (Rudd & Lennon, 1994, p. 164).
Also, through social comparison, an individual creates her appearance with specific
1 8 appearance management behaviors and internalizes the appearance evaluation. If an individual's evaluation of her created appearances is close to the cultural ideal, self-esteem is enhanced. But if one's evaluation or other's evaluations (e.g., peers, or parents) are not close to the ideal, the individual may engage in coping strategies in hopes of reaching the ideal. Some strategies are more positive than others (e.g., modifying one's personal standard to be more accepting and less critical), and some strategies could lead to hazardous behaviors such as eating disorders and lowered self-esteem (e.g., accepting the dominant standard and trying harder to reach it, through disordered eating). This model suggests that self-esteem might be important in motivating appearance management behavior to reach the cultural ideal.
Media Exposure, Body Image. Self-Esteem and Binge Eating
Sociocultural factors represent important influences on the development of body image (Hueston, Dermerstein, & Gotts, 1985). In contemporary western societies, thinness has become almost synonymous with beauty for women (Striegel-Moore,
Silberstein, & Rodin, 1986). In addition, researchers have found that while thinness is highly valued, obesity, is highly devalued (Rodin, Silberstein, & Striegel-Moore, 1985).
Through the media, thinness is associated with beauty, success, and health, while obesity is associated with poor health and a lack of control (Downs & Harrison, 1985; Gamer &
Garfinkel, 1980). These positive and negative stereotypes play a role in young women's desire to attain a thin standard.
Comparison with mass media images is very powerful and might lead to lower self-esteem and body satisfaction (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995; Lennon & Rudd, 1994;
Richins, 1991; Richins. 1995; Rudd & Lennon, 1994). For women, models of physical comparison are found in media images such as television or magazines. Research (e.g..
1 9 Cash, Cash, & Butters, 1983) found that a woman comparing herself to an attractive model tends to produce a low evaluation of her own appearance. Richins (1991) studied college students to see if they compare themselves to pictures in magazines. A typical questionnaire item stated that, “When 1 see models in clothing ads, I think about how well or how badly 1 look compared to the models” (Richins, 1991, p.76). Richins (1991)
found that when subjects were exposed to idealized images of beautiful women, they rated an average woman as less attractive than she was rated by subjects who were not exposed to idealized images. Thus, the subjects looked at the ideal images and based their judgment of the average woman on how she compared to the ideal. Richins (1995) indicated that "because most of media images are idealized, the comparison is upward, and comparers find themselves deficient with respect to the comparison standard" (p. 597).
These comparisons with idealized media images of beauty may tend to have negative effects on one’s body image, self-esteem, and satisfaction with one’s attractiveness .
Irving (1990) investigated the impact of exposure to the thin beauty standard on subjects' evaluation of themselves in four conditions: thin, average, oversize weight and no-exposure. For this research, the researcher used slides of "thin" models taken from
fashion magazines, "average" models (not shown as professional models) taken by a photographer, and oversize models taken from a catalog for oversize women. Results suggested that the no-exposure group did not differ from other 3 groups on a measure of self-esteem. However, subjects exposed to thin models reported lower levels of self esteem and weight satisfaction than did subjects exposed to either average or larger models.
Much research has indicated that today the media portray a steadily thin body build for women as the ideal female figure (Gamer, Garfinkel, Schwartz & Thompson,
1980; Silverstein et al., 1986). For example, Spillman and Everington (1989) found that
20 the ectomorph (thin body build) was related to perceptions of positive characteristics such as being the most attractive and the ideal image by college women. This result was different from previous research (Wells & Siegel, 1961; Yates & Taylor, 1978) in that the mesomorphic (average body build) was considered as the most favorable, over the ectomorph or endomorph (fatty body build). Spillman and Everington (1989) suggested that today college females are preoccupied with images of thinness promoted by the media.
Research proposes that television may have a powerful influence on body image.
For example, Heinberg and Thompson (1995) investigated the effects of exposure to television media messages on women's body image. One hundred thirty-eight Caucasian female college undergraduates viewed television commercials (demonstrating images of thinness and attractiveness) that contained either appearance-related commercials or non- appearance-related advertisements. The television media image focusing on idealized female models led subjects to compare themselves to the models portrayed in the media and led to negative feelings about their own bodies. That is, the greater exposure to media images was associated with lower levels of body image (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995).
The findings suggest that media-presented images of thinness and attractiveness may negatively affect mood (e.g., depression, anger, anxiety) and body satisfaction.
In another example, Myers and Biocca (1992) examined how television advertising and programming affect young women's perceptions of their own bodies. Female college students viewed a tape including a combination of ideal-body-related or non-body-related programming or commercials. As a result, ideal-body-related programming or commercials had an effect on women's body image; that is, young women's body image was so elastic that their perception of body shape was changed by watching less than 30 minutes of television. These results suggest "If the mental construct of a woman's body image is
2 1 responsive to cues, television appears to be a significant carrier of those cues. Television messages that are fixated on the representation of the ideal female body immediately led the female subjects to thoughts about their own bodies. This in turn led to the measurable fluctuations and disturbances in their body image. In their mind's eye, their body shape had changed" (Myers & Biocca, 1992, p. 126).
At the same time, it is suggested that the current cultural preoccupation with thinness has contributed to the increasing emergence of eating disorders (e.g.. Gamer &
Garfinkel, 1980; Striegel-More et al., 1986). For example, Greenfeld and Quinlan (1987) found that in their sample, 44.6% of the girls experienced serious binge eating behaviors.
Researchers (e.g., Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Silverstein, Perdue, Peterson & Kelly, 1986) support that one of the strongest influences on the development of eating disorders is mass media.
In summary, researchers (e.g., Morse & Gergen, 1970; Rudd & Lennon, 1994;
Wood, 1989) believed that exposure to idealized media images through social comparison impacts self-esteem, body image, and disordered eating such as binge eating because mass media, filled with idealized images, promotes such thin standards. Thus, exposure to media images might lead to lower self-esteem, lower body image and greater disordered eating behavior in women.
Media Exposure. Social Comparison and Consumption
In American culture, a consumer society, "media images create materialism or a consiuner culture" (Richins, 1995, p. 595). Many idealized images represent a highly desirable life that can be attained by only a few people in society. The level of beauty and physical attractiveness is represented by nearly all actors and models. Because media images do not present real life, they represent a biased life (Duval, Duval, & Mulilis,
22 1992). Idealized media images which are pervasive play a central role in social
comparisons (Richins, 1991). They lead to consumers' increasing desire to consume
(Richins, 1995). Because the idealized levels of wealth and consumption are represented
by the idealized media images, frequent exposure to idealized images lead the individual's
desire to more wealth or more consumption (Duval, Duval, & Mulilis, 1992).
From the media, acquiring more possessions and being more attractive are seen as
more closely representative of the ideal of "the good life" (Richins, 1995; Rindfleisch,
Burroughs & Denton, 1997). These idealized media images may affect consumers'
motivation to acquire more possessions (Richins, 1995; Rindfleisch, et al., 1997).
Comparisons with those images lead to consumers' dissatisfaction and increased striving
to achieve the idealized images. That is, feelings of inadequacy compared to the idealized
media images may lead to negative self-feelings of deficiency or dissatisfaction. These
negative self-feelings may prompt a desire to 'get more' as a route to happiness in order to
enhance feelings of self-worth (Duval, Duval, & Mulilis, 1992). However, negative
consequences of increasing acquisition sometimes include lack of attention to social
relationships, and excessive debt (Belk, 1988).
According to Richins (1995), through advertising, idealized images can stimulate
the desire for more. Comparison with these idealized images results in an upward shift of
consumers' expectations for the standard of living they believe they should achieve. Thus,
media images impact consumers' perceptions and feelings about themselves. Although
individuals can avoid negative self-feelings by simply refusing to compare themselves
with idealized media images, it is very hard because many comparisons are unconscious
(Richins, 1995). "Frequent exposure to images of wealthy, beautiful, and happy people generates a false reality in which the uncommon and ideal become mundane and attainable.
In our daily unconscious assessments of our lives, we continually fall short. For some, the
23 result is a continual striving and a desire for more, accompanied by a feeling of missing out, of having less than what ought to be." (Richins, 1995, p. 603).
In summary, lower self-esteem may be the result of allowing outside influences to define our body image for us. This is hardly surprising, since mass media constantly has emphasized physical attractiveness (Cash, Cash, & Butters, 1993). These social comparisons with idealized media images of beauty may lead to negative feelings about one's body, low self-esteem, and dissatisfaction with one's attractiveness, as well as increased spending of time and money with a greater desire to become attractive. Also, because consumer goods play an important role in American culture, material values are related to low self-esteem with one's life, and an insatiable desire for more possessions
(Richins & Dawson, 1992). It appears that media exposure to idealized images may lead to consumers' negative self-feeling or dissatisfaction, which may in turn promote a greater tendency for increased spending. That is, the resulting negative feelings or dissatisfaction may lead to greater tendency to consume, leading to more unwise consumer consumption such as compulsive shopping behaviors.
Compulsive Buying
Shopping is a normal and routine experience for most people; however, for some, excessive shopping has become "an all-encompassing central part of their existence. They experience uncontrollable urges to shop or buy. These urges create a mounting tension or anxiety that can only be relieved by buying. However, this relief is usually only momentary. Over time, buying often leads to severe emotional, financial, and interpersonal consequences" (Faber, 1992, p. 809).
24 Researchers have recently shown increased interest in understanding negative consumption behaviors such as compulsive buying (e.g., Faber, O'Guinn & Krych, 1988).
Negative consumption behaviors must be studied in order to more fully understand the effects of the consumption process on society and the well-being of others (Hirschman,
1992). One such negative consumption behavior is compulsive buying. Impulsive buying and compulsive buying behaviors have a similarity of unplaimed purchasing, however, compulsive buying has more negative consequences (O’Guinn & Faber, 1989).
As many as 5.9% of Americans may suffer from compulsive buying (Hassay &
Smith, 1996). Compulsive buying is connected with a chronic loss of impulse control.
This chronic loss of control can develop into a pattern that will repeat itself and that will be characterized by serious consequences (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Compulsive shoppers organize their lives around a broad range of shopping experiences. Researchers
(e.g., Hassay & Smith, 1996; McElroy, Keck, & Phillips, 1995) suggest that compulsive consumption behaviors are motivated by a compulsive impulse. For example, it was
found that consumption behaviors such as impulse buying, compulsive buying, compulsive gambling, bulimia nervosa, kleptomania and compulsive consumption are variously motivated by such factors as impulses, anxious feelings, tension, urges, cravings, longings and hungers. In addition, compulsive consumption is associated with significant psychiatric comorbidity, particularly mood disorders, anxiety reactions and obsessions, disorders including obsessive-compulsive disorder, and disorders of impulse control (Monahan, Black, & Gabel, 1996).
While some psychologists suggest that compulsive behaviors relieve stress experienced by the individual from pressure to perform or succeed at tasks or caused by
low self-esteem, sociologists suggest that compulsive behaviors originate from peer pressure or from beliefs about cultural norms (O'Guin & Faber, 1989). The media (e.g..
25 advertising), while not necessarily a direct cause of this behavior, may encourage a compulsive buyer with low self-esteem to relieve the problem through compulsive consumption (Faber & O'Guinn, 1988). Faber and Christenson (1996) examined mood states of compulsive buyers before and during shopping and discovered that compulsive buyers improved their mood by shopping and experienced more extreme mood states than did the control sample. Compulsive buying is characterized by an irresistible urge to buy and some form of tension relief after a purchase (McElroy et al., 1995). Compulsive buyers feel varying degrees of guilt or depression following a binge buying session.
Compulsive shoppers may experience "heightened sensations - colors and textures are more intense during a buying binge - and some claim to reach extreme levels of focus and concentration while perusing store shelves" ("Compulsive shopping," 1995, p. 8). Some individuals find this experience similar to drug euphoria or they find it to be sexually arousing (Monahan et al., 1996).
Compulsive buying is not classified in DSM-IV (American Psychiatric
Association, 1994) as a mental disorder and there are no widely accepted operational criteria for its diagnosis. Nevertheless, Hirschman (1992) suggested the idea of addictive consumption indicating that compulsive buyers have similar characteristics and that their behaviors have common causes and similar patterns of development. For example, compulsive buyers feel varying degrees of guilt or depression following a binge buying session, which has the potential for causing personal distress, financial indebtedness, and marital and family discord (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). According to McElroy, Keck, and
Pope's study (1994), of 20 compulsive buyers, 12 people reported being in debt due to their compulsive buying, and three declared bankruptcy. As an another example, in the study of Schlosser, Black, and Repertinger (1994), 46 compulsive buyers' average debt was $5,422 out of an average yearly income o f $23,443. Some research has presented
26 information on the use of credit by compulsive buyers. For example, O'Guinn and Faber
(1989) found that compulsive buyers own significantly more credit cards than
noncompulsive buyers.
Hassay and Smith (1996) examined compulsive buyers in an attempt to
differentiate them from noncompulsive buyers. They found that compulsive buyers were
more likely to report greater concern for return policies and to have returned more
products in the previous 6 months than noncompulsive buyers. Compulsive buyers may
select stores with return policies that allow them to return unwanted products
anonymously. Also they indicated a lower level of satisfaction with direct mail purchases
than noncompulsive buyers. They suggest that compulsive buyers are motivated by
acquisition rather than accumulation. That is, possession was the motivation for their
purchase. Compulsive buyers are believed "to be less attached to the purchase item and,
therefore, more willing to part with it to support future acquisition" (p. 746). Thus,
compulsive buyers might exhibit greater concern for store return policies.
Compulsive Buying. Binge Eating and Self-Esteem
Although the literature views compulsive buying as an undesirable form of
behavior for both the individual and society, for some individuals, compulsive behaviors
appear to provide temporary reduction in stress and tension. Research (e.g., Faber &
O'Guinn, 1988; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989) reported that low self-esteem is related to
compulsive buying behavior. For example, Hirschman (1992) suggests that compulsive consumption may temporarily restore a sense of high self-concept. Also compulsive buyers sometimes appear to use the act of purchasing as a means to bolster self-esteem and enhance interpersonal relations (O'Guirm & Faber, 1989).
27 Compulsive buyers spend much of their lives trying to please other people, and they are also more impulsive than average ("Compulsive shopping," 1995). According to
O'Guinn and Faber (1989), the items which compulsive buyers purchased most frequently were clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, and gifts for significant others. They pointed out that shopping for these items "creates an interaction in which the salesperson dotes, telling buyers how attractive they look, what a good parent they are, or how much someone will appreciate them for giving this gift" (p. 154). These interactions may allow the compulsive buyers to enhance their self-esteem (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). All these might suggest that although the impulses to buy are perhaps related to tension and experienced as uncomfortable, the compulsive behavior is cormected with relief, pleasure, and enhanced self-esteem (Faber et al., 1995). Compulsive buyers often appear to be more interested in attaining positive interpersonal interactions and increased self-esteem from their purchases than economic or utilitarian value (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). As with binge eating, compulsive buying has been viewed as a means of altering negative affect, and compulsive buyers have been found to achieve short-term gratification from their buying behavior (Christenson et al., 1994; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Negative or undesirable mood states have also been shown to precede conclusive buying episodes, and short-term improvements in mood are reported to follow these experiences (Faber,
O'Guinn, & Krych, 1987). Based on previous research, binge eating behaviors and compulsive buyers share some similar psychological characteristics and that both behaviors may provide short-term relief from dysphoric feelings. However, long-term compulsive consumption is harmful and has adverse consequences for most individuals
(Hirschman, 1992; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989).
On the other hand, some research ("Compulsive shopping," 1995; d'Astous, 1990;
McElroy et al., 1995) revealed that compulsive buying has many similarities with binge
28 eating in that most compulsive buyers are females, they are more likely to have anxiety disorders, and have lower self-esteem than normal shoppers.
Faber, Christenson, Zwaan, and Mitchell (1995) also support this finding in that there exists comorbidity for compulsive buying and binge eating. For their research, two separate studies were conducted to examine the comorbidity of compulsive buying and binge eating to determine if both behaviors as compulsive consumption disorders are interrelated. A Compulsive Buying Scale (1992) and an Eating Disorder Questionnaire
(1985) were developed by the investigators. The reasons why the researchers chose compulsive buying and binge eating among many other disorders was that both have a number of significant similarities; both conditions involve an inability to control the urge to overconsume, both have impulse control problems, and have some similarities in psychological profiles, especially low levels of self-esteem. The researchers examined if binge eaters were more likely to engage in compulsive buying than nonbinge eaters, and if compulsive buyers were more likely to have symptoms of binge eating than non compulsive buyers. Results found that binge eaters had significantly greater compulsive buying tendencies than nonbinge eaters of similar weight, and that compulsive buyers were more likely to have engaged in binge eating. Compulsive buyers tend to be younger than the general population and to be female. In addition, there were significant differences in attitudes and feelings associated with weight and body shape between compulsive buyers and non-compulsive buyers. Compulsive buyers felt much fatter, had a greater fear of becoming fat, were more dissatisfied with their body proportions, and tended to use diet pills significantly more to control their weight than noncompulsive buyers. That is, compulsive buyers had more body dissatisfaction and more negative
feelings related to weight changes than noncompulsive buyers. The investigators concluded that "growing up female in Western culture may socialize women to engage in
29 both shopping and weight control behaviors. In addition, many women leam that they can gain attention, praise, and pleasure from these behaviors. For some, these activities may become ways of at least temporarily overcoming negative psychological states, and if successful, they may frequently be repeated." (p. 302).
Although there is no research on the relationship between compulsive buying and body image directly, based on previous research they might be correlated with each other in that both are related to self-esteem and body satisfaction, are found mostly in females, and are sometimes related to having binge eating as a type of body image disturbance. That is, it is possible that those women who have a poor body image or who engage in binge eating may also engage in more compulsive buying behaviors.
In summary, "self-esteem may even influence what they buy" ("Compulsive shopping," 1995, p.8). Boosting self-esteem might be the key motivation behind compulsive buying. Furthermore, as O'Guinn and Faber (1989) pointed out, interaction between a salesperson and a compulsive buyer seems to positively promote social interaction and self-esteem. Compulsive buyers appear to use the act of purchasing as a means to bolster self-esteem and enhance interpersonal relations (O'Guinn & Faber,
1989). This type of interaction may be established with hosts of television shopping programs. Thus, the convenience of credit cards and home shopping television programs may promote compulsive buying behaviors for those with low self-esteem.
Television Shopping
The growth of sales from television shopping is expected to continue at a rate of
20% over the next few years ("The New Competition", 1994); in fact, sales could range from $30 billion to $250 billion in the next 10 years ("The New Competition," 1994).
30 Quality Value Convenience (QVC), a major shopping channel in the U.S., reported sales figures of approximately $1.5 billion in 1993. Another shopping channel, the Home
Shopping Network reported sales figures of approximately $1 billion in 1993. Overall, television shopping networks have reported sales of over $2.5 billion ("The New
Competition," 1994). More and more television shopping channels are appearing and, in the future, it is expected that shoppers will have access to as many as 500 shopping channels ("The New Competition," 1994). The outlook for future sales and network growth may continue to increase as more consumers use television shopping for a large part of their purchases.
Researchers (e.g., Fisher, 1990; Sarkissian, 1989) pointed out ± a t a number of factors have influenced the growth of in-home shopping. These factors include consumers' new life styles, less time to engage in leisure activities, more women in the work force, a desire for more service and convenience, increased usage of credit cards, and in-store shopping problems (e.g., unhelpful sales personnel, feeling unsafe while shopping in malls and, lack of energy to handle packages and children).
In a recent Aragon Consulting Group study, more than six in ten respondents said they never watched television shopping programs. However, among those who do watch, nearly two out of five have made a purchase ("Shopping from the sofa," 1997). M ost research (e.g., Cunningham & Cunningham, 1973; Darian, 1987; Rapp, 1984) has examined attitudes/ interests/ opinions regarding home shopping. For instance, television shoppers tend to have more convenience and affiliation motivations and are more often females than non-shoppers (James & Cunningham, 1987). However, previous research has presented conflicting information on the television shopper's age. For example, while
James and Cunningham (1987) pointed out that when compared to non-shoppers, television shoppers tend to be younger, other research (e.g., "Shopping from the sofa,"
3 1 1997; Stanforth, Lennon & Moore, 1997) revealed that television shopping consumers are older.
Consumers may consider television shopping for apparel too risky because of the lack of opportunities to examine the product prior to purchase. While store retailing presents a variety of clothing items for consumers to see, touch, and try on, television shopping does not provide that type of situation. Stanforth, Lennon and Moore (1997) found that non-television apparel shoppers perceived higher risk than television apparel shoppers. Their respondents were concerned that consumers cannot touch and try on the merchandise and would have difficulties returning the item if not satisfied. Thus how to reduce perceived risk through television shopping is a significant question for the future.
Television Shopping. Compulsive Buying. Body Image, Binge Eating, and Self-Esteem
The majority of shopping experiences on television seem likely to be impulsive buying situations given the nature of the television shopping format in which buyers do not know what kinds of merchandise will be sold on the program they watch. Also the convenience afforded by television orders with a credit card may promote the shoppers' compulsive shopping behavior. Merchandisers have succeeded in creating a direct financial and emotional relationship with consumers, thereby strengthening the bond between impulsive buyers and the television "store" (Grant, Guthrie, & Ball-Rokeach,
1991). Hunt (1996) quoted marketing professor, Jim Roberts, on the baby busters' generation as the first to receive full-scale exposure to television viewing, "Viewers tend to intemalize the meaningfulness of television characters based on their surroundings, physical appearance, and possessions. These perceptions in turn create an environment conducive to compulsive buying, while television advertising further reinforces
32 materialism among members of society and 'fans the flames' of compulsive buyers"
(p. 10).
Often, consumers are aware of the addictive nature of television shopping shows.
According to Harden (1996), a sample of older consumers (age 60 or older) identified a need for self-discipline in using television shopping "in order to prevent getting 'hooked' or addicted to buying products haphazardly. Several participants stated, 'it's like a disease', while one participant stated, 'people get hooked on it and they will buy practically anything' " (p.60). This awareness of the seductive nature of television shopping may or may not be apparent to consumers with tendencies toward compulsive buying behaviors.
As O'Guinn and Faber (1989) indicated, compulsive buyers appear to use the act of purchasing as a means to bolster self-esteem and enhance interpersonal relations. This type of interaction may be established with hosts of television shopping programs, that is parasocial interaction. A key component of the television shopping program may be the concept of parasocial interaction (Horton & Wohl, 1956). Parasocial interaction describes the "mock social relationship audience members develop with media personae" (Auter &
Moore, 1993, p. 425). Through a parasocial interaction, television viewers begin to feel as if they know and care about the media personality as they would an intimate friend
(Perse & Rubin, 1989). Overtime, television viewers gradually set up their schedules to correspond to a television program in order to have a regular relationship with a media personality. They may feel the television personality is a close friend and might try to write a letter or call the television personality because they want contact with him/her.
Parasocial interaction has been connected to callers and hosts in the television programs (Rubin, Perse & Powell, 1985). Grant, Guthrie, and Ball-Rokeach (1991) examined the idea of parasocial interaction with the hosts of television programs using
33 media system dependency theory. They found that television shopping viewing time
and purchases were related to television shopping viewer-buyers' dependency on the
shopping programs. They concluded that television viewers who have a strong
dependency relationship with the television shopping programs tend to develop
parasocial relationships with television shopping hosts. That is, television viewer-buyers
may develop a parasocial relationship with the host. Compulsive buyers may use
parasocial interaction with hosts of television shopping programs like a form of
interpersonal relationship.
"Television has a number of essential qualities that may contribute to its impact as
an agent of consumer socialization" (O'Guirm & Shrum, 1997, p. 279). Today, the average
American family watches more than seven hours of television per day, and the average
individual watches more than four hours per day (Nielson, 1995).
Television shoppers may perhaps spend more time watching television shopping
charmels than non-television shoppers. As Gerbner et al. (1978) indicated heavy
television viewers tend to believe that the real world is similar to the world as it is
portrayed on television. Television portrays a world where wealth is seen as both
desirable and common. If this is accepted as an accurate view of real life, then viewers
may overestimate the number of things that other people have. The result of this
misperception may be unhappiness or dissatisfaction because of the belief that others
have more than they do. Also, Downs and Harrison (1985) supported that television
viewers are exposed to greater amounts of attractiveness-based messages due to many
hours of television viewing (Downs & Harrison, 1985). This may mean television
shoppers might be more affected by media images from the shopping channels, causing
greater negative effects on their evaluation of their body images and self-esteem. While behavior may not be directly a result of media influence, a tendency for compulsive
34 buyers to increase shopping may exist. Therefore, this research may be valuable in understanding compulsive buying among television shoppers with regard to self-esteem and body image.
This study will be of value to body image and eating disorder researchers, as well as to coimselors and therapists who treat compulsive shoppers. The introduction of body image as a variable in this treatment could enhance compulsive shoppers' recovery. The effect of cultural ideals of beauty can lead to discovery of treatments for increasing self esteem and body image. Television shopping might become the "drug of choice" for compulsive shoppers; it provides an easy method of shopping through credit card use and is convenient. Compulsive shoppers may indulge their compulsion in the privacy of their own homes away from the judgments of others (e.g., store personnel and family and friends), just as binge eaters usually eat in secret.
Model of the Effects of Television Shopping Channel Exposure on the Evaluation of
Television Shopper's Body Image, Self-Esteem, Binge Eating, and Compulsive Buying
A model is proposed to explain how social comparison through television shopping channel exposure relate to body image, self-esteem, and binge eating, and compulsive buying among television shoppers (see Figure 1). This model proposes the relationship between cultural norms, individuals' evaluations of their appearances and their feelings of self-worth, and their possible disordered eating behaviors and compulsive buying.
In this model, sociocultural norms impact women's appearance standards
(Hueston, Dermerstein, & Gotts, 1985). Mass media such as television strongly influence individuals' appearance standards (Cash & Brown, 1989; Heinberg & Thompson, 1995).
35 Through social comparison, individuals may compare themselves to idealized images in television, or in magazines, or with peers or siblings. Media images on television may strongly affect television shoppers since there has been an escalation in television's preoccupation with beauty and thinness (Gamer et al., 1980; Wiseman et al., 1990).
Social comparison with idealized highly attractive media images may lead to negative feelings about appearance such as body dissatisfaction, that is, lower body image scores (Cash & Brown, 1989). The greater exposure to television media images is related to lower levels of body image (Heinberg & Thompson, 1995).
Self-esteem is thought to be a potential mediator between television media exposure and body image, binge eating, and/or compulsive buying. Comparison to idealized media images may cause women's body dissatisfaction; comparison with idealized television images may lead to lower self-esteem (Irving, 1990; Lennon & Rudd,
1994; Martin & Kennedy, 1994; Rudd & Lennon, 1994). Media exposure to idealized thin models may result in lower self-esteem. Thus, lower self-esteem may lead to lower body image because body image has been derived from women's self-esteem (Markus,
1977). Also, self-esteem plays an important role in the development of binge eating
(Strauman & Glenberg, 1994). This is supported by much research (e.g.. Joiner et ai.,
1995) in that body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, especially binge eating, have been viewed as specific outcomes of low self-esteem.
A route from television media exposure to body image or binge eating may be explained through self-esteem (Stowers & Durm, 1996; Sullivan & Haraish, 1990;
Usmiani & Daniluk, 1997). In other words, exposure to television media images may lead to lower body image directly, or through lower self-esteem, lead to lower body image and binge eating indirectly. Low self-esteem is a strong predictor of binge eating severity regardless of weight (de Zwaan et al, 1994; Wolf & Crowther, 1983). As
3 6 research support (e.g., de Zwaan, Nutzinger, & Schoenbeck, 1992; Marcus et al., 1990), there is a positive relationship between binge severity and body dissatisfaction, and between binge eating diagnosis and weight and shape concern. Body dissatisfaction is greater in binge eaters than non-binge eaters. Based on previous research, comparison to idealized media images may cause women's body dissatisfaction. More body dissatisfaction may lead to more binge eating in that women feel failure in reaching the cultural standard of beauty. Then, they begin dieting to reduce their weight, increasing the frequency and severity of binge eating (Spitzer et al., 1993). Thus, it is possible that negative body image is a predictor of binge eating.
On the other hand, the mass media may contribute to consumer socialization
(O'Guinn & Faber, 1987) in American culture because the most common social comparison may be with media images on television. These television media images are pervasive, advocating or allowing consumers to compare themselves with others on material possessions and level of attractiveness (Richins, 1995; Rindfleisch, Burroughs &
Denton, 1997). Because television portrays a world in which wealth and attractiveness are seen as "the good life" (Richins, 1995; Rindfleisch, Burroughs & Denton, 1997), idealized television images may affect consumers' expectations of "what ought to be" by increasing motivations to acquire more possessions in an attempt to more closely attain the ideal. When women feel dissatisfaction in comparison to idealized television media images, they may question how they can make themselves more satisfied. They may attempt 'getting more' as route to happiness. This social comparison may lead them to want to have "what everyone else has". Thus, their desire for acquiring more possessions may lead to unwise consumer spending such as compulsive buying.
Comparisons with these images may lead to women's inferiority feelings or negative feelings with respect to the ideal (Richins, 1995). Thus, comparison to television
37 media exposure may lead to low self-esteem with one's life. This result of low self esteem also may lead to a greater tendency to engage in binge eating behavior (Faber,
Christenson, Zwaan, & Mitchell, 1995; Strauman & Glenber, 1994) or in compulsive shopping behaviors with a desire for more consumption (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). As previous research supports, compulsive buying and binge eating, one type of body image disturbance, are viewed as similar behaviors related to lower self-esteem or poor impulse control (Faber et al., 1995; Faber & O'Guinn, 1992; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Because of the positive connection between compulsive buying and binge eating behaviors, some research (Faber et al., 1995; Faber & O'Guinn, 1992; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989) indicates that bolstering self-esteem might be the key to reducing compulsive buying and binge eating. According to Faber, Christenson, Zwaan, and Mitchell (1995), women who engage in binge eating significantly tend to engage in greater compulsive buying. Also, those who have a tendency to compulsively buy tend to also engage in binge eating.
Thus, these behaviors may be interrelated. Engaging in these behaviors may provide an escape from the negative self-feelings in the short term, although they may increase negative self-feelings in the long term (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992; Monahan, Black, Gabel,
1996; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989).
No research has been found which examines the relationship between body image and compulsive buying directly, although research shows that they may link with each other in that both are associated with self-esteem and disordered eating behavior such as binge eating. Thus, the societal pressures to attain the idealized television media images may lead to compulsive buying behavior as a reaction to failure to meet the cultural standard.
Because television viewers are exposed to greater amounts of attractiveness-based messages due to many hours of television viewing (Downs & Harrion, 1985), television
3 8 shoppers might be more affected by media images from television shopping channels causing greater negative effect on their evaluation of their body image, lowered self esteem, disordered eating such as binge eating, and compulsive buying (Downs &
Harrison, 1985; Harrison & Cantor, 1997; Myers & Biocca, 1992; O'Guinn & Shrum,
1997). This social comparison may also lead to a greater desire to have things in order to be positively evaluated by others. These processes can lead television viewers to acquire more things, that is, compulsive spending to get more things. In addition, because the television shopping format does not allow shoppers to preview most of the merchandise, and because the format also provides the convenience of placing television orders with a credit card, compulsive shopping behaviors are promoted. All these factors may lead to more compulsive buying behaviors for television shoppers with low self-esteem.
Therefore, television shopping channel exposure may relate to low body image, low self esteem, binge eating, and compulsive buying behavior.
In summary, this model suggests relationships among television shopping channel exposure, physical appearance and feelings of self-worth, binge eating, and compulsive buying behaviors.
Hypotheses
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships among television shopping channel exposure, body image, self-esteem, binge eating, and compulsive buying among television shoppers. Based on the model, the following hypotheses are proposed.
Hypothesis One: In television shoppers, lower levels of self-esteem will be associated with lower levels of body image.
3 9 Hypothesis Two: In television shoppers, lower levels of self-esteem will be associated with higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies.
Hypothesis Three: In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with lower levels of body image.
Hypothesis Four: In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with higher levels of binge eating tendencies.
Hypothesis Five: a) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels of body image.
Hypothesis Five: b) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels of self-esteem.
Hypothesis Six: a) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies.
Hypothesis Six: b) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with higher levels of binge eating tendencies.
Hypothesis Seven: a) In television shoppers, higher levels of binge eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of body image.
Hypothesis Seven: b) In television shoppers, higher levels of binge eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of self-esteem.
40 TV Shopping Channel Social Exposure Comparison
Setf-Esteem
Body Image Compulsive Buying
Binge Eating
Figure I
Figure 1) Model of the relationships among television shopping channel exposure, body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, and binge eating in television shoppers
4 1 CHAPTERS
METHODOLOGY
Sample
For this research, survey methodology was used. Questionnaires were mailed to
1000 women who had purchased merchandise via television. Their names were randomly selected from a purchased mailing list of known television shoppers of major shopping channels. The information in the mailing list was compiled through very detailed surveys the individuals filled out and returned to a national "behavior bank" of information that is updated every 4 weeks, and not from the shopping channels directly. A cover letter
included a brief description of the research purpose. A lottery incentive of $100 was awarded to one participant through a drawing to ensure greater cooperation. Only subjects who were 18 years or older were asked to participate in this study. Human
Subject Review Committee approved exemption status for the research subjects.
Procedure
Questionnaire packets were mailed to television shoppers. After completing the questionnaire, participants were asked to return it to the researcher with a postage-paid business reply envelope. A thank you/reminder postcard was mailed one week after the initial mailing to increase response rate. The second questionnaire was mailed two weeks later to respondents (797) who did not return the first questionnaire. As a result of the 993 deliverable questionnaires, 252 were returned after the first mailing and 108
42 more were returned after the second mailing for a total of 360. Approximately 7.2 percent of those returned were eliminated because six respondents did not complete the questionnaire, and based on social desirability and infrequency scales, twenty of the returned questionnaires were not suitable; either a score of 2 or higher on the Infrequency or a score of 13 or higher on the Social Desirability scale rendered the questionnaire unusable because these answers indicated that the respondent presented herself in a socially desirable manner rather than a truthful manner or in a random or haphazard manner. Therefore, 334 questionnaires from respondents were included in the data analysis. The return rate was 33.6%. This return rate is similar to that found in other research. Eastlick and Feinberg (1995) reported a return rate of 35% (458 out of 1500 catalog shoppers). Stanforth et al.'s study (1997) reported a 33.3% return rate (990 out of
2995 television shoppers). The survey instrument used for this study consisted of a self-administered questiormaire, containing the following instruments: Demographic information, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, MBSRQ Scale, Compulsive Buying Scale,
EDQ questionnaire, and Social Desirability and Infrequency Scales.
Responses by states between respondents and non-respondents were calculated
(see Appendix 9). For most states (96%), the percentage of those who responded was between 20% and 50% of a state's residents on the mailing list. There were no respondents from Idaho or Montana. However, market research firms often divide the states into various geographical regions using subjective criteria, thus differences may exist in response rates. It is difficult to determine the extent of the television shopping services of the various television cable companies in each state. Certainly some states may have fewer television shopping channel choices than others, and this may in some cases have influenced the response rates, but to conduct a state-by-state analysis of
43 shopping channel availabilities would require a great amount of research of demographic information.
Instrument
Demographic information. This section included age, education level, ethnicity, marital status, occupation, yearly income, clothing size (dress), community size, disabled or home-bound status, television shopping charmel viewing time (an average weekday, an average Saturday, and an average Sunday), payment method (e.g., credit card usage), weight and height, the frequency of use of television shopping, items purchased from shopping channels, and the number of credit cards and credit limit.
Self-Esteem Scale. This 10-item scale developed by Rosenberg (1965) was used to measure self-esteem. This scale is known to have strong reliability (.86) and validity
(Demo. 1985). Originally this measure used a 4-point Likert scale with (1) Strongly
Disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Agree, to (4) Strongly Agree. For this study, the scale was reformed to a 5-point Likert scale to include neutral response, using (1) Strongly
Disagree. (2) Disagree, (3) Neutral, (4) Agree, and (5) Strongly Agree. Some examples of items from the Self-Esteem Scale are "1 certainly feel useless at times." or " I do not have much to be proud of."
Multidimensional Bodv-Self Relations Questionnaire. This MBSRQ scale was used to measure body image. The MBSRQ instrument contained well-validated subscales
(Cash, 1994; Cash et al., 1986). The MBSRQ scale includes eight scales: Appearance
Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, Body Areas Satisfaction, Fitness Evaluation, Fimess
Orientation, Health Evaluation, Health Orientation, and Weight Preoccupation and Weight
Label. These subscales have internal reliabilities ranging from .65 to .91, and high validity
(e.g.. Cash & Green, 1986; Noles, Cash, & Winstead, 1985; Winstead & Cash, 1984).
44 This instrument has often been used in research measuring college students' body image.
For example, Noles, Cash, and Winstead (1985) surveyed 163 college women and 61
college men who were enrolled in a psychology class with this instrument. Cash and
Green (1986) investigated 36 female college students' body image with the MBSRQ scale.
However, Cash and Henry (1995) used the MBSRQ scale in order to survey 803 adult
females (with an age range of 18 to 70 years) to represent the U.S. population of adult
women. Evaluation subscales measure individuals' extent of liking and satisfaction with
their appearance, health, and fitness. An example of an item fi-om Appearance Evaluation
subscale is "I like my looks just the way they are." The orientation subscales measure the
degree of importance and attention placed on the individual's body image domains of
appearance, health, and fitness. An example of an item from the Appearance Orientation
subscale is "I am careful to buy clothes that will make me look my best." These
subscales consist of a 5-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (definitely disagree) to 5
(definitely agree). The Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label subscales measure
weight-related attitudes. The Weight Preoccupation subscale measures self-reported
concern with weight. An example of this scale is "I constantly worry about being or
becoming fat." The Weight Label subscale meastu-es self- and other-classified perceptions
of overweight. Two examples of items are "I think 1 am...." and "From looking at me,
most other people would think I am...." This subscale is a 5-point Likert scale ranging
from 1 (very underweight) to 5 (very overweight). For this research. Appearance
Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, and Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label were the body image subscales used because these scales are related to physical appearance.
The Compulsive Buving Scale. To measure respondents' level of compulsive buying tendencies, the Compulsive Buying Scale (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992) was used.
The scale consists of seven statements regarding subject's feelings and emotions related to
45 shopping and buying. Faber and O'Guinn (1992) developed a scale to screen compulsive buyers from the general population. "The examination of the 22 members of the general population who were identified as compulsive buyers by the screening instrument provides the strongest evidence of validity" (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992, p. 464). The scale has strong internal reliability (.86) and validity (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992). They conducted in-depth interviews with identified compulsive buyers to select essential characteristics to reflect compulsive buyers in a screening instrument. As a result, 29 items were entered into a Logistic regression to develop a predictive model. Question #3 "Bought things even though I couldn't afford them." was the most powerful in its discriminating ability as an important characteristic of compulsive buying. The authors provided an equation to aid in scoring, as well as a detailed account of how the scale was developed (see Appendix 5).
The first statement is scored separately from the rest on a scale of (1) Strongly Agree to
(5) Strongly Disagree. Statements two through seven are scored from (1) Very Often to
(5) Never. An example of an item from the Compulsive Buying Scale is "If I have any money left at the end of the pay period, I just have to spend it."
Eating Disorders Questionnaire. To measure binge eating behavior, the EDQ
(Mitchell, Hatsukami, Eckert, & Pyle, 1985) was used for this study because this scale was used by Faber et al. (1995) who examined the relationship between compulsive buying and binge eating. The EDQ is a self-report measure and contains information on not only subjects' weight and body proportions but also subjects' history of engaging in eating behaviors such as dieting, binge eating, and purging. For this research, the Binge-
Eating Behavior Questionnaire was used to measure binge eating behavior. This instrument included six items related to symptoms of binge eating, based on DSM-IV criteria (e.g., consume large amoimts, eat very rapidly, feel out of control, feel miserable or annoyed afterward, get uncontrollable urge to eat until feeling physically ill, binge eat in
46 private). The response format is a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5
(always). Cronbach's alpha for the present sample was .85. The mid-point score is considered a cut-off to distinguish between binge eaters and non-binge eaters (Mitchell et al., 1998).
Social Desirabilitv and Infrequencv Scales. These scales (Jackson, 1984) were used to measure a socially desirable and a random response set. As researchers (e.g..
Ballard, Crino, & Rubenfeld, 1988) have indicated, there is the possibility that self-report measures might be contaminated by social desirability response bias - a person's tendency to answer questions in a socially desirable rather than a truthful maimer. This scale includes the 32-item true-false Social Desirability and Infrequency Scales. An example of an item from the Social Desirability Scale is "I am always prepared to do what is expected of me." The Infrequency Scale measures careless responding with items such as, "1 have never talked to anyone by telephone." or "1 make all my own clothes and shoes." Even numbered items are the Social Desirability scale, while the odd numbered items are the
Infrequency scale. A score of 13 or higher on the Social Desirability scale suggests that the respondent is trying to present herself in a socially desirable manner. A score of 2 or higher on the Infrequency scale means that the respondent is responding in a random or haphazard manner. Odd-even reliability for the Social Desirability Scale and the
Infrequency Scale have been reported as .68 and .71, respectively (Jackson. 1984).
Responses that exceeded these cutoffs were not used in data analysis.
A fixed order was used so that respondents would answer questions from general to specific items, or from less complex items to more complex. The order in the questionnaire was as follows: Demographic information, self-esteem, body image subscales, compulsive buying scale, binge eating scale, and social desirability scale. The rationale for fixed question ordering in this study was that starting with easy questions
47 such as demographic information (e.g.. age, ethnic background) makes it easy for respondents to answer quickly (Diliman, 1978). Also, counter-balanced questions may produce negative results because some early answers may affect answers to other later questions in the sequence. For instance, if self-esteem questions came after the body image subscales or the compulsive buying scale, those responses might affect subjects' feelings of self-esteem, resulting in a type of response bias. Also, Dillman (1978) pointed out, the less objectionable questions should be placed first before the more objectionable questions. Because compulsive buying and binge eating questions may be very sensitive so that these items may reveal respondents' private information, respondents might find them objectionable. Thus, these questions were placed after the self-esteem and body image subscales. Social desirability scales were at the end of the questionnaire because if responding occurs in a haphazard manner, it may be caught at the end of the survey.
Pilot Test
For this study, a pilot test was conducted to examine if all items of the questionnaire were understandable and clear to subjects. For the pilot test, the investigator distributed the questionnaire to 22 undergraduate students in Textiles and
Clothing 270 (Aesthetics of Appearance) as a sample group. The subjects were asked if they had any problems understanding the questionnaire or had specific comments regarding the questionnaire. The format for responding was through open-ended questions. There were no specific comments, suggesting that respondents had no difficulty in understanding the questions.
48 CHAPTER 4
ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlational coefficients, and multiple or simple regressions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for each variable.
Regression analyses were used to determine the relationship of level of self-esteem to body image, compulsive shopping behavior to self-esteem, the body image subscales to compulsive shopping behavior, compulsive shopping behavior to binge eating, television shopping channel viewing time to self-esteem and the body image scales, and television shopping channel viewing time to compulsive shopping behavior and binge eating.
Pearson correlational analyses were used to assess relationships among variables such as body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, binge eating, television shopping channel viewing time, BMI, and age in television shoppers (see Appendix 2).
Respondent Characteristics
Demographics
The mean age of subjects was 54 years, with a range of 24 to 85 years. There were 3.8% of respondents in their 20s; 11.7% of respondents in their 30s; 17.1% of respondents in their 40s; 32% of respondents in their 50s; and 35.3% of respondents in their 60s or older. Their weights ranged from 80 pounds to 350 pounds, with an average of 169 pounds. The range of heights was 4 feet 3 inches to 6 feet, with an average of 5 feet 4 inches. The modal clothing size was Misses 16, with a range of 4 to 32 (see Table
49 1). Approximately 65% of respondents wore sizes 14 and up, defined as "large-sized" women (Black, 1990; Smarr, 1991). Only 5.3% wore size 8 or less, while 28.9% wore between sizes 8 and 12. Based on these results, typical television shoppers for this study were older, and large-sized females. These data are a higher average than the survey conducted by Yankelovich Partners, Inc. ("The New Competition," 1994) which reported that average television shoppers are 45 years old. The television shoppers' average weight in the present study was 169 pounds, and the average height was 64 inches.
These data also show a higher average than Stanforth et al. 's study (1997) which found average weight (162 pounds), age (49.6 years old), and height (64.8 inches) in television apparel shoppers, and the average weight (159 pounds), age (46.6 years old), and height
(65.2 inches) in television non-apparel shoppers. The data from the present study are supported by other research (Stanforth et al. 1997; Underwood, 1993) in that a larger number of television shoppers are large-sized. This means that television shopping may be a major source of merchandise for large-sized women, as other studies (e.g., Stanforth et al.. 1997; Zinn, 1993) have suggested.
Survey respondents had completed the following education: some high school
(5.8%), high school (47.9%), vocational school (9.5%), associates degree (9.8%), some college (3%), college degree (17.1%) and graduate degree (6.7%) (see Table 2). Most respondents (86.4%) were Caucasian American; other ethnicities included *Native
American (7.6%); African American (2.4%); and Hispanic American (1.5%), or other
(2.1%) (see Table 3).
*More Native Americans responded to this study than we expected, but we do not know if they use television shopping because they live on a reservation or in a rural area. They may have been European Americans who misunderstood the category name.
50 Marital status included married (71.3%); widowed (13.8%); divorced (7.8%); and single (7.2%) (see Table 4). Respondents lived in communities with populations under
25,000 (47.2%) or over (52.8%) (see Table 5). Approximately 48% of the respondents were employed full-time; 21% were employed part-time; 31% were not employed for pay (see Table 6). Occupations included, retired (30%); homemaker (22.1%); professional or managerial (14.9%), service-related (14.4%), and technical, clerical, or sales (16.2%) and others such as students, artist (2.3%). Reported yearly income was as follows: 2.6% of the respondents earned $75,000 or more; 12.3% earned between $50,000 and 74,999;
34.8 % earned $25,000 to 49,999; 27% earned $13,000 to 24,999; 15.2% earned $7,000 to
12,999; and 8.4% earned fewer than $7,000 (see Table 7). Approximately 14% of the respondents were disabled, while about 4 % of the respondents were homebound (see
Table 8 and 9).
Demographics Min. Max. Mean S.D.
Age 24 85 53 13.1
Weight (lbs) 80.0 350.0 169.4 40.4
Height (ft) 4ft 3 inch 6 ft 5 ft 4inch 2.7
Table 1) Demographics: Age, Weight, and Height
5 1 Education Frequency (N=334) Percent
Some high school 19 5.8%
High school degree 157 47.9%
Vocational school 31 9.5%
Associates degree 32 9.8%
Some college school 6 1.8%
College degree 60 18.3%
Graduate degree 22 6.7%
Table 2) Education Background
Ethnic Background Frequency (N=334) Percent
African American 8 2.4%
Caucasian American 285 86.4%
Hispanic American 5 1.5%
Native American 25 7.6%
Asian American 0 0%
Other 7 2.1%
Table 3) Ethnie Background
52 Marital Status Frequency (N=334) Percent
Single 24 7.2 %
Married 238 71.3%
Divorced 26 7.8%
Widowed 46 13.8%
Table 4) Marital Status
Community Size Frequency (N=302) Percent
1,000,000 or more 28 8.9%
500,000 - 999,999 12 4.0%
250,000-499,999 19 6.3%
100,000-249,999 25 8.3%
50,000-99,999 47 15.5%
25,000-49,999 29 9.6%
13,000-24,999 50 16.5%
7,000-12,999 41 13.5%
fewer than 7,000 52 17.2%
Table 5) Community Size
53 Occupation Frequency (N=212) Percent
Not employed but looking 10 4.7%
for employment
Not employed for pay 56 26.5%
Employed full-time 101 47.9%
Employed part-time 44 20.9%
Table 6) Occupation
Yearly Income Frequency (N=310) Percent
$75,000 or more 8 2.6%
$50,000-74,999 38 12.3%
$25,000-49,999 108 34.8%
$13,000-24,999 83 26.8%
$7,000-12,999 47 15.2%
fewer than $7,000 26 8.4%
Table 7) Yearly Income
Disabled Status Frequency (N=334) Percent
Yes 46 13.8%
No 288 86.2%
Table 8) Disabled Status
54 Homebound Status Frequency (N=334) Percent
Yes 13 3.9%
No 321 96.1%
Table 9) Homebound Status
Respondents' television shopping behavior
The respondents reported making at least one purchase from television shopping channels within the previous 12 months (see Table 10). Respondents who reported 1 to 5 purchases accounted for 61.1% of the group, while others reported 6 to 10 (18.6%), 11 to 15 (5.4%), 15 to 20 (2.7%), or more than 20 (12.3%) annual purchases from television shopping channels. The Quality Value Convenience (QVC) shopping channel was watched most frequently by respondents (see Appendix 10). About 57% of respondents watched QVC always or frequently and 47% purchased items from QVC always or frequently, while about 27% of respondents watched Home Shopping Network (HSN) always or frequently and 19% purchased from HSN. Of 334 respondents, 35 (10.5%) had never purchased apparel from television, while 25 (7.5%) had never purchased jewelry; 123 (36.8%) had never purchased cosmetics, while 142 (42.5%) had never purchased exercise equipment (see Appendix 11). Subjects were asked to indicate the frequency with which they purchased each item (clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, exercise equipment) from the shopping channels. Thus, a respondent may have "never" purchased clothing, but had purchased other items such as jewelry, cosmetics, exercise equipment, or non-appearance products. Because there were few television shoppers who never purchased clothing, it is inappropriate to analyze statistically to compare apparel television shoppers and non-apparel television shoppers.
55 For payment, most respondents (87.1%) had paid using credit cards and about
72% of respondents said they pay always or frequently with credit cards (see Appendix
12). Approximately 7% (combined category of frequently or sometimes) of respondents had paid extra to have an item shipped sooner (see Table 16). Approximately 68.6% of respondents had returned something they bought from the shopping channel (see Table
17). Among them, 4.8 % had returned the item always or frequently, while 28% had done so sometimes and 67.2% had never returned it (see Table 18). About 92.3% were always or frequently satisfied with the way their return was handled (see Appendix 13).
Seventy-two percent had 1 to 5 credit cards, while about 24 % had 6 to 10 credit cards
(see Table 19). Four percent had more than 10 credit cards. One had 35 credit cards and two had 20 credit cards. Approximately 80.6% of respondents knew their credit limit on the card (s) they have (see Table 20).
Frequency (N=334) Percent
1-5 204 61.1%
6-10 62 18.6%
11-15 18 5.4%
15-20 9 2.7%
more than 20 41 12.3%
Table 10) Frequency of purchasing from shopping channels in the past 12 months
56 N = 334 Min. Max. Mean S.D.
QVC 1.0 5.0 3.63 1.2
QVC2 1.0 5.0 1.82 .71
Value Vision 1.0 5.0 1.77 .61
HSN 1.0 5.0 2.7 1.2
Table 11) The mean of frequency of watching shopping channels (5=Always, l=Never)
N = 334 Min. Max. Mean S.D.
QVC 1.0 5.0 3.40 1.2
QVC2 1.0 5.0 1.70 .71
Value Vision 1.0 5.0 1.70 .61
HSN 1.0 5.0 2.45 1.2
Table 12) The mean of frequency of buying from shopping channels
(5=Always, l=Never)
N = 334 Min. Max. Mean S.D.
Clothing 1.0 5.0 2.71 1.0
Jewelry 1.0 5.0 3.22 1.1
Cosmetics 1.0 5.0 1.91 .91
Exercise Equipment 1.0 5.0 1.70 .74
Table 13) The mean of frequency of purchase of items from shopping channels
(5=Always, l=Never)
57 N = 334 Min. Max. Mean S.D.
Credit Card 1.0 5.0 3.97 1.47
Money Order 1.0 5.0 1.50 .79
Check 1.0 5.0 2.02 1.34
Debit Card 1.0 5.0 1.47 .79
Table 14) The mean of frequency of payment type (5=AIways, l=Never)
N = 334 Min. Max. Mean S.D.
Extra Payment 1.0 4.0 1.68 .62
Return 1.0 5.0 2.37 .65
Satisfaction with handling 1.0 5.0 4.59 .74
of returns
Table 15) The mean of frequency of paying extra to have the item shipped sooner, to return something, and of satisfaction with method of return (5=Always, l=Never)
frequently sometimes seldom never
Extra payment for shipped 0.9% 5.7% 53.9% 39.5%
Table 16) The frequency of extra payment for shipped sooner
Return Frequency (N=334) Percent
Yes 229 68.6%
No 105 31.4%
Table 17) Return
58 always frequently sometimes seldom never
The frequency of return 1.3% 3.5% 27.9% 65.5 1.7% the item
Table 18) The frequency of return the item
1-5 6-10 11-15 more than 15
The number of credit cards 72.0% 23.7% 3.4% 0.9%
Table 19) The frequency of the number of credit cards
Credit Limit Frequency (N=334) Percent
Yes 262 80.6 %
No 63 19.4%
Table 20) Knowledge of credit limit
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body Mass Index (BMI) is considered a useful, height-independent index of weight (Garrow & Webster, 1985). BMI is calculated as the ratio of weight to height squared, where weight is measured in kilograms and height in meters. When a BMI is greater than 25, it is classified as overweight (Garrow & Webster, 1985). When a BMI is within 20 to 25, it is classified as normal weight; and if a BMI is less than 20, it is classified as underweight (Garrow & Webster, 1985). Body Mass Index for respondents ranged from 18.1 to 60.2 (M=27.5) (see Table 21). Most (68%) were overweight, while only 29% were of normal weight, and 4% were underweight.
59 Body Mass Index Respondents (N=330)
less than 20 (underweight) 3.6% (12)
within 20 to 25 (normal weight) 28.5% (94)
greater than 25 (overweight) 67.9 % (224)
Table 21) Body Mass Index
Overall Scores for Self-Esteem. Body Image Subscales. Compulsive Buying,
Binge Eating and Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time
Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale
To measure respondents' self-esteem, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used.
Items were summed for an overall score. While higher scores indicate that one tends to have higher self-esteem, lower scores indicate that one tends to have lower self-esteem.
From a possible range of 10 to 50, the scores extended from 17 to 50 (see Table 23). The observed mean of 42 indicates a fairly high level of self-esteem.
Body Image Subscales: Four subscales (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation,
Weight Preoccupation, and Weight Label) of the MBSRQ (Multidimensional Body-Self
Relations Questionnaire) were used to measure respondents' body image.
Appearance Evaluation Subscale
The Appearance Evaluation subscale is designed to measure satisfaction with one's physical appearance. While higher scores mean that one tends to have more positive feelings about appearance, lower scores mean that one tends to have more negative feelings about appearance. The possible range of scores was 7 to 35; scores on
60 Appearance Orientation Subscale
The Appearance Orientation subscale is designed to measure the importance placed on or attention given to appearance by the individual. While higher scores mean that one tends to emphasize appearance and to pay more attention to appearance, lower scores mean that one tends to focus less on appearance and to pay less attention to appearance. The possible range of scores was 12 to 60; respondents' scores ranged from
13 to 59. The mean of 42.9 indicates only slightly strong attention toward appearance overall (see Table 23).
Weight Preoccupation Subscale
The Weight Preoccupation subscale is designed to measure one's concern with weight or weight fluctuation. While higher scores mean that one tends to worry more about one's weight or weight fluctuation, lower scores mean that one tends to worry less about it. The possible range of scores was 4 to 20; the scores were spread over the entire range for respondents. The mean of 11.4 indicates relatively neutral feelings overall (see
Table 23).
Weight Label Subscale
To measure self- and other-classified perceptions of overweight, the Weight Label subscale was used. While higher scores mean that one tends to classify one's weight as overweight or believe others classify it as so, lower scores mean that one tends to perceive one's weight as underweight or think others see them as underweight. The possible range of scores was 2 to 10; the scores were spread over the entire range. A mean of 7.6 indicates a general perception of being 'overweight' (see Table 23).
6 1 possible range of scores was 2 to 10; the scores were spread over the entire range. A mean of 7.6 indicates a general perception of being 'overweight' (see Table 23).
Tendencies toward Compulsive Buying
The Compulsive Buying Scale measures the degree of one's feelings, emotions and behaviors related to compulsive shopping. Lower scores indicate higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies. If the score is < -1.34, the respondent is classified as a compulsive buyer (Faber, 1995). Out of a possible range of -7.03 to 3.61. scores on the
Compulsive Buying Scale were spread over the entire range (M = .99) for respondents
(see Table 23). Out of 334 respondents, 32 (9.3%) were classified as compulsive buyers.
Although the 20s age group was the smallest group, 23.1% of that group were classified as compulsive buyers (see Appendix 3). Among the other groups, 15.4% of the 30s age group, 14% of the 40s age group, 8.4% of the 50s age group, and 5.1% of the 60s and over age group were compulsive buyers (see Appendix 3). This is consistent with other studies (e.g., Faber & O'Guinn, 1995; McElroy et al., 1995) which reported that compulsive buyers are found more among younger women than among older women.
According to Schlosser, Black, Repertinger and Freet's study (1994), for example, the typical compulsive shopper was a 31 year-old woman who had developed compulsive buying at age 18 years. In the present study, while 41% of compulsive buyers did not know their credit limit on the cards, 17% of noncompulsive buyers did not know it. One respondent who had 35 credit cards and two respondents who had 20 credit cards had all high compulsive buying tendencies. The return rate for purchased items among those with compulsive buying tendencies was 75%, while among those without those tendencies was 65%. This is consistent with other studies (e.g., Hassay & Smith, 1996; Schlosser et al., 1994) which reported that compulsive buyers tend to return more items than
62 noncompulsive buyers. Regarding number of credit cards held, about 40% of subjects
with compulsive buying tendencies owned more than five credit cards, while 20% of
subjects without compulsive buying tendencies owned more than five credit cards. This
is also congruent with O'Guinn and Faber (1989) who found that compulsive shoppers
have more credit cards than noncompulsvie shoppers. To summarize, those with
compulsive buying tendencies in this study tended to be younger women, to use more
credit cards, to know less about their credit limits, and to return more purchased items
from shopping channels than those without compulsive buying tendencies. Although there were too few subjects with compulsive buying tendencies to analyze statistically, visual inspection of group means suggests that those with compulsive buying tendencies
in this study tended to be heavier, to have lower self-esteem, to have more binge-eating tendencies, and to watch more television shopping channel programs (see Table 22).
C.B (N=32) N-C.B. (N=302) Min. Max. Mean Min. Max. Mean Appearance 9.0 28.0 17.3 9.0 35.0 20.7 Evaluation Appearance 13.0 59.0 42.2 26.0 58.0 43.0 Orientation Weight Label 2.0 10.0 8.2 2.0 10.0 7.5 Weight 4.0 18.0 12.0 4.0 20.0 11.3 Preoccupation Binge Eating 6.0 30.0 17.8 6.0 28.0 11.8 Self-Esteem 17.0 50.0 37.9 20.0 50.0 41.8 TV Shopping 3.0 30.0 12.8 1.0 34.0 5.8 Viewing Time Age 24.0 79.0 49.0 25.0 85.0 57.0 BMI 21.3 54.7 33.2 14.7 60.2 28.5 Weight (lb) 118.0 318.0 191.9 80.0 350.0 167.0 Number of credit .0 35 4.8 .0 20 4.3 cards The number of 2.0 5.0 2.8 1.0 5.0 2.3 return
63 Table 22) The mean comparison between those with compulsive buying tendencies and those without compulsive buying tendencies for television shoppers
4) Tendencies toward Binge Eating
The Binge Eating Behavior Questionnaire is designed to measure self-reported binge eating behavior. Out of a possible range of 6 to 30, scores for Binge Eating were also spread over the entire range. The mid-point score of 18 is considered a cut-off to distinguish between non-binge eaters and binge eaters (Mitchell et al., 1998). Using this benchmark, out of 334, 65 television shoppers had binge-eating tendencies (see Appendix
3). Higher scores indicate more symptoms of binge eating, while lower scores indicate few symptoms of binge eating. The mean of 12.4 for respondents (see Table 23) indicates rather low binge-eating tendencies overall.
N = 334 Possible Observed Observed Mean S.D.
Range Min. Max.
Self-Esteem 10-50 17 50 41.55 6.96
Appearance Evaluation 7-35 9.0 35.0 20.41 4.87
Appearance Orientation 12-60 13.0 59.0 42.9 6.49
Weight Preoccupation 4-20 4.0 20.0 11.37 3.75
Weight Label 2-10 2.0 10.0 7.60 1.57
Compulsive Buying -7.03 - 3.61 -7.03 3.61 .99 1.76
Binge Eating 6-30 6.0 30.0 12.36 5.05
Table 23) Overall Scores for Measures of Self-Esteem, Body Image Subscales, Compulsive Buying Scale, and Binge Eating
64 5) Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time
To measure television shopping channel exposure, the total time of watching the shopping channels was used. Responses on the three items (an average weekday, an average Saturday, and an average Sunday) were summed as total television shopping viewing time. Higher scores indicate greater exposure to television shopping channels. The mean number of hours of watching a shopping channel was 2.3 hours for an average weekday, 1.7 hours for an average Saturday, and 1.6 hours for an average Sunday (see
Table 24). The range of total television shopping viewing time was 1 to 34 hours during a week, with an average of about 6.5 hours. A higher percentage of respondents watched shopping channels in the evening (40.3%), followed by morning (21.7%), afternoon
(20.9%), and night (17%).
N = 334 Observed Observed Mean S.D.
Min. Max.
An average weekday .00 25.0 2.31 2.53
An average Saturday .00 8.0 1.71 1.62
An average Sunday .00 9.0 1.64 1.62
Total TV Viewing Time (A week) 1.00 34.0 6.49 5.04
Table 24) The number of hours of television shopping channels watched
65 Inferential analyses
Self-esteem and body image among television shoppers
The relationship between self-esteem and body image among television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 1 :In television shoppers, lower levels o f self-esteem will be associated with lower levels of body image.
Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to determine this relationship between body image and self-esteem in television shoppers. The four body image subscales were used as the independent variables and self-esteem was used as the dependent variable. Three of the independent variables were significantly related to self esteem. Results of the analysis revealed that Appearance Evaluation, Appearance
Orientation, and Weight Label accounted for 24.2% (R* = . 242) of the explained variance in self-esteem. In terms of goodness of fit, the multiple correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = . 49.
Appearance Evaluation was significantly related to self-esteem, F (1, 332) =
91.10, £ < .0001. This variable accounted for 21.5% of the explained variance in self esteem. The second variable entered into the regression equation was Appearance
Orientation, F (2, 331) = 49.51, £ < .0001. These two variables accounted for 23% of the explained variance in self-esteem. The third variable entered into the regression equation was Weight Label, F (3, 330) = 35.13, £ < .0001. These three variables combined to account for 24.2% of the explained variance in self-esteem. Based on the standardized weights of the variables. Appearance Evaluation was the most important variable, B =
.47, £ < .0001, accounting for 21.5% of the variance in self-esteem. The second most
66 important variable was Appearance Orientation, contributing 1.5% of the variance in self esteem, B = .13, £ < .01. Weight Label was the least important of the three variables, accounting for 1.2%, B = .11, £ < .05 (see Table 25). Weight Preoccupation was not significantly related to self-esteem. Thus it would appear that among television shoppers, lower self-esteem is associated with being less satisfied with one's appearance, placing less importance on appearance, and worrying about one's weight. Therefore, hypothesis 1 was supported.
To determine which independent variables accounted for a significant amount of variance in the dependent variables, a table (see Appendix 4) was constructed of the percentages of variance accounted for by each independent variable for each significant effect on the dependent variable. These were tested for significance using a formula developed by Pedhazur (1982) (see Appendix 4). Regarding hypothesis 1, the amount of variance accounted for by Appearance Evaluation in self-esteem was statistically significant; however, the amounts of variance in self-esteem accounted for by Appearance
Orientation and Weight Label were not statistically significant (see Appendix 4). That
Dependent F df Independent Variable t df B R- P
Variable ratio
Self-esteem 91.1 1,332 Appearance Evaluation 9.545 332 .46 .215 .0000
Self-esteem 49.5 2,331 Appearance Evaluation 8.728 .43 .0000
Appearance Orientation 2.535 331 .13 .230 .0120
Self-esteem 35.1 3,330 Appearance Evaluation 9.067 .46 .0000
Appearance Orientation 2.710 .13 .0070
Weight Label 2.266 330 .11 .242 .0240
Table 25). Multiple Regression Analysis for Hypothesis 1
67 Self-esteem and compulsive buying among television shoppers
The relationship between self-esteem and compulsive buying among television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 2:In television shoppers, lower levels o f self esteem will be associated with higher levels o f compulsive buying tendencies.
Simple regression analysis was used to examine this relationship between self esteem and compulsive buying. Self-esteem was used as the independent variable and compulsive buying scores were used as the dependent variable.
This analysis revealed that self-esteem was significantly related to compulsive buying tendencies, F (1, 332) = 13.86, £ < .0001. Self-esteem accounted for 4% (R‘ =
.04) of the explained variance in compulsive buying tendencies. In terms of goodness of fit, the correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = . 20. This indicates there is little linear relationship between self-esteem and compulsive buying scores.
The positive beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables, 6 = .20, £ < .0001 (see Table 26). Due to the way the variables are scored, higher scores on compulsive buying were associated with lower scores on self-esteem.
Thus it would appear that among television shoppers, compulsive buying tendencies are associated with lower self-esteem, but the relationship between self-esteem and compulsive buying was very weak. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amount of variance accounted for by compulsive buying on self-esteem was statistically significant (see Appendix 4). Therefore, hypothesis 2 was accepted.
68 Dependent Variable F ratio df Independent 6 t df R- P
Variable
Compulsive Buying 13.86 1,332 Self-esteem .20 3.7 332 .04 .0000
Table 26) Regression Analysis for Hypothesis 2
Body image and compulsive buying tendencies among television shoppers
The relationship between body image and compulsive buying in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 3: In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with lower levels o f body image.
Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine this relationship between body image and compulsive buying in television shoppers. The four body image subscales were used as the independent variables and compulsive buying scores were used as the dependent variable. Only one of the independent variables was significantly related to compulsive buying tendencies. Results of the analysis revealed that only
Appearance Evaluation was significantly related to compulsive buying tendencies, F (1,
332) = 16.65, £ < .0001. Appearance Evaluation accounted for 5% (R* = .05) of the explained variance in compulsive buying. In terms of goodness o f fit, the correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = .22. This indicates there is a weak linear relationship between Appearance Evaluation and compulsive buying scores.
The positive beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables, B = .22, £ < .0001 (see Table 27). Although the beta value indicated a positive relationship between two variables, it can be considered a negative or inverse relationship, because due to how compulsive buying is scored; lower scores on compulsive buying
69 means higher levels of compulsive buying behaviors. This means that higher scores on compulsive buying were related to lower scores on Appearance Evaluation. Appearance
Orientation, Weight Label, and Weight Preoccupation were not significantly related to compulsive buying tendencies.
Thus it would appear that among television shoppers, higher compulsive buying tendencies are associated with being less satisfied with one's appearance (Appearance
Evaluation), but the relationship between Appearance Evaluation and compulsive buying was weak. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amount of variance accounted for by Appearance Evaluation in compulsive buying scores was statistically significant (see Appendix 4). Hypothesis 3 was partially accepted because only one of the four subscales was supported.
Dependent Variable F ratio df Independent B t df R- P
Variable
Compulsive Buying 16.65 1,332 Appearance .22 4.08 332 .05 .0000
Evaluation
Table 27) Multiple Regression Analysis for Hypothesis 3
Compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies among television shoppers
The relationship between compulsive buying and binge eating in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 4: In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with higher levels of binge-eating tendencies.
7 0 Simple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between scores on compulsive buying and scores on binge eating in television shoppers. Scores on compulsive buying were used as the independent variable and binge-eating scores were used as the dependent variable. Results of the analysis revealed that scores on compulsive buying were significantly related to binge-eating tendencies, F (1, 332) = 118.9, £ <
.0001. Self-reported compulsive buying accounted for 26% (R‘ = .26) of the variation in binge eating scores. In terms o f goodness of fit, the correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = . 514.
The negative beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables, fi = -.51, £ < .0001 (see Table 28). However, due to how the variables were scored, higher binge eating tendencies are associated with higher compulsive buying tendencies. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amount of variance accounted for by compulsive buying in binge-eating scores was also statistically significant (see Appendix 4). Therefore, hypothesis 4 was accepted.
Dependent F ratio df Independent B t df R- P
Variable Variable
Binge eating 118.9 1,332 Compulsive Buying -.51 -10.9 332 .26 .0000
Table 28) Regression Analysis for Hypothesis 4
7 1 Television shopping channel viewing time, body image,
and self-esteem among television shoppers
The relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and body image in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 5-a:In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels of body image.
The relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and self esteem in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 5-b:In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels o f self-esteem.
Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of television shopping channel viewing time to self-esteem and body image in television shoppers. The four body image subscales and self-esteem were used as the independent variables and television shopping channel viewing time was used as the dependent variable. Results of the analysis revealed that only Appearance Evaluation, one of the body image subscales, was significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time, F (1, 332) = 23.86, £ < .0001. Appearance Evaluation accounted for 7% (R- = .07) of the variation in television shopping channel viewing time. In terms of goodness of fit, the correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = .26. The negative beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables, B = -.26, £
< .0001 (see Table 29); this means that lower scores in Appearance Evaluation were related to more television shopping channel viewing. Other body image subscales such as
Appearance Orientation, Weight Preoccupation, and Weight Label were not related to
72 television shopping channel viewing time. Results also revealed that self-esteem was not significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time.
Thus it would appear that among television shoppers, more television shopping channel viewing time is associated with being less satisfied with one's appearance
(Appearance Evaluation), but the relationship between Appearance Evaluation and television shopping channel viewing time was very weak. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amount of variance accounted for by Appearance Evaluation in television shopping channel viewing time was statistically significant (see Appendix 4).
Therefore, hypothesis 5-a was partially accepted.
Also, it would appear that among these television shoppers, there was no relationship between television shopping charmel viewing time and self-esteem.
Therefore, hypothesis 5-b was rejected.
Dependent F ratio df Independent 13 t df R- P
Variable Variable
TV Shopping 23.86 1,332 Appearance -.26 -4.88 332 .07 .0000
Channel Evaluation
Viewing Time
Table 29) Regression Analysis for Hypotheses 5-a and 5-b
Television shopping channel viewing time, compulsive buying tendencies,
and binge-eating tendencies among television shoppers
The relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and compulsive buying tendencies in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 6-a: In
7 3 television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be
associated with higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies.
The relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and binge
eating in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 6-b:In television shoppers,
higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with higher
levels o f binge-eating tendencies.
Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of television shopping channel viewing time to compulsive buying tendencies and binge- eating tendencies in television shoppers. Compulsive buying scores and binge-eating scores were used as independent variables and television viewing time was used as the dependent variable. Both variables were significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time. Results of the analysis revealed that compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies accounted for 29.4% (R‘ = . 294) of the explained variance in television shopping channel viewing time. In terms of goodness of fit, the multiple correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = . 54.
Compulsive buying scores were significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time, F (1, 332) = 102.02, £ < .0001. This variable accounted for 23.5% of the explained variance in television shopping channel viewing time. The second variable entered into the prediction equation was binge eating, F (2, 331) = 68.84, £ < .0001.
These two variables accounted for 29.4 % of the explained variance in television shopping channel viewing time. Based on the standardized weights of the variables, compulsive buying was the more important of the two variables, 6 = -.34, £ < .0001, accounting for
23.5% of the variance in television shopping channel viewing time. The negative beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables. The second
74 related variable was binge eating, contributing 5.9% to the variance in television shopping channel viewing time, B = .28, £ < .0001 (see Table 30). Thus, compulsive buying and binge-eating tendencies variables were related to television shopping channel viewing time, indicating that more compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies mean more time spent viewing television shopping channels.
Thus, it would appear that among television shoppers, more television shopping channel viewing time is associated with higher compulsive buying tendencies and higher binge-eating tendencies. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amounts of variance accounted for by compulsive buying and binge eating tendencies in television shopping channel viewing time were also statistically significant (see Appendix 4).
Therefore, both hypotheses 6-a and 6-b were accepted.
Dependent F df Independent B t df R- P
Variable ratio Variable
TV Viewing Time 102.0 1,332 Compulsive Buying -.49 -lO.I 332 .235 .0000
TV Viewing Time 68.8 2,331 Compulsive Buying -.34 -6.3 331 .294 .0000
Binge Eating .28 5.25
Table 30) Multiple Regression Analysis for Hypotheses 6-a and 6-b.
Binge eating tendencies, body image and self-esteem among television shoppers
The relationship between binge eating tendencies and body image in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 7-a;In television shoppers, higher levels o f binge- eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of body image.
75 The relationship between binge-eating tendencies and self-esteem in television shoppers was examined in hypothesis 7-b;In television shoppers, higher levels of binge- eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels o f self-esteem.
Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of binge eating to body image and self-esteem in television shoppers. The four body image subscalcs and self-esteem were used as independent variables and binge eating was used as the dependent variable. Two body image subscales and self-esteem were significantly related to binge eating. Results of the analysis revealed that Weight Preoccupation, Self esteem, and Weight Label accounted for 18.3% (R* = .183) of the explained variance in binge eating. In terms of goodness of fit, the multiple correlation between observed scores and predicted scores was R = . 428.
The Weight Preoccupation subscale was significantly related to binge eating, F (1,
332) = 34.058, £ < .0001. The second variable entered into the regression equation was self-esteem, F (2, 331) = 27.55, £ < .0001. These two variables accounted for 14.3% of the explained variance in binge eating. The third variable entered into the regression equation was Weight Label, F (3, 331), £ <.0001. These three variables accounted for
18.3% of the explained variance in binge eating. Based on the standardized weights of the variables. Weight Preoccupation was the most important variable, B = .240, £ < .0001.
The second most important variable was self-esteem, 6 = -.220, £ < .0001. The negative beta value indicates the nature of the relationship between the two variables. Weight
Label was the least important of the three variables, B = -.204, £ < .0001 (see Table 31).
Thus, these three significant variables were related to binge eating, indicating that greater tendencies to binge eat were related to greater weight preoccupation and higher weight label scores. Also the tendency to binge-eat was related to lower levels o f self-esteem.
76 Thus, it would appear that among television shoppers, greater binge-eating tendencies were associated with Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label, but the relationship between binge-eating tendencies and Weight Label was weak. Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amounts of variance accounted for by Weight
Preoccupation and by Weight Label in binge-eating tendencies were statistically significant (see Appendix 4). Therefore, hypothesis 7-a was partially accepted.
Using the formula developed by Pedhazur (1982), the amount of variance accounted for by self-esteem in binge eating tendencies was also statistically significant
(see Appendix 4). Also, it would appear that greater binge eating tendencies were associated with lower self-esteem among television shoppers. Therefore, hypothesis 7- b was accepted.
Dependent F df Independent Variable B t df R- P
Variable ratio
Binge Eating 34.06 1,332 Weight Preoccupation .305 5.84 332 .093 .0000
Binge Eating 27.55 2,331 Weight Preoccupation .278 5.43 .0000
Self-Esteem -.224 -4.38 331 .143 .0000
Binge Eating 24.6 3,330 Weight Preoccupation .240 4.71 .0000
Self-Esteem -.220 -4.39 .0000
Weight Label .204 4.02 330 .183 .0000
Table 31) Multiple Regression Analysis for Hypotheses 7-a and 7-b
77 CHAPTERS
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
The purposes of this research were to examine the relationships among television
shopping channel viewing time, body image, self-esteem, binge-eating tendencies, and
compulsive buying tendencies in television shoppers. Television shoppers' shopping
behaviors were appraised to determine the extent to which compulsive buying tendencies
are high among television shoppers and if compulsive buying tendencies are related to television shopping channel viewing time, body image, self-esteem, and binge-eating tendencies. To examine the extent to which relationships exist between television
shopping channel viewing time, self-esteem, body image, compulsive buying tendencies, and binge-eating scores among television shoppers, multiple or simple regression analysis was performed.
Discussion
In this study, rural respondents accounted for 17.2% of all respondents, indicating that television shopping has not replaced the lack of available stores in rural communities as a convenient means of obtaining goods. Fourteen percent of television shoppers were disabled, and 4% of television shoppers were homebound. This suggests that, due to their physical condition, disabled and homebound women might use television shopping as one of their primary shopping methods.
78 Ten hypotheses were investigated for this study: Hypothesis I) In television
shoppers, lower levels of self-esteem will be associated with lower levels of body image;
Hypothesis 2) In television shoppers, lower levels of self-esteem will be associated with
higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies; Hypothesis 3) In television shoppers,
higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with lower levels of
body image; Hypothesis 4) In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying
tendencies will be associated with higher levels of binge-eating tendencies; Hypothesis 5-
a) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping charmel viewing time will be
associated with lower levels of body image; 5- b) In television shoppers, higher levels of
television shopping charmel viewing time will be associated with lower levels of self esteem; Hypothesis 6-a) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping charmel viewing time will be associated with higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies; 6- b) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping charmel viewing time will be associated with higher levels of binge-eating tendencies; Hypothesis
7- a) In television shoppers, higher levels of binge eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of body image; 7-b) In television shoppers, higher levels of binge- eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of self-esteem. Multiple or simple regression analyses were used to test all hypotheses. Out of these 10 hypotheses, 9 were accepted or partially accepted.
Hypothesis 1: In television shoppers, lower levels o f self-esteem will be associated with lower levels of body image.
As expected, body image was generally significantly related to self-esteem.
Three of the four body image subscales were significantly related to self-esteem in the regression analysis (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, and Weight Label).
79 However, the amounts of the variance accounted for by Appearance Orientation and
Weight Label in self-esteem were not significant. Higher scores in self-esteem were related to more positive body image. That is, for the Appearance Orientation subscale, people who placed more importance on and gave more attention to appearance had higher self esteem. For the Appearance Evaluation subscale, people who were more satisfied with their appearances had higher self-esteem. The Weight Label subscale, the perception of or labeling of one's weight as overweight, was surprisingly related positively to self-esteem.
It is likely that women over 50 years of age are not concerned as greatly with labels attached to their weights or appearance as are younger women. With age, their figures undergo changes, such as expected weight gains, not experienced by younger women, and older women may feel more comfortable with their lives (careers, marriage, children) in that they may be more secure. Their self-esteem may relate more to their lifestyles and marital situations than to their weight. On the other hand, scores on the Weight
Preoccupation subscale, feelings about one's weight and weight fluctuation, was not significantly related to self-esteem. This can be explained by considering the sample's characteristics such as average age. Their average self-esteem was found to be high. This is supported by other studies (e.g., Hong, Bianca, Bianca, & Bollington, 1993; Tiggemann,
1992) which indicate that older women's self-esteem is higher than younger women's.
Older women may not be interested in dieting and fasting to control weight or may be less preoccupied with their weights. Instead, they may be more interested in other things such as family, health, retirement, and financial matters than weight fluctuation. Thus, HI received support for three out of four body image subscales.
Hypothesis 2: In television shoppers, lower levels of self-esteem will be associated with higher levels o f compulsive buying tendencies.
80 As a result, self-esteem was significantly correlated with compulsive buying tendencies. Higher scores in compulsive buying were related to more negative indicators of self-esteem. That is, people who had lower self-esteem tended to have higher compulsive buying scores. This is consistent with other research studies (Faber &
O'Guinn, 1988; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989) which reported that compulsive shopping behavior is related to low self-esteem. Hirschman (1992) speculates that compulsive buying may provide temporary reduction in stress and tension and that compulsive buyers may use the act of purchasing as a means to raise their self-esteem. Thus, H2 was supported.
Hypothsis 3.' In television shoppers, higher levels of compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with lower levels o f body image.
Only one of the four body image subscales was significantly related to compulsive buying scores. Appearance Evaluation was significantly related to compulsive buying scores. Lower scores in Appearance Evaluation were related to more compulsive buying tendencies. That is, people who had more negative feelings about their appearances scored higher on compulsive buying. However, other subscales such as Appearance Orientation.
Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label were not significantly related to compulsive buying scores. This is not consistent with Faber et al.'s study (1995) which found that compulsive buyers felt significantly fatter, and had a greater fear of becoming fat, indicating more negative feelings related to weight changes. In their study, the average age of subjects was 39.9 years, with a range of 20 to 55 years. This means that although television shoppers, who consist of mostly older women, feel neutral about their appearances, their concerns about attention paid to appearance, weight changes, and
8 1 labeling themselves as overweight may not be related to scores on compulsive buying.
Thus, H3 received little support.
Hypothesis 4: In television shoppers, higher levels o f compulsive buying tendencies will be associated with higher levels o f binge-eating tendencies.
Compulsive buying scores were significantly related to binge-eating scores.
Higher scores in binge eating were related to more compulsive buying tendencies. That is, people who reported compulsive buying tendencies tended to have higher binge-eating scores, although the average score on binge-eating tendencies was very low. Thus H4 was supported.
Hvpothesis 5: 5-a) In television shoppers, higher levels o f television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels o f body image.
5-b) In television shoppers, higher levels of television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with lower levels o f self-esteem.
As Downs and Harrison (1985) indicated, television viewers are exposed to more attractiveness-based messages due to many hours of television viewing. For this study, it was expected that television shopping channel viewing time would be related to self esteem and body image.
Results revealed that H5b received no support; self-esteem was not significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time. However, for H5a, only one of the four body image scales was related to television shopping channel viewing time.
Appearance Evaluation was significantly related to television shopping channel viewing time. Higher scores on television shopping channel viewing time were associated with more negative scores on Appearance Evaluation. That is, people who have less
82 satisfaction with their appearances tended to spend more time watching television shopping channels. Other subscales such as Appearance Orientation, Weight
Preoccupation and Weight Label were not significantly related to television shopping charmel viewing time. Thus, H5-a was only minimally supported.
Hypothesis 6: 6-a) In television shoppers, higher levels o f television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with higher levels o f compulsive buying tendencies.
6-b) In television shoppers, higher levels o f television shopping channel viewing time will be associated with higher levels o f binge-eating tendencies.
Television shopping charmel exposure may allow women to compare themselves with others regarding material possessions and level of attractiveness. These comparisons with media images may lead to women's negative feelings such as body dissatisfaction or failure to reach the cultural standard, leading to higher compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies.
As expected, compulsive buying scores were significantly related to television shopping charmel viewing time. Higher scores in television shopping charmel viewing time were related to higher compulsive buying tendencies. That is, people who had higher scores on compulsive buying tended to have greater exposure to television shopping charmels. Also, as hypothesized, binge-eating scores were significantly related to television shopping charmel viewing time. Higher scores on television shopping charmel viewing time were associated with higher binge-eating scores. That is, people who scored higher on binge eating tended to have greater exposure to television shopping charmels.
Thus, H6-a and H6-b were supported.
83 Hypothesis 7: 7-a) In television shoppers, higher levels of binge eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels o f body image.
7-b) In television shoppers, higher levels o f binge eating tendencies will be associated with lower levels of self-esteem.
Results revealed that binge eating tendencies were associated with two of the four body image subscales. Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label were related to binge eating scores. Higher scores for binge eating were associated with higher scores on Weight
Preoccupation and Weight Label. That is, people who were more concerned about their weights or weight fluctuation tended to have more binge-eating tendencies. Also those who classified their weights as overweight or think others see them as overweight tended to have more binge-eating tendencies. Other subscales such as Appearance Evaluation and
Appearance Orientation were not significantly related to binge-eating tendencies. Thus,
H7-a received some support.
Also, as hypothesized, binge-eating scores were significantly related to self esteem. Higher scores in binge eating were associated with lower self-esteem. That is, people who had lower self-esteem scored higher in binge-eating tendencies. Thus, H7 was also supported.
After multiple or simple regression analyses, the formula developed by Pedhazur
(1982) was used in order to test if each independent variable accounted for a significant amount of variance in the dependent variables. As a result, for hypothesis 1, based on multiple regression analysis, three body image subscales (Appearance Evaluation,
Appearance Orientation, and Weight Label) were significantly related to self-esteem.
However, Pedhazufs formula ( 1982) revealed that only Appearance Evaluation accounted for a significant amount of variance in self-esteem. This may mean that the relationship among Appearance Orientation, Weight Label, and self-esteem was weak. For other
84 hypotheses, the variance accounted for by each of the independent variables on each of
the dependent variables was statistically significant.
Conclusions and Implications
The present study examines the extent to which a linkage exists among television
shopping channel viewing time, self-esteem, body image, compulsive shopping scores,
and binge-eating scores in television shoppers. The present research shows: 1) some
relationships between body image and self-esteem in television shoppers; 2) a
relationship between compulsive buying scores and self-esteem in television shoppers; 3)
one relationship between compulsive buying scores and body image in television
shoppers; 4) a relationship between compulsive buying scores and binge-eating scores; 5)
one relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and body image in
television shoppers; 6) relationships among television shopping channel viewing time,
compulsive buying scores, and binge-eating scores in television shoppers; 7) some
relationships among binge eating scores, body image, and self-esteem.
The findings of this study provide evidence that there is a relationship between
body image and self-esteem among television shoppers. This is supported by many other
studies (e.g., Jackson, Sullivan & Rostker, 1988; Well, 1983) which reported self-esteem
is positively correlated to physical appearance or body image in women. Out of four
body image scales, only Weight Preoccupation was not related to self-esteem. It is
possible that as noted previously, the reason for this discrepancy occurred because
women past middle age are more concerned with things other than weight and have reached a point in their lives in which weight preoccupation is replaced by attention to practical matters and the daily routine of life.
85 In addition, the present study provides evidence that there is a relationship between compulsive shopping tendencies and self-esteem in television shoppers. This is in line with other research (e.g., Faber & Christenson, 1996; Monahan, Black, & Gabel,
1996). Compulsive buying has been generally underrecognized in research (Black, Noyes,
Goldstein & Blum, 1992). However, recently researchers have been interested in understanding compulsive buying behaviors because this negative consumption behavior can lead to severe financial and legal consequences for its sufferers (Wills, 1993).
Compulsive behaviors are thought to be derived fi'om low self-esteem, from peer pressure, or fi'om beliefs about cultural norms (O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Because compulsive buying seems to restore a temporary sense of high self-concept (Hirschman,
1992), compulsive buyers may use compulsive spending as a means to enhance their self esteem.
The present research provides evidence of one relationship between compulsive shopping tendencies and body image in television shoppers. Levels of self-esteem and body image were found to be positively related, and levels of self-esteem and compulsive buying scores were found to be negatively related. Other research found that compulsive shoppers typically buy clothing, cosmetics, or jewelry (e.g., Schlosser et al., 1994). This suggests that buyers may compulsively spend money on appearance-related products in order to have something new and to feel more attractive, perhaps raising their self-esteem.
Although no research has examined the relationship between body image and compulsive buying directly, it was assumed that body image may be related to compulsive buying tendencies because both variables are linked with self-esteem, body satisfaction, and binge eating as a type of body image disturbance. Based on the data from this study, however, only the Appearance Evaluation subscale among four body image subscales was related to compulsive buying scores in television shoppers. Pearson correlations between MBSRQ
86 subscales and compulsive buying tendencies showed that Appearance Evaluation was the
most significantly related to compulsive buying out of four subscales (see Appendix 2).
Television shoppers who held more negative feelings about their appearances tended to
report more compulsive-shopping tendencies. This can be explained by the supposition
that in television shoppers, negative feelings or dissatisfaction about appearance might
trigger a greater tendency to consume, causing compulsive buying. This is supported by
Faber et al. (1995) in that compulsive buyers were more dissatisfied with their bodies
than noncompulsive buyers. Among television shoppers, most were over 50 years old
and were large-sized women. Due to their demographic characteristics it is possible that
their compulsive buying tendencies were not influenced much by Appearance
Orientation, Weight Preoccupation, and Weight Label. Because older people may be less
weight conscious and pay less attention to their appearances and to appearance behaviors
related to dieting than younger females, it is reasonable that compulsive buying scores
were not related to these variables in this sample.
Based on Rudd and Lennon's (1994) model, through social comparison, an individual creates her appearance with specific appearance management behaviors and internalizes the appearance evaluation. Rudd and Lennon (1994) suggested coping strategies in their model that through social comparison, individuals observe the cultural standard of ideal. Then they engage in appearance management behaviors such as not only dieting or exercising but also risky behaviors such as eating disorders. When individuals perceive that the cultural ideal is too far from their appearance, they may engage in one of the coping strategies— "accept standard, try harder." This coping strategy might be applied to compulsive buyers. That is, based on cultural aesthetic standards, those who have negative feelings about their appearances might engage in unwise behavior such as shopping compulsively in order to boost their self-esteem.
87 Compulsive shopping tendencies and binge-eating tendencies in television shoppers were related in this research. This is congruent with much research (e.g., Faber
& Christenson, 1996; Monahan, Black, & Gabel, 1996) which reported that compulsive buying and binge eating have significant similarities; both relate to impulse control disorders to overconsume, low self-esteem, and psychiatric problems such as depression.
Thus, television shoppers who score higher on compulsive buying tendencies may have significantly greater binge eating behavior tendencies. This means that based on previous research, television shoppers who tend to have compulsive buying tendencies might suffer from binge eating as commonalties; or television shoppers who suffer from binge eating might have compulsive buying tendencies.
In addition, the present study shows that there are some relationships among television shopping channel viewing time and one body image subscale in television shoppers. However, self-esteem was not related to television shopping channel exposure in television shoppers. This can be explained by the sample group's characteristics such as overall age, as noted already. As people become older, they become more mature, more tolerant of the unfavorable events in life, and have more self acceptance (Broomhall &
Winefield, 1990; Tiggemann, 1992). That is, because older women's self-esteem tends to be higher and more stable than younger women's, their self-esteem might not be associated with television shopping channel exposure. Perhaps, most of this older sample did not have television as children during their formative years and, thus, the influence of television on their self-esteem also may have been less. Among the body image subscales only the Appearance Evaluation subscale was related to television shopping channel viewing time. That is, those who evaluated their appearances more negatively tended to spend more time viewing television shopping channels. Perhaps women with negative perceptions of their bodies tend to avoid social situations outside their homes. For
88 instance, they might not want to attend social events or go shopping in public as often because they lack confidence in their appearances or bodies. It is also possible that the older age group prefers staying home. This may contribute to watching television shopping programs, and this may lead to more television shopping channel watching.
Weight Label, Weight Preoccupation, and Appearance Orientation were not associated with television shopping channel viewing time, possibly because the older age group is not as concerned with weight and pays less attention to their appearances than younger age groups. Instead, they may be more concerned with everyday matters and daily routines rather than their weights, which tend to be a preoccupation of younger women.
Although older women may spend more time in the home watching television shopping than younger women, these weight-related variables might not relate to their increasing television shopping channel viewing time.
The present study shows that there is a relationship among television shopping channel viewing time, compulsive buying tendencies, and binge-eating tendencies. It appears that media exposure to idealized images may lead to television shoppers' negative self-feelings or body dissatisfaction, which may in turn promote a greater tendency for increased compulsive buying and compulsive eating. Also, comparison with idealized media images may lead to more body dissatisfaction and binge eating in that women experience failure for not reaching the ideal standard of beauty. Based on the results of this study, the higher the compulsive buying scores and binge eating scores, the greater the tendency to view television shopping channels. Compulsive buyers may view more television shopping in order to acquire possessions. They might be afraid of missing something good or attractive through television shopping programs. Also, as O'Guinn and Faber (1989) suggested, because compulsive buyers seem to be interested in interaction with others, it is possible that compulsive buyers might want to have more
89 interactions with the hosts of television shopping programs. Thus, perhaps higher scores on compulsive buying may lead to a greater propensity to watch television shopping channels. In addition, as Faber et. al (1995) found, the higher the binge-eating scores, the more the tendency to compulsively buy. By watching more television shopping programs, binge eaters might feel the need to keep 'feeding' their compulsion in secret. In other words, binge eaters might eat and purchase more as they view television shopping channels. As compulsive buyers view television shopping to get something, perhaps binge eaters might also view television shopping more for their compulsion. It is possible that television media may contribute to the belief that happiness can be found through consumption for the television shoppers. Thus, television shopping channel viewing may encourage television shoppers with low self-esteem to manifest their problems though over-spending or over-eating.
Finally, the present study shows that there are some relationships among body image, self-esteem, and binge-eating scores. Based on the results of this study, it appears that television shoppers' negative self-feelings may be associated with more binge-eating tendencies. This is congruent with much research (e.g., Antony et al., 1994; de Zwaan &
Mitchell, 1992; Spitzer et al.. 1993) which found that binge eaters have lower levels of self-esteem. This study reveals that the higher Weight Preoccupation scores and Weight
Label scores, the greater the tendency to report binge-eating tendencies. This indicates that television shoppers who perceived their weight as overweight, or who worried about their weight or weight fluctuations tended to have higher binge-eating scores. This is also consistent with many other studies (e.g.. Cooper et al., 1989; Marcus, Smith,
Santelli, & Kaye, 1992; Spitzer et al. 1993) which reported that binge eating is related to severe obesity, greater weight fluctuations, and overconcem with weight.
90 American culture may encourage women to engage in both shopping and weight- control behaviors. Because television media provides attractiveness and materialism-based messages (Richins, 1995), female television shoppers may be more exposed to more of these messages due to many hours of television shopping viewing as compared to female non-television shoppers. Through social comparison with media, some television shoppers with low self-esteem who are not satisfied with their body images may begin to feel depression, and may engage in binge eating. In the same way, through comparison with idealized media images, television shoppers with low self-esteem who do not meet the ideal standard may begin shopping in order to overcome depression and may engage in compulsive spending. The view that everyone on television has beautiful things and is admired or liked for these possessions may promote individuals' negative feelings such as dissatisfaction or low self-esteem (Richins, 1995). While this clearly does not result in compulsive consumption among all television viewers, it may, over time, possibly contribute to the development of this problem in television shoppers with low self esteem or those prone to compulsive behavior.
There are few data available to show the frequency of compulsive buying in the population. Hassay and Smith (1996) suggest that compulsive buying affects 5.9% of the general population. However, from this study, approximately 10% of the television shoppers were found to have compulsive buying tendencies. Thus, compulsive shopping may be more common among television shoppers than among the general population.
Although this study had only 32 women who had compulsive buying tendencies out of
334 among television shoppers, there might be a high possibility for television shoppers classified as non-compulsive buyers to be those who would have compulsive buying tendencies later. The nature of the television shopping format in which television shoppers do not preview most of the products, and the easy and convenient method of
9 1 television shopping through credit card use may be an important contributor to the television shoppers' compulsive buying tendencies, causing significant psychological, interpersonal, and financial difficulties. Compulsive buying may be more common than found, may be treatable, and thus, should be further studied as a disorder in its own right.
It is necessary for psychological counseling to develop a better understanding of the root causes of compulsive spending.
This study is valuable for examining how consumers' body images, their self esteem, and their consumption such as compulsive shopping and binge eating may be shaped by television media exposure. To understand these connections among all variables, the theoretical model was proposed. This model proposed how social comparison with idealized media images relates to women's negative perceptions or attitudes about their appearances and their self-esteem, compulsive shopping scores, and compulsive eating scores such as binge eating.
Based on all results of this study, the modified model is represented as follows
(see Figure 2). Idealized media images are thought to strongly influence the cultural standard of beauty among women. Through social comparison, television shoppers may compare themselves to the media images. In this model, it was assumed that television shopping channel viewing time might be related to compulsive buying tendencies (a).
Based on results of this research, television shopping channel viewing time was significantly related to compulsive buying tendencies. In this model, it was assumed that compulsive buying tendencies might be related to binge-eating tendencies (b). Based on the results of this research, compulsive buying tendencies were significantly related to binge-eating tendencies. In this model, it was assumed that compulsive buying tendencies might be related to body image subscales (c). As a result, the relationship between compulsive buying tendencies and Appearance Evaluation, one of the body
92 TV Shopping Qiannd Sodal Exposure Comparison
* , (i)R=.06 (h)R=.Q7 (ÿNan \(a)R=.29
Self-Esteem
^(e)R= . fA fpeaxnx\ ( Evaluation/’)
Body Image Compulsive (c)R=.05 Buying /Appetrance\ ( E v tJ u a io n /
(f)R=.09r 0)R'=05 ^(b)R=.26 [Preocciqxnon/
Bmge Eating
Figure 2
Figure 2) Revised model of the relationships among television shopping channel exposure, body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, and binge eating in television shoppers
93 image subscales, was statistically significant. However, because this relationship between the two variables was very weak, the relationship may not be practically significant or may be non-linear. In this model, it was assumed that compulsive buying tendencies might be related to self-esteem (d). As a result of this research, the relationship between compulsive buying tendencies and self-esteem was statistically significant. However, because there was a very weak linear relationship between the two variables, the relationship between compulsive buying tendencies and self-esteem may not be practically significant or may be non-linear. The sample for this study was divided into five age groups; 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and over 60s. For the age groups, only among the 20s group were compulsive buying tendencies and self-esteem related. For other age groups there were no relationships between the two variables (see Appendix 6). This may mean that age moderates the relationship between the two variables. In this model, it was assumed that body image subscales might be related to self-esteem (e). Based on the results of this research. Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, and Weight
Preoccupation, three of the body image subscales, were significantly related to self esteem. However, results of calculations using the Pedhazur ( 1982) formula showed that the amount of variance accounted for by Appearance Orientation and Weight Label in self-esteem was weak. This indicates that Appearance Orientation and Weight Label may have no practical significance for self-esteem. Also, in this model, it was assumed that body image subscales might be related to binge-eating tendencies (f). Results revealed that
Weight Preoccupation and Weight Label, two of the body image subscales, were related to binge-eating tendencies. However, although the relationship between Weight Label and binge-eating tendencies was statistically significant, because the relationship between the two variables was weakly linear, the relationship between the Weight Label and binge- eating tendencies may not be practically significant or may be non-linear.
94 On the other hand, in this model, it was assumed that television shopping channel viewing time might be related to self-esteem (g). Based on the results of this research, television shopping channel viewing time was not significantly related to self-esteem.
However, based on post hoc analyses, there were some differences among age groups related to television shopping channel viewing time and self-esteem (see Appendix 7).
Television shopping channel viewing time appears to be related to self-esteem among younger groups such as 20s and 30s age groups. Among other groups such 40s, 50s, and over 60s, television shopping channel viewing time appears not to be related to self esteem. This suggests that age may be a moderating variable between two variables. In this model, television shopping channel viewing time might be related to body image subscales (h). There were also some differences between age groups related to body image subscales and television shopping channel viewing time (see Appendix 8). The three body image subscales out of four appear related to television shopping channel viewing time among the 20s age group (Appearance Evaluation, Appearance Orientation, and Weight Preoccupation). Among 30s and 40s age groups, only Appearance Evaluation appears related to television shopping channel viewing time. However, among 50s and over 60s, no body image subscales appears to be related to television shopping channel viewing time. This may suggest that age may moderate the relationships between the two variables. Results of this research revealed that television shopping channel viewing time was significantly related to Appearance Evaluation, one of the body image subscales.
However, there was a weak linear relationship between two variables, the relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and Appearance Evaluation may not be practically significant or may be non-linear. In this model, it was assumed that television shopping channel viewing time might be related to binge eating tendencies (i). Based on the results of this research, the relationship between the two variables was statistically
95 significant. However, because there was a weak linear relationship between television shopping channel viewing time and binge-eating tendencies, the relationship between the two variables may not be practically significant or may be non-linear. Finally, in this model, it was assumed that binge-eating tendencies might be related to self-esteem (j).
The results of this research revealed that tendency to binge eat was statistically related to self-esteem. However, because the relationship between the two variables was very weak, the relationship between binge-eating tendencies and self-esteem may not be practically significant or may be non-linear.
As suggested by the model, strong relationships were found among television shopping channel viewing time, compulsive buying, and binge-eating tendencies (a & b) in this research. Television shopping channel exposure might promote consumer socialization. Because television shopping programs may portray wealth or possessions as "the good life," television shopping channel exposure may lead to consumers' motivations to acquire more possessions in an attempt to have "what everyone else has."
Thus, their desire for acquisition of something more might lead to uncontrollable spending such as compulsive buying. As some research (e.g., Faber et al., 1995; Faber & O'Guinn.
1992; O'Guinn & Faber, 1989) revealed, compulsive buying and binge eating have comorbidity as compulsive consumptions. In this research, television shoppers who had compulsive buying tendencies also had binge-eating tendencies. Also in this research, television shoppers who had binge-eating tendencies were more concerned about their weight or weight fluctuation. In this research. Appearance Evaluation was related to self esteem. Television shoppers who tended to be dissatisfied with their bodies and appearance had lower self-esteem. Although self-esteem was directly related to only
Appearance Evaluation, one of the body image subscales, it is possible that self-esteem is indirectly related to television shopping channel exposure, compulsive buying, and binge-
96 eating tendencies. Because this model explains how each variable connects to another variable well, it would be very useful to body image and eating disorder research, as well as to psychological counselors and therapists who treat compulsive shoppers.
However, although nine out of ten hypotheses were statistically significant, only four had practical as well as statistical significance. The remaining five hypotheses did not have practical significance because the relationships between variables were weak. In future studies to test this model, perhaps it might be better to use different measures, or perhaps we need to consider different strategies or methods to determine other types of relationships besides linear relationships.
Results of this study suggest some strategies for coping with a negative body image and unwise compulsive spending and compulsive eating, strategies to strengthen aspects of self-concept such as self-esteem, and strategies that might be used in treating compulsive shopping and compulsive eating as follows. First, recently the issue of social responsibility in marketing has grown significantly (Muncy & Eastman, 1998).
"Automatic social comparisons with idealized media images are a part of our daily lives"
(Lermon & Rudd, 1994, p. 112). Television shoppers may tend to internalize idealized television media images based on physical attractiveness and material possessions. These perceptions may lead to low body image, low self-esteem, compulsive buying, or compulsive eating. Thus, television shopping programs which are not obsessed with ideal images or materialism should be encouraged, and television programs or advertisements which reinforce "materialism" and "attractiveness" should be reduced.
Workman and Freeburg (1996) related an unusual example of the social comparison of ideal images phenomenon described above using consumer responses to two fashion advertisement stimuli. Consumers tended to ask more about, to think more about purchasing, and were more likely to report that they would buy more clothing
97 items worn by a model in a wheelchair than by a model in a lawn chair. The model in a wheelchair was considered more credible, more attractive, and more knowledgeable than a model in a lawn chair. Perhaps "a model in a wheelchair more accurately reflects the diversity encountered in society and, therefore, the increased accuracy lends credibility to an advertisement" (Workman & Freeburg, 1996, p. 247). Because the mass media constantly expose the upper extreme of the normal population of physical attractiveness
(Cash, Cash, & Butters, 1983), "the discouragement associated with attaining the standard of appearance portrayed by the upper extreme may positively affect consumers' responses to advertising images of models in wheelchairs" (Workman & Freeburg, 1996. p. 251). Thus, in a similar way television advertisements, fashion retailers, and marketers need to consider using a greater variety of models such as petite, large-size, ethnic, and older models in an attempt to attract a range of consumer segments and to more effectively sell fashion products. Marketers can show themselves to be more socially responsible by not focusing on perfectionism in their models, but by using models not typically seen in advertisements until recently, such as a person in a wheelchair or from certain ethnic or age groups. Because consumers seem to respond favorably to models similar to themselves and because they may find those models more credible, marketers could realize greater profits as consumers tend to purchase more from models they consider more believable or like themselves. This may be a social responsibility issue for marketers by encouraging more positive and realistic body perceptions for consumers and by deemphasizing the obsession with ideal images. As a consequence, consumers then may evaluate themselves more favorably and have fewer negative feelings about their perceived shortcomings, unattractiveness, or negative self-worth.
The other aspect to the encouragement of more positive images in television shopping and advertisements regards materialism. While many marketers encourage
98 materialism, materialism may lead to negative societal effects (Richins & Dawson, 1992).
Greater materialism may increase greater economic prosperity and material possessions but also can cause greater negative societal effects on quality of life—for individuals, families, and the environment. "Many marketers may have a self-interest in encouraging materialism, but if materialism is not in the best interest of society, then such encouragement could be considered socially irresponsible" (Muncy & Eastman, 1998, p.
137). That is, it might be socially irresponsible for marketers to be profiting from promotion of consumer materialism (Muncy & Eastman, 1998). In the short-term companies may see a reduction in profits, but in the long-term consumer loyalty to those companies may expand for companies demonstrating socially responsible attitudes and behaviors. With every new idea comes a period of adjustment. Smart companies will realize this and recognize that they will be better off in the long-term. The socially responsible company allows effective ways for compulsive consumers to become
"healthier" consumers, thereby reducing erratic spending, bad feelings toward the company due to demands for payment, and a more steady shopping behavior over the long term. From a marketing perspective, compulsive shoppers may reduce their spending and they will be able to become better situated financially, and their spending will continue in a more healthy and affordable manner in the long-term. This will benefit both consumers and marketers.
Second, recently a number of researchers (e.g.. Fan & Hanna, 1992) have been concerned about the moimting levels of consumer debt. One study estimates indicate that approximately one in every twelve Americans is overwhelmed by debt and that
"20,000,000 Americans are only one paycheck ahead of catastrophe" (Mundis, 1986, p.
23). Based on the present study, compulsive consumption may also contribute to credit problems because the easy method of credit card use by compulsive buyers with their
99 television shopping may lead to severe financial problems such as bankruptcy. Thus, it is necessary to focus on how institutions can detect these problems and provide compulsive shoppers with counseling or educational programs. Also, for compulsive shoppers, it would be useful to provide typical credit abuse intervention programs which involve consumer counseling, financial planning, education, and good budgeting skills (e.g., the knowledge of credit card limit annual percentage rates).
Third, based on results of this study, several ideas are suggested for treatment programs. Researchers who have studied compulsive shopping behavior have recognized new conunon compulsive behaviors such as compulsive eating, gambling, and kleptomania
(Faber & O'Guinn, 1988). For most people, these behaviors are ordinarily uncommon occurrences. Research has found that when people are deprived of one source of satisfaction, they increase their use of other sources (Krahn, 1991). In other words, individuals suffering from a disorder are encouraged to substitute the problematic behavior with other more positive or less harmful activities. For example, some treatment programs may encourage compulsive shoppers to visit a favorite restaurant rather than to shop when they feel negative mood states. Such programs may encourage people who suffer from one disorder to replace it with more positive behavior. In another example, contracts between therapists and clients might include agreements to limit television shopping viewing to a certain number of hours per day or a tapering off of viewing. Based on the results of the present research, individuals who suffer from compulsive buying tend to have binge-eating tendencies. This may mean that a person seeking treatment for one behavior such as compulsive buying may likely suffer from another negative behavior such as binge eating. Also people already in treatment for binge eating could be screened for compulsive spending and vice versa. Therefore, an accurate screening device might be designed to evaluate that person's range of combination of negative behaviors. As some
100 studies (e.g., Faber et al., 1995; McElroy et al., 1995) reported, compulsive buying is
related not only to binge eating but also shoplifting, alcoholism, and drug abuse. People
who suffer from one negative behavior might be susceptible to other negative behaviors.
Further examination of these relationships would be enhanced with the development of
valid screening measurements of combinations of these behaviors as comorbid, leading to
important implications for treatment programs. A greater understanding of which
behaviors will be helpful in improving treatment programs and avoiding this problem is
required.
Fourth, consumers may perceive time pressure to purchase items from television shopping because only merchandise which is displayed on the television screen may be ordered. This may foster impulse buying tendencies of television shoppers. Also, television shopping channels may "prey-on" vulnerable compulsive shoppers by
increasing their desire for products. As a strategy to reduce impulse shopping from television shopping programs, it is suggested that consumers videotape, providing an opportunity to re-consider specific merchandise on interest. In this way, compulsive shoppers may reduce the immediate desire to purchase and allow themselves a "cooling o ff period in which to reflect whether or not they really want the product. Also, from marketers' social responsibility perspectives, customer service might include a ffee-of- charge or reimbursement return policy for items being returned, regardless of reason for the return.
Finally, for television apparel marketers, this study also suggests more useful information about a variety of consumer targets, such as the disabled, homebound, elderly, or large-sized women (typically ignored by mainstream marketing targets).
Especially, in the present study, clothing and jewelry were frequently purchased by television shoppers. This may mean that television shopping is an important market for
101 appearance-related products for television shoppers. Consumers may feel that it is hard to find their favorite styles/sizes or more variety of styles at stores. For example, according to one survey ("Dissatisfied Customers," 1996), 57% of large-sized consumers agreed that they have difficulty finding their sizes of clothing at stores. Because television shopping provides easy access for shopping, safety, and convenience for them as advantages of direct marketing, these consumer groups may use the 'television store' more frequently than other general consumer groups. Thus, apparel manufacturers for television shopping programs may wish to provide more choices of styles for these segments of consumers.
102 Limitations
The results of this study must be qualified by the limits of the study sample. The measures of television shopping channel viewing, and body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies are constrained by the use of self-report survey methodology. Because responses are often based on memory alone and memories may be inadequate, respondents may have reported what they remember as accurate, but may which in reality be a inaccurate recollection (Lennon, Bums, & Rowold,
1995). In addition, compulsive buying tendencies and binge-eating tendencies seem to be very sensitive or private issues. Thus, although social desirability scales were used for these data, responses may have been still less than truthful, thereby the results in this study might be based on a low representation of compulsive buyers. Also, the cover letter for the questionnaire used the following language "... and what kind of behaviors in which we engage (e.g.. eating behavior or consumption behavior)..." which may have suppressed the response rate, signifying a "red flag" for compulsive buyers. According to Dillman (1978), the first question should relate to the purpose of the survey and have beneficial outcomes to society. A cover letter explains the purpose of the study to the respondents. If respondents start to answer items which are not related to the topic of the survey, such as demographic information, they might lose initial interest or enthusiasm
(Dillman, 1978). The first question needs to be interesting or applicable to respondents.
Thus it would be better to ask questions clearly related to the survey topic or more useful questions to the study first, and least useful last (Dillman, 1978). Also, instead of the fixed order questionnaire, a counter-balanced questionnaire might have helped discourage response biases from subjects. That is, different formats of the questionnaire may have distributed the biases more evenly among subjects who tended to become bored or tired toward the end of the questionnaire. Also, for this study, only female television shoppers
103 were examined. It is necessary to expand the study to males to generalize the results.
Finally, although most of the relationships between the variables in this study were
statistically significant, their practical meanings were not very significant. Age may be as
a moderator variable in the model. By including age in future research, the relationships
between variables may have greater support. Also, this means that it would be better to
use other measurements or to add some measurements in order to isolate stronger
relationships for more practical significance. For example, among the body image
subscales, additional subscales such as Health Orientation and Health Evaluation in the
measurement should be included in this type of research because an older sample may
likely have been concerned with health.
Further Study
Most compulsive buyers appear to be interested in interaction with others (Faber
& O'Guinn, 1995). A type of interaction may be made with hosts of television home shopping programs ~ parasocial interaction, defined as a "mock social relationship audience members develop with media personae" (Auter & Moore, 1993, p. 425). Grant et al. (1991) found that television viewers who had a strong dependency relationship with the television shopping programs tended to develop parasocial relationships with television shopping hosts. Television viewers' dependency relationship was an essential element in predicting television shopping channel viewing time and purchasing behavior.
That is, viewers who buy may experience a parasocial interaction with the host.
Therefore, for future study, it might be useful to examine if compulsive buyers establish a parasocial interaction with hosts of television shopping programs in order to simulate interpersonal relations.
104 Based on previous studies and the data from this study, it is possible that there is
a relationship between compulsive buying and other eating disorders such as bulimia in
that bulimia includes bingeing and purging, compulsive buying behavior seems to have
some similarities with bulimia — purchasing (bingeing), and returning merchandise
(purging). Because food purging tends to be accompanied by feelings of guilt (Polivy &
Herman, 1985), perhaps feelings of guilt also accompany returning merchandise. Thus, it
would be useful to examine if these behaviors are also related.
Qualitative research (e.g., case study of compulsive buyers) may contribute to a
greater understanding of the compulsive buying phenomenon and the motivations behind
it. Because this research concerns human behaviors, it is necessary to explore the personal experiences not always possible with quantitative study.
For further research, it would be useful to use structural equation modeling to test the model which was proposed in this research. With this type of modeling, the direct and indirect effects of television shopping viewing time on body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, and binge eating also could be investigated simultaneously as a whole, and not just by each individual relationship.
Compulsive buyers seem to be more interested in attaining positive satisfaction associated with the acquisition of their purchases than with economic or utilitarian value
(O'Guinn & Faber, 1989). Thus, it may be useful to examine compulsive shoppers' television shopping motivations (e.g., hedonistic vs utilitarian shopping value).
Further research is necessary in order to generalize the results to other populations. By expanding the study to include different cultural groups such as Asian or European countries and to examine demographics and psychographic differences, greater imderstanding may be gained and differences among consumer groups may be identified. It would be valuable to determine if the results are unique to America, or if it is
105 equally common in other cultures. These are the necessary first steps in learning more about this research.
The unique contribution of this research is to investigate the extent to which compulsive buying and binge eating are comorbid in television shoppers. The most important contribution is to find a relationship between compulsive buying and binge eating in television shoppers. While most research examined the relationship between only two variables (e.g., body image and self-esteem, or compulsive buying and binge eating) among a general population, this research is unique in that it looks at all variables together at the same time and extends results to a different population such as television shoppers fi’om non-television shoppers. Also, compared to previous research conducted on younger aged women generally, this study extends findings to a broader age range
(with an age range of 23 to 85 years) representing the U.S. population of television shoppers. The results in the present research may also contribute ideas for further study to see if Internet shoppers have the same shopping behavior as television shoppers.
Because the two shopping formats are both a form of electronic shopping, Internet shopping also might be related to compulsive buying or binge eating. In addition, this study was multi-disciplinary research, including not only a textiles and clothing perspective, but also psychology, aesthetics, marketing, financial planning, health, and nutrition perspectives. It may be meaningful in that this study blends all those multi disciplinary areas.
The significance and value of this study may lie in producing strategies to strengthen aspects of self-concept such as self-esteem, and to enable females to better withstand the risks associated with developing body image disturbances and engaging in unwise consumption behaviors such as compulsive buying and binge eating among television shoppers and non-television shoppers. Furthermore, this basic information
106 would be suggested for the purpose of planning treatment and prevention programs in different cultures because it is important for improving the quality of life and standards of
living for people. It is hoped that ultimately this knowledge may be useful in developing successful intervention strategies.
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127 APPENDICES
128 APPENDIX A
QUESTIONNAIRE
I 29 H Department of Consumer and 231 Campbell Hall Textile Sciences 1787 Neil Avenue OHIO Columbus, OH 43210-1295 Department 614-292-8063 SIATE FA.X 614-292-7536 L\I\ERb[T'i http WWW hec.Dhio-state.edu, cts/index.htm
Dear Participant;
Personal appearance is very important to most of us. It may influence how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others, and what kind of behaviors in which we engage (e.g., eating behavior or consumption behavior). As our research topic that examines feelings and behaviors about personal appearance among TV shoppers, we are interested in your opinions and attitudes. The questionnaire will take around 10 or 15 minutes to complete. Your answers to all items are completely confidential. Your name will never be linked with your responses. The number on the questionnaire is for record keeping purposes only, and will be removed after you return the questionnaire. Please give an answer to all of the items because your answers are very important to us. A lottery incentive of $100 will be awarded to one participant through a drawing. You must be 18 years or older to participate. If you are under 18 years old, please disregard. If you would be interested in having a summary of the results when they become available, please check "the copy of result" on the back of this questionnaire and print your name and address below it. It is very important that we receive as many questionnaires back as soon as possible. When you are finished, please remove the front page and return this questionnaire as soon as possible. Postage is not required. Thank you very much for your time and willingness to participate in this research.
Sincerely,
Sharron J. Lennon, PhD., Professor Nancy A. Rudd, PhD., Associate Professor Seung-Hee Lee, M.A., M.S.
130 Department of Consumer and 231 Campbell Hall Textile Sciences 1787 Neil A venue OHIO Colum bus, OH 43210-1295 Department 614-292-8063 FAX 614-292-7536 L'XlVERSI'n http:/ ■ WWW hec.ohio-itdte.edu, cts, index.htm
A reminder... We recently mailed you a questionnaire about TV shoppers' consumer behavior and body image. If you have returned the questionnaire, thank you very much for your participation. If you have not already completed it, we hope that you will set aside some time to do so in the next few days. If you did not receive the questionnaire, or have misplaced it, please call us at (614) 481-3094 and we will send another one to you. Thank you very much!
Sharron J. Lennon, Ph.D. Professor Nancy A. Rudd, Ph.D. Associate Professor Seung-Hee Lee, M.A., M.S. The Ohio State University
13 1 Department of Consumer and 231 Campbell Hail Textile Sciences 1787 Neil Avenue OHIO Columbus, OH 43210-1295 Department 614-292-8063 FAX 614-292-7536 UNTVFRSlTï http://www.hec.ohio-state.edu/cts/inclex.htm
Dear Participant:
About two weeks ago I wrote to you seeking information on TV shoppers' consumer behavior and body image. As of today, we have not received your completed questionnaire. Personal appearance is very important to most of us. It may influence how we feel about ourselves, how we interact with others, and what kind of behaviors in which we engage (e.g., eating behavior or consumption behavior). The results of this study will provide essential information about television shoppers. We are writing to you again because each questionnaire is significant in analyzing and interpreting the results of this study. A lottery incentive of $100 will be awarded to one participant through a drawing. If you would be interested in having a summary of the results, please check "the copy of result" on the back of this questionnaire and print your name and address below it It is essential that each person return their questionnaire because your views are important to us. In the event that you did not receive the questionnaire, or if it has been misplace^, a replacement is enclosed. Please fill out the entire questionnaire. When you are finished, please remove the front page and return this questionnaire as soon as possible. Postage is not required. If you have any questions regarding the questionnaire or this study, please feel free to call us at (614)481-3094. your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Seung-Hee Lee, M.A., M.S. Sharron J. Lennon, PhD., Professor Nancy A. Rudd, PhD., Associate Professor
132 PLEASE PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING GENERAL INFORMATION:
1 .Age:_____ 2- Height: 3. Weight:______4. Clothing size (dress):
5. Ethnic Background: (Please check) African American , Caucasian American , Hispanic American , Native American , Asian American , Other_____
6. What is your marital status? single married divorced widowed ______
7. What is your highest level of education completed? (circle one) high school degree; vocational school; associates degree; college degree; graduate degree; other ___
8. What is your occupation? Are you Not employed but looking for employment Are you Not employed for pay___ Are you Employed full-time for pay____ Are you Employed part-time for pay_____
9. What is your yearly income (before taxes)? 575,000 or more , $74,999-50,000___, $49,999- 25,000_ $24,999-13,000 ____, $12,999-7,000 ____ , fewer than $7,000_
10. What size communuty do you live in? 1,000,000 or more , 999,999-500,000 ____, 499,999-250.000 249.999-100,00 0 . 99,999-50,000 , 49,999-25,000 ____ . 24.999-13.00 0 _____. 12,999-7.000 , fewer than 7,000 ____
11. Are you disabled? Yes No ___ 12. Are you homebound? Yes No
13. How many hours do you watch a shopping channel? an average weekday ______hrs an average Saturday ______hrs an average Sunday ______hrs
14. What time of the day are you most likely to watch shopping channels during a typical week? morning (8-12am)___. afternoon (12-5pm)___, evening (5-12pm)___, night (12-8am) ___
15. How many times have you purchased from shopping channels in the past 12 months? 1) 1 -5 _____ 2 )6 -1 0 ______3) 11-15 4) 15-20____ 5) more than 20____
PLEASE INDICATE THE NUMBER WHICH BEST ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS WHICH FOLLOW: 5=ALWAYS. 4=FREQUENTLY, 3=S0METIMES. 2=SELDOM. 1=NEVER
Indicate the frequency with which you watch the following. 16. QVC 17. QVC2 18. Value Vision 19. Home Shopping Network (HSN)
133 Indicate the ftequency with which you buy from the following. 20. QVC 21. QVC2 22. Value Vision 23. Home Shopping Network (HSN)
Indicate the frequency with which you purchase the following items from the shopping channels. 24. clothing 25. jewelry 26. cosmetics 27. exercise equipment
Indicate the frequency with which you pay by the following system. 28. credit card 29. money order 30. check 31. debit card
32. How frequently do you pay extra to have the item shipped sooner?
33. Have you returned something you bought fr-om shopping channel? Yes No_____ If yes, please answer #Q34 and #Q35 (5=always, 4=frequently, 3=sometimes, 2=seldom, l=never) 34. How frequently do you return something you bought from the shopping chaimel? 35. How frequently are you satisfied with the way your return was handled?
36. How many credit cards do you have? ______37. Do you know your credit limit on the card(s) you have? Y es No_____
38. Please indicate the number which best describes your behavior; 5=Strongly Agree, 4=Agree, 3=Neutral, 2=Disagree, and 1-Strongly Disagree. ______If 1 have any money left at the end of the pay period, 1 just have to spend it.
Please read each items carefully and indicate the number which best describes your feeling. Use the following system: 5 = Strongly Agree, 4 = Agree, 3 = Neutral, 2= Disagree, and 1 = Strongly Disagree.
______39. 1 feel that I’m a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others. ______40. 1 feel that 1 have a number of good qualities. ______41. All in all, 1 am inclined to feel that I am a failure. 42. 1 am able to do things as well as most other people. 43.1 feel 1 do not have much to be proud of. 44. 1 take a positive attitude toward myself. 45. On the whole, 1 am satisfied with myself. ______46.1 wish 1 could have more respect for myself. ______47.1 certainly feel useless at times 48. At times 1 think 1 am no good at all. 49. Before going out in public, I always notice how 1 look. ______50.1 am careful to buy clothes that will make me look my best. 51. My body is sexually appealing. 52. 1 like my looks just the way they are. 53.1 check my appearance in a mirror whenever 1 can. 54. Before going out, 1 usually spend a lot of time getting ready. 55. Most people would consider me good-looking.
134 56. It is important that I always look good. 5 7 .1 use very few grooming products. 58. I like the way I look without my clothes. 5 9 .1 am self-consicous if my grooming isn't right. 6 0 .1 iKually wear whatever is handy without caring how it looks. 61.1 like the way my clothes fit me. 6 2 .1 don't care what other people think about my appearance. 6 3 .1 take special care with my hair grooming. 64. I dislike my physique. 6 5 .1 am physically unattractive. 66.1 never think about my appearance. 6 7 .1 am always trying to improve my physical appearance. 6 8 .1 constantly worry about being or becoming fat. 6 9 .1 am on a weight-loss diet. 7 0 .1 am very conscious of even small changes in my weight.
For the following the items use the response scale given with the item, and mark your answer in the blank to the right of the item. 71. I have tried to lose weight by fasting or going on crash diets. 1. Never 2. Rarely 3. Sometimes 4. Often 5. Very Often
72. I think I am: I. Very Underweight 2. Somewhat Underweight3. Normal Weight 4. Somewhat Overweight 5. Very Overweight
73. From looking at me, most people would think I am: 1. Very Underweight 2. Somewhat Underweight 3. Normal Weight 4. Somewhat Overweight 5. Very Overweight
Please indicate how often you have done each of the following things by using the following system: 5=very often, 4=0ften, 3=Sometimes, 2=Rarely, l=Never.
74. Felt others would be horrified if they knew of my spending habits 75. Bought things even though I couldn't afford them. ______76. Wrote a check when I knew I didn't have enough money in the bank to cover it. 77. Bought myself something in order to make myself feel better. 78. Felt anxious or nervous on days I didn't go shopping. 79. Made only the minimum payments on my credit cards.
Please use the following system to indicate how characteristic the following symptoms are of you. 5= always, 4= often, 3=sometimes, 2=rarely, l=never.
______80.1 consume a large amount of food during a binge ______81.1 eat very rapidly 82.1 feel out of control when I cat 83.1 feel miserable or annoyed after a binge ______84.1 get uncontrollable urges to eat and eat until I feel physically ill 85.1 binge eat in private
Please read each statement and decide whether or not it describes you. Then indicate your answer. If you agree with a statement or decide that it does describe you, answer TRUE by marking "T". If you disagree with a statement or feel that it is not descriptive of you, answer FALSE, by marking "F".
______86.1 have never bought anything in a store. 87.1 am quite able to make correct decisions on difficult questions.
135 88. I could easily count from one to twenty-five. 89. I am never able to do things as well as I should. 90. I can nm a mile in less than four minutes. 91. My life is full of intersting activities. 9 2 .1 have never talked to anyone by telephone. 93. I believe people tell lies any time it is to their advantage. 94. I usually wear something warm when I go outside on a very cold day. 95. If someone gave me too much change I would tell him. 96. I make all my own clothes and shoes. 97. I would be willing to do something a little imfair to get something that was important to me. 98.1 have never brushed or cleaned my teeth. 99. I get along with people at parties quite well. 100. Things with sugar in them usually taste sweet to me. 101. 1 did many very bad things as a child. 102. Sometimes 1 see cars near my home. 103. 1 am glad 1 grew up the way 1 did. 104.1 have never had any hair on my head. 105.1 often question whether hfe is worthwhile. 106.1 have traveled away from my home town. 107.1 am always prepared to do what is expected of me. 108. 1 have never ridden in an automobile. 109. My daily life includes many activities 1 dislike. 110.1 have never felt sad. 111. 1 am one of the lucky people who could talk with my parents about my problems. 112. I try to get at least some sleep every night. 113. Many things make me feel uneasy. _114. Sometimes 1 feel thirsty or hungry. 115. I am careful to plan for my distant goals. 116. I have attended school at some time during my life. 117.1 find it very difficult to concentrate.
136 APPENDIX B
CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS AMONG VARIALBES
1 3 7 Correlational analyses were used to to assess relationships among variables (body image, self-esteem, compulsive buying, binge eating, TV viewing time, BMI, and age) in television shoppers as follows:
Self-Esteem BMI compulsive TV viewing
buying time
Appearance Evaluation .464** -.300** .219** -.259**
Appearance Orientation .231** - 199** .003 .032
Weight Label -.043 .584** -.067 -.103
Weight Preoccupation -.120* .092 -.112* -.083
Compulsive Buying .200* -.163** -.485**
Binge Eating -.258** .274** -.514** .457**
Age .099 .060 .190** -.061
TV Shopping Viewing Time -.142** .071 -.485**
BMI -.109* — -.163** .071
*p < .05 **p<.01
Appendix 2) Pearson correlation between variables for television shoppers (The sign of compulsive buying indicates the inverse relationship)
1 3 8 APPENDIX C
FREQUENCY OF AGE GROUPS FOR COMPULSIVE BUYERS
AND BINGE EATERS
139 Age group Frequency of The number of Percent
compulsive buyers sample group
20s 3 13 23.1% of 20s
30s 6 39 15.4% of 30s
40s 8 57 14.0% of 40s
50s 9 107 8.4% of 50s
60s and over 6 118 5.1% of 60s
Age group Frequency of binge The number of Percent
eaters sample group
20s 1 13 5.6% of 20s
30s 9 39 23.1% of 30s
40s 12 57 17.5% of 40s
50s 22 107 20.6% of 50s
60s and over 21 118 17.8% of 60s
Appendix 3) The frequency of age groups for compulsive buyers and binge eaters
1 4 0 APPENDIX D
PERCENTAGE OF VARIANCE ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE INDEPENDENT
VARIABLES ON DEPENDENT VARIABLES
1 4 1 Percentage of variance accounted for by the independent variables for dependent variable were tested for significance using a formula developed by Pedhazur (1982).
F= R^/k
(with k and N - k - I df, where k = number of independent variables; N = sample size) (Pedhazur, 1982, p. 57)
Dependent Variable Independent Variable F Ratio % o f Variance
Self-Esteem Appearance Evaluation 22.527 2L5** Appearance Orientation 1.254 1.5 Weight Label 0.999 1.2
Compulsive Buying Self-Esteem 13.84 4.0*
Compulsive Buying Appearance Evaluation 4.329 5.0*
Binge Eating Compulsive Buying 119.1 26.4**
TV Shopping Channel Appearance Evaluation 4.947 7.0** Viewing Time
TV Shopping Channel Compulsive Buying 51.097 23.5** Viewing Time Binge Eating 10.387 5.9**
Binge Eating Weight Preoccupation 6.739 9.3**
Self-Esteem 3.453 5.0*
Weight Label 2.734 4.0*
Appendix 4) Percentage of Variance Accounted for by the Independent Variables for
Dependent Variables (*p < .05, **p <.01)
1 4 2 APPENDIX E
COMPULSIVE BUYING SCALE SCORING
1 4 3 Compulsive Buying Scale Scoring (Faber & O'Guinn, 1992)
Scoring equation = -9.69 + (Q1 X .33) + (Q2 X .34) + (Q3 X .50) + (Q4 X .47) + (Q5
X .33) + (Q6 X .38)+ (Q7 X .31)
Q 1. If 1 have any money left at the end of the pay period, 1 just have to spend it.
Q2. Felt others would be horrified if they knew of ray spending habits.
Q3. Bought things even though 1 couldn't afford them.
Q4. Wrote a check when 1 knew 1 didn't have enough money in the bank to cover it.
Q5. Bought myself something in order to make myself feel better.
Q6. Felt anxious or nervous on days I didn't go shopping.
Q7. Made only the minimum payments on my credit cards.
If score is < -1.34, subject is classified as a compulisve buyer.
1 4 4 APPENDIX F
Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Compulsive Buying
Tendencies among 20s age group
1 4 5 Self-Esteem and Compulsive Buying Tendencies
Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Compulsive Buying Tendencies among 20s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered 6 R" P
Compulsive Buying 13.89 1 Self-Esteem -.53 .53 .001
Other age groups such as 30s, 40s, 50s, and over 60s did not have significance.
1 4 6 APPENDIX G
Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Multiple Regression Analysis
between Self-Esteem and Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time
among 20s and 30s age group
1 4 7 Televison Shopping Channel Viewing Time and Self-Esteem
Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time among 20s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered B R^ P
Self-Esteem 7.737 1 Television Shopping -.64 .41 .05 Channel Viewing Time
Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Multiple Regression Analysis between Self-Esteem and Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time among 30s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered B R" P
Self-Esteem 9.93 1 Television Shopping -.46 .21 .005 Channel Viewing Time
Other age groups such as 40s, 50s, and over 60s did not have significance.
1 4 8 APPENDIX H
Multiple Regression Analysis between Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time and
Body Image among 20s, 30s, and 40s age group
1 4 9 Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time and Body Image
Multiple Regression Analysis between Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time and
Body Image among 20s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered B R'P
TV viewing time 6.56 1 Appearance evaluation -.61 .37 .026
TV viewing time 8.0 2 Appearance evaluation -.63 .010
Appearance orientation .49 .62 .031
TV viewing time 11.3 3 Appearance evaluation -.54 .007
Appearance orientation .52 .008
Weight label .43 .79 .023
Multiple Regression Analysis between Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time and
Body Image among 30s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered 0 P
TV viewing time 9.8 1 Appearance evaluation -.46 .21 .003
1 5 0 Multiple Regression Analysis between Television Shopping Channel Viewing Time and
Body Image among 40s age group
Dependent Variable F ratio df Variable entered 13 R^ P
TV viewing time 9.5 1 Appearance evaluation -.38 .15 .003
Other age groups such as 50s, and over 60s did not have significance.
1 5 1 APPENDIX I
RESPONSE RATE FROM MAILING LIST
1 5 2 Respondents in the data analysis
State Mail total Total response Response rate by State f%) AK 3 1 33.3 AL 9 2 22.2 AR 13 4 30.8 AZ 16 5 31.2 CA 57 21 36.8 CO 9 3 33.3 CT 20 6 30.0 DE 5 2 40.0 FL 65 22 33.8 GA 11 4 36.4 lA 14 4 28.5 ID 2 0 0 IL 56 18 32.1 IN 38 14 36.8 KY 15 6 40.0 LA 14 4 28.5 MA 28 9 32.1 MD 8 2 25.0 ME 3 1 33.3 MI 92 33 27.9 MN 12 3 25.0 MO 39 12 30.8 MS 7 3 42.9 MT 1 0 0 NC 42 12 28.5 ND 2 1 50.0 NE 5 1 20.0 NH 3 1 33.3
1 5 3 NJ 33 12 36.4 NM 5 1 20.0 NY 63 30 47.6 OH 28 11 39.3 OK 11 4 36.3 OR 4 1 25.0 PA 108 36 33.3 RI 7 2 28.6 SC 5 2 40.0 SD 2 1 50.0 TN 16 5 31.1 TX 54 15 27.8 UT 3 1 33.3 VA 17 6 35.3 WA 7 2 28.6 WI 44 11 25.0 WV 4 1 25.0 WY 2 1 50.0 TOTAL 1000 334
1 5 4 APPENDIX J
FREQUENCY OF PURCHASING FROM SHOPPING CHANNELS
1 5 5 Frequency of purchasing from shopping channels
QVC 0VC2 Value Vision HSN
1 24 (7.2%) 116(34.7%) 115 (34.4%) 59(17.7% )
2 62 (18.6%) 205 (61.4%) 208 (62.3%) 154 (46.1%)
3 91 (27.2%) 11 (3.3%) 9 (2.7%) 59(17.7%)
4 69 (20.7%) 1 (.3%) 0 33 (9.9%)
5 88 (26.3%) 1 (.3%) 2 (.6%) 29 (8.7%)
5 = Always
4 = Frequently
3 = Sometimes
2 = Seldom
1 = Never
1 5 6 APPENDIX K
FREQUENCY OF PURCHASED ITEMS FROM SHOPPING CHANNELS
157 Frequency o f purchased items from shopping chaimels
Clothing Jewelry Cosmetics Exercise
equipment
1 35 (10.5%) 25 (7.5%) 123 (36.8%) 142 (42.5%)
2 105 (31.4%) 48(14.4%) 146 (43.7%) 162 (48.5%)
3 135 (40.4%) 136 (40.7%) 44(13.2%) 24 (7.2%)
4 38 (11.4%) 79 (23.7%) 15(4.5%) 1 (.3%)
5 21 (6.3%) 46(13.8%) 6 (1.8%%) 5(1.5%)
5 = Always
4 = Frequently
3 = Sometimes
2 = Seldom
1 = Never
1 5 8 APPENDIX L
FREQUENCY OF PAYMENT TYPE FROM SHOPPING CHANNELS
1 5 9 Frequency of payment type from shopping channels
credit card money order check debit card
1 43 (12.9%) 206 (7.5%) 173 (51.8%) 212 (63.7%)
2 27 (8.1%) 106 (14.4%) 73 (21.9%) 102 (30.6%)
3 25 (7.5%) 10 (40.7%) 29 (8.7%) 7(2.1%)
4 40(12.0% ) 7 (23.7%) 27 (8.1%) 6(1.8%)
5 199 (59.6%) 5 (13.8%) 32 (9.6%) 6(1.8%)
5 = Always
4 = Frequently
3 = Sometimes
2 = Seldom
1 = Never
1 6 0 APPENDIX M
FREQUENCY OF SATISFACTION WITH THE WAY
RETURN WAS HANDLED
161 Frequency of satisfaction with the way return was handled
1 1(.4%)
2 6 (2.6%)
3 10(4.4%)
4 52 (22.7%)
5 160 (69.9%)
5 = Always
4 = Frequently
3 = Sometimes
2 = Seldom
I = Never
1 6 2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (QA-3) /
/
/-
%
La IM 1.0 1^2 yâ L2 2.0 l.l 1.8
1.25 1.4 1.6
150m m
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