Compulsive Purchasing As a Learned Adaptive Response
AN EXAMINATION OF THE NATURE OF A PROBLEMATIC/CONSUMER BEHAVIOR: COMPULSIVE PURCHASING AS A LEARNED ADAPTIVE RESPONSE ,j ADDICTION, AND PERSONALITY DISORDER DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Alicia L. Briney, B.S., M.B.A. Denton, Texas August 1989 Briney, Alicia L., An Examination of a Problematic Consumer Behavior; Compulsive Purchasing as a Learned Adaptive Response. Addiction, and Personality Disorder. Doctor of Philosophy (Marketing), August 1989, 188 pp., 22 tables, 12 figures, bibliography, 200 titles. The problem examined in this study was the nature of compulsive purchasing behavior. Three proposed models depicting this behavior as a learned adaptive response to anxiety and/or depression, an addiction, and a personality disorder were introduced and discussed in Chapter I. Background information concerning the areas examined in the models was presented in Chapter II. The research methodology was discussed in Chapter III and the findings of the research presented in Chapter IV. A summary, conclusions, implications, and recommendations were presented in Chapter V. The purpose of this research was to examine hypotheses in support of each of the three proposed models. Two separate quasi-experimental designs and three groups of subjects were used to test the hypotheses. The three groups used were compulsive purchasers, alcoholics, and overeaters. The first experiment utilized Scale 7 (Compulsive), Scale A (Anxiety), and Scale D (Dysthymia) on the MCMI-II to examine differences in personality patterns in the three groups. The second experiment utilized a self-report questionnaire to examine differences in compulsive purchasing behavior patterns in the three groups.
[Show full text]