Research Essay:The Psychological Factors Driving Impulsive Fashion Purchases

Student Name: Jiaqi Zhao

Student Number: #V00979951

Course Name: ATWP 135 A01

Instructor: Dr. J. R. Collins

Date: 2023/06/29
The fashion industry, valued at $3 trillion, thrives with ever-evolving trends that captivate

consumers' attention and drive impulsive purchasing behaviours. However, this fast-paced

nature of fashion trends creates a cycle of excessive consumption, leading to detrimental

environmental impacts and low labour standards. To address these challenges, this research

paper explores the psychological factors that drive individuals to make impulsive purchases to

follow new fashion trends. By understanding the disposition, situational, and sociodemographic

factors influencing impulsive buying behaviours, this study seeks to contribute to the

development of strategies that promote a more sustainable version of consumerism in the

fashion industry.

Why do we feel an impulse to purchase clothes? Many individuals have asked themselves this

question at least once. Often, we would conclude that we feel a psychological trigger to make

these purchases. This psychological trigger can be identified as a dispositional factor. According

to the American Psychological Association, dispositional attribution is the internal factor

pushing us to act upon our desires. This internal factor may include our mood, attitude, or traits

during purchase. In particular, the dispositional factor of envy plays a significant role in

purchasing clothes. Unlike popular belief, envy can be split into two types: benign envy and

malicious envy. Depending on the individual, both types of envy can be found in consumers'

decisions. As defined by Lange and Crusius (Lange & Crusius, 2015, p. 1), envy stems from the

admiration of an individual who lives by a higher standard. Following this, individuals compare

themselves with admired individuals and are led to embrace one of the two types of envy. As
suggested by the name, benign envy focuses on improving one's self to achieve the same

standard as the admired individual without animosity as a factor.

On the other hand, malicious envy seeks to eliminate one's desire by dragging the admired

individual down to the same standard as oneself to "make it fair." Researchers Loureiro and

colleagues (Loureiro & colleagues, 2018, para. 2-5) conducted a study to investigate this topic

by asking 202 customers in a mall near Lisbon to complete a survey. Based on their research,

Loureiro and colleagues (Loureiro & colleagues, 2018, para. 5) concluded that benign envy

played a more significant role in the decisions of most consumers rather than malicious envy.

We now know that envy is a cause, but where does this envy stem from, or rather, why do we

feel compelled to compare ourselves with others in society?

By looking at our digitized world today, it becomes evident that celebrities and social media

influencers are the primary sources of our sense of fashion. For example, PUMA, an activewear

company, was willing to pay famous singer Rihanna tons of money for her to act as their

ambassador. Though expensive to work with, Rihanna still generated an 11.5% increase in

profits for the company in 2016 (Emmerente, 2016, para. 3). This increase in sales shows how

influential celebrities can impact consumers' decisions. To explain why individuals constantly

attempt to achieve a standard as high as individuals admired by any in society, we can look at a

sizeable situational factor known as social influence. The American Psychological Association

defines situational factors as external factors that influence our consumer decisions (situational

factors, n.d.). In modern-day society, people with high social status may be seen as successful if
they have many friends and attractive looks. Thus, these high-class people are often perceived

as individuals of admiration. It is even easier to see many individuals living seemingly perfect

lives through social media networks, which only fuels our envy towards them. In attempts to

achieve standards as high as theirs and to be seen by society as individuals who should be

envied, we often find ourselves purchasing clothes they endorse. Jin and Ryu (Loureiro &

colleagues, 2018, para. 6-7) conducted an experiment in which many individuals were exposed

to selfies and group photos. In these photos, it was made evident that branded clothes were

being worn. By manipulating factors that indicated the social status of the individuals and giving

participants many questionnaires to fill out during the process, Jin and Ryu (Loureiro &

colleagues, 2018, para. 9) were able to conclude that one's perceived social status through the

photos, whether that be regarding wealth or amount of friendships did indeed affect one's

decision of whether they wanted to buy the endorsed products or not. However, this

experiment was conducted so everyone would have equal access and financial means to buy

these endorsed products. However, these factors will influence our decisions more than we

may expect.

Sociodemographic factors are these very factors concerning the personal situations that the

individual has to work with. In this research paper, we will look into two specific

sociodemographic factors, gender and income. The Leibniz Institute for Social Sciences can

provide proof as it states that sociodemographic variables do indeed include the sex and

income of an individual. These factors are said to have a high chance of changing the decisions

of individuals and should thus always be considered when determining sampling error after
experimentation. An individual's income plays one of the most significant roles in a consumer's

decisions. By closely examining a study conducted by Unger and colleagues (Unger and

colleagues, 2014, pp.1-2), we can witness the full effects of the amount of money one has on

the likelihood of impulsive buying. In this study, surveys were conducted among 242 student

participants, approximately half coming from Greece, which was going through an economic

crisis at the time and the other half coming from Turkey, whose economy was booming.

Considering that these two groups of individuals were in very negative financial situations,

Unger and colleagues (Unger and colleagues, 2014, pp.5) asked whether or not they would

consider buying a few desirable products through a questionnaire. Results indicate that many

more Turkish students were willing to make impulsive purchases proving that one's financial

situation does indeed affect their buying decisions. As for gender, up to 93% of the participants

identified as compulsive buyers were women (Black et al., 1998). Several studies on this

subject, including a study conducted by Campbell (2000), suggest that women typically

associate purchasing and browsing with positivity and create an emotional bond with the

activity of shopping. On the other hand, men tend to view shopping as nothing more than a

task, thus casting a negative light on it, decreasing the tendency to make impulsive purchases.

Dispositional, situational, and sociodemographic factors create the psychological trigger many

claims to feel when impulsively purchasing clothes to follow fashion trends. Dispositional

factors focused on the topic of envy and how exactly it affects one's choices on whether to

purchase a product or not. As it is human nature, everyone will be envious of another individual

at least once in their lives. However, individuals will choose whether to embrace an
improvement of themselves to achieve higher standards, known as benign envy or a negative

mindset in which one individual will focus on dragging others down to match their standards,

known as malicious envy. Through Loureiro and colleagues' (Loureiro & colleagues, 2018, para.

11) study, we found that benign envy was more likely to cause one to impulsively purchase

clothes to follow trends. Situational factors looked deeper into envy and its relationship to

impulsive purchases of individuals. This time, the focus lies upon the envy we feel towards

those of higher social status than us. Through Jin and Ryu's study, we purchase the same

products as those we admire to raise our standards. Psychologically, we want to be seen in a

good light in society and be looked up to, so we constantly strive to achieve higher standards.

Lastly, sociodemographic factors were looked at in this research essay. One faces These factors

in reality and must be considered before purchasing. We looked at how income and gender

affect one's decisions. Looking at research done by Unger and colleagues (Unger & colleagues,

2014, pp.3-4) as well as Campbell, it has been determined that women are indeed more likely

to impulsively purchase than men as a result of the way they perceive buying and that the

better one's financial situation, the more likely they are to purchase clothes impulsively.

Looking at the results of all the research journals, it is safe to say that by allowing social media

influencers and celebrities to promote environmental sustainability and ethical clothes, we can

significantly reduce the ramifications of the fast fashion industry. The effects of benign envy can

be used to push individuals to pursue more ethical and sustainable clothes, which will push our

society into a brighter future.

Outline:
Body Paragraph 1:

Dispositional factors

● Dispositional Motivational forces

● IBT - briefly describe

● How it psychologically impacts one's decision

● How much of an impact it has on one's decision

Body Paragraph 2:

Situational factors

● Social Influence

● Time constraints

● Shopping behaviour(In particular browsing and how it leads to impulsive purchases)

● How do situational factors manage to impact one's decision psychologically

● How much of an impact if have on the decision, and why is this

Body Paragraph 3:

Sociodemographic factors

● Amount of extra money an individual has - how this may impact mood and allow the

individual to purchase more clothes

● Age - Teen v.s. Adult purchasing clothes (how does it differ)

● Gender(Is it true that women are more prone to following fashion trends than males)

● All three will be discussed from a psychological perspective

● How much this factor influences a consumer's decision about whether to purchase the

clothes or not
Conclusion:

● Summarize all three

● Compare them and determine which contributes the most to why people need to buy

clothes and follow fashion trends constantly.

References：

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