Balancing the balance: Self-control mechanisms and compulsive buying

Previous research has mainly focused on identifying why compulsive buyers engage in excessive buying, while their attempts to control problematic buying behavior have largely been ignored. The present research examines the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 1 uses qualitative in-depth interviews to provide initial insights into the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 2 adopts a quantitative survey approach, and examines how prudent and compulsive buyers differ in their self-control attempts. The studies demonstrate that compulsive buyers engage in self-control, but differ from prudent buyers in how they apply self-control measures. These differences have implications for interventions that aim to enhance the success of compulsive buyers’ self-control.     

Usability and the emotional relationships in collective buying sites: a case study

Several people buy products that they will never use or even know what for. Feelings associated with pleasure, spontaneity and possession of something are reasons why people buy products without considering if they really need it or not if it will be useful or not, etc.. The collective buying sites are going up and offer products and services with great discounts. This study aims to relate the emotional design and usability concerning to collective buying sites and identify the reasons that influence people when it comes to buy something online.     

Labor and the democratic party: A report on the 1998 elections

The nature of the relationship between organized labor and the Democratic party — still much debated among scholars —can be usefully examined through an analysis of the role of unions in the 1998 congressional elections. Evidence drawn from a wide range of sources shows that the AFL- CIO and its affiliated unions devoted considerable financial and organizational resources to mobilizing union members and allied con-stituencies to vote for Democratic candidates. Combined with the unions' direct finan-cial contributions to campaigns, this activity made unions important players in the elections and helped project an image of potency and effectiveness in the news media and among politicians. As a result, the labor/Democrat alliance remained stronger than one would expect on the basis of union density figures alone.     

Consumer sentiment and buying intentions revisited: a comparison of predictive usefulness

This article re-examines the controversial issue of the usefulness of attitudinal indices as leading indicators of consumer durable expenditures. First a cross-validation is performed using the two most popular indices of consumer sentiment (Survey Research Center and Conference Board). The usefulness of these indices is then tested using a more recent methodology for time-series analysis.     

Coping with guilt and shame in the impulse buying context

In this study we investigate how consumers cope with guilt and shame in the impulse buying context. Based on recent psychological research on guilt and shame, we posit that the intensity of shame experienced after buying on impulse will be positively associated with the use of avoidant coping strategies, whereas the intensity of guilt experienced will be positively associated with the use of problem-focused coping strategies. Furthermore, we predict that the use of avoidant coping strategies will be linked with more frequent depressive symptoms and worse financial well-being. These hypotheses were generally supported in an on-line survey of 274 respondents who had recently made an impulse purchase and reported the emotions and coping strategies associated with the event.     

Beyond Nonprofits: Re-conceptualizing the Third Sector

The idea of a “third sector” beyond the arenas of the state and the market is probably one of the most perplexing concepts in modern political and social discourse, encompassing as it does a tremendous diversity of institutions and behaviors that only relatively recently have been perceived in public or scholarly discourse as a distinct sector, and even then with grave misgivings. Initial work on this concept focused on what is still widely regarded as its institutional core, the vast array of private, nonprofit institutions (NPIs), and the volunteer as well as paid workers they mobilize and engage. These institutions share a crucial characteristic that makes it feasible to differentiate from for-profit enterprises: the fact that they are prohibited from distributing any surplus they generate to their investors, directors, or stakeholders and therefore presumptively serve some broader public interest. Many European scholars have considered this conceptualization too narrow; however, arguing that cooperatives, mutual societies, and, in recent years, “social enterprises” as well as social norms should also be included. However, this broader concept has remained under-conceptualized in reliable operational terms. This article corrects this short-coming and presents a consensus operational re-conceptualization of the third sector fashioned by a group of scholars working under the umbrella of the European Union’s Third Sector Impact Project. This re-conceptualization goes well beyond the widely recognized definition of NPIs included in the UN Handbook on Nonprofit Institutions in the System of National Accounts by embracing as well some, but not all, of these additional institutions and forms of direct individual activity, and does so in a way that meets demanding criteria of comparability, operationalizability, and potential for integration into official statistical systems.     

Shopping without pain: Compulsive buying and the effects of credit card availability in Europe and the Far East

The financial consequences of compulsive buying are obvious given the large amount of debt reported by compulsive buyers in many studies. Credit cards allow consumers to borrow money very easily in order to satisfy their desire to purchase. In two web-based experiments, we found that compulsive shoppers often overspent and were rarely influenced by price. Their overspending was partially mediated by their excessive use of credit cards. Furthermore, compulsive shoppers were less conscious of their budgets, especially when they used credit cards. They also obtained more pleasure from accomplishing a shopping trip and were more distressed by delayed product delivery than normal shoppers. Finally, compulsive shoppers in Taiwan were more compulsive than those in the United Kingdom: they displayed many of the above symptoms of compulsive buying more saliently.     

学习型党组织是增强党的基层执行力的必然要求

基层党组织在党的组织系统中发挥着重要的作用。基层党组织执行力软弱是重大问题。执行力与执政能力之间既有区别又有联系,执行力包括在执政能力之中,执行力强执政能力未必强。建立学习型基层党组织就是要培育创新能力,创新能力能够使基层党组织在具体复杂的工作中增强其执行力。     

The fertility transition: Europe and the Third World compared

This article compares the declines in fertility in Europe and the Third World. Lower levels of fertility were largely due to the adoption of innovative behavior within marriage. So far this transformation of reproduction has been monotonic and rapid. Socioeconomic development is associated with the timing of the onset of the transition and is responsible for differences among groups during the transition, although it is not yet possible to rule out alternative explanations such as ideational or institutional change. The pace and pervasiveness of the declines, however, suggest that a mechanism of diffusion is involved.     

Partying before the party: examining prepartying behavior among college students

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the phenomenon known to college students as prepartying, which is the consumption of alcohol prior to attending an event or activity (eg, party, bar, concert) at which more alcohol may be consumed. PARTICIPANTS: To explore the extent of this behavior, the authors surveyed 227 college students about each drinking event over a 1-month period. RESULTS: Principal results revealed that 64% of participants engaged in prepartying (75% of drinkers) and that prepartying is involved in approximately 45% of all drinking events. Prepartying was predictive of more drinking throughout the day of the drinking event and alcohol-related negative consequences. Men and women engaged in this behavior at similar rates, and prepartying was most related to social reasons for drinking. CONCLUSION: Because prepartying is well-known among students, the authors suggest that clinicians and researchers target it to better understand college drinking and to help students understand the associated dangers.     

Self-touching behavior in the job interview: Antecedents and consequences

This study examined self-touching behavior in a simulated employment interview. Four male and four female interviewers each met with four applicants (four male and four female) under two different conditions of formality (informal and formal). Results showed that sex composition of the dyad, status within the dyad, and situational formality could dramatically affect the frequency and location of self-touching. In examining self-touching as a predictor of interpersonal outcomes and hiring decisions, it was found that male interviewers rated applicants more favorably than did female interviewers, and both male and female interviewers engaged in more foot touching while conducting interviews leading to a favorable hiring decision. The striking number of results with large effect sizes suggests that self-touching may be an important but neglected variable in social interaction.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation. Part of this research was presented at a meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association held April, 1984, in Baltimore, Maryland. We would like to thank Roger Brown for his insightful comments, Tanna Lee for her tireless efforts in collecting and organizing the data, and Stephen Thayer for his helpful suggestions on earlier drafts.