Abstract: Understanding Materialistic Consumption: A Terror Management Perspective This study adopted terror management theory (TMT) to explore how people’s materialistic consumption behaviors can be influenced by social events, such as September 11, i.e., mortality salience effects on materialistic consumption. By using survey data from a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the influence of mortality salience on two consumption behaviors—brand name consumption and compulsive consumption—was examined. The results showed that people with a greater fear of becoming a terrorism victim showed a greater tendency for brand name consumption and compulsive consumption. Further, the relationship between mortality salience and materialistic consumption depended on the extent to which possession of materials becomes a source of one’ self-esteem. Implications for academic researchers, advertisers, and consumer educators are discussed. |
Location: http://www.jrconsumers.com/page/4663
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