Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Mental Health

New psychology research has found that celebrity worship predicts impulsive buying behavior

by Emily Manis
June 27, 2022
in Mental Health

[Follow PsyPost on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Can worshipping celebrities be a predictor of impulse shopping? A study published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that it could be, but the relationship appears to be mediated by empathy.

Celebrities are influential figures and marketing often utilizes them to add value to products. An endorsement from a celebrity that consumers deem attractive or trustworthy can go a long way in making sales. Part of why this marketing strategy is successful is due to many people idolizing their favorite celebrities. Celebrity worship can be either pathological or non-pathological, with the former being compulsive. Researchers hypothesized that celebrity worship would be associated with higher impulsive buying intent.

People with borderline pathological celebrity worship agree with statements such as “I would gladly die in order to save the life of my favorite celebrity.”

Study author Outong Chen and colleagues utilized 1,319 participants who ranged in age from 16 to 30. Participants were recruited from a college in October 2021. Participants completed measures on celebrity attitudes, impulsive buying intent, and interpersonal reactivity (which is used to measure empathy). Participants completed questionnaires in a random order. Chen and colleagues predicted that empathy may act as a mediator and gender may act as a moderator for the relationship between celebrity worship and impulsive buying intent.

Results showed that borderline pathological celebrity worship did positively predict impulsive buying behavior and that this relationship was mediated by empathy and moderated by gender, as researchers had predicted. Higher levels of celebrity worship were associated with higher levels of empathy, which led to greater impulsive buying intent. This relationship was found to be stronger among male participants than among female participants.

Impulsive buying intent was stronger among women at lower levels of celebrity worship, but there were no significant gender differences at borderline pathological levels of celebrity worship. Previous research has found that decision-making is more impulsive when made for close family or friends, suggesting that empathy is related to impulse in decision-making. This finding is consistent with that.

“The present results contribute to previous findings by focusing on a specific level of celebrity worship, borderline pathological level, and revealing that borderline pathological celebrity worship may provoke impulsive buying intent,” the researchers said. “This impulsive buying intent could affect daily consumer behavior extensively, rather than leading them to focus on some specific merchandise connected to specific celebrities.”

But the study has some limitations. One such limitation is that it relied entirely on self-report questionnaires, which can be vulnerable to bias and lying. Additionally, the sample was constrained to one group of young adults; future research could include a more diverse sample to see if these effects are seen more broadly.

“The present discussion leaves an open question regarding the mechanism underlying the relationship between empathy and impulsive buying intent. We only attempted to surmise a possibility based on previous findings; however, this needs further clarification based on empirical research,” the researchers said.

The study, “Borderline Pathological Celebrity Worship and Impulsive Buying Intent: Mediating and Moderating Roles of Empathy and Gender“, was authored by Outong Chen, Xiaojing Zhao, Dongxing Ding, Yifan Zhang, Hongbo Zhou, and Ranran Liu.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin6Send
Previous Post

Whiteness is still associated with leadership in the United States, study suggests

Next Post

People with a higher conspiracy mentality have a general tendency to judge others as untrustworthy

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New study uncovers a “vicious cycle” between feeling less socially connected and increased smartphone use

REM sleep and the science of dreams: A deep dive into the unconscious mind

Modafinil and caffeine improve vigilance of individuals deprived of sleep, study finds

Exposure to wood smoke leads to complex and long-lasting neuroinflammatory and neurometabolomic alterations

Depressed individuals have reduced connectivity in brain regions responsible for cognitive functioning

RECENT

Sexualized body-positive content boosts young women’s body satisfaction

Are “beer goggles” a myth? New research cast doubt on widespread belief about alcohol’s effects

Eye movement behavior during a VR game can be used to identify children with ADHD

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

REM sleep and the science of dreams: A deep dive into the unconscious mind

New study uncovers a “vicious cycle” between feeling less socially connected and increased smartphone use

Modafinil and caffeine improve vigilance of individuals deprived of sleep, study finds

Currently Playing

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

New psychology research shows how narcissistic tendencies influence perceptions of intellectual humility

Narcissism
Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Unintended pregnancies take a toll on the mental health of new fathers

Mental Health
New study provides insight into the psychological core of dark personality traits

Four distinct trajectories of psychopathic traits identified among youth in the legal system

Psychopathy
Social working memory abnormalities may be a neurocognitive mechanism underlying poorer social connection in PTSD

Exposure to wood smoke leads to complex and long-lasting neuroinflammatory and neurometabolomic alterations

Mental Health
People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

People who were better supervised by parents as early adolescents tend to have higher earnings as adults

Business
People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

People who consume more ultra-processed foods are more likely to experience psychological distress later in life

Mental Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist