Consumption tendencies in times of crisis: A study in a Athenian sample

Abstract

The modern consumer purchases goods for unconventional reasons, mainly satisfying psychological needs, which create pleasure and/or arousal feelings. Procurements, boosts self-esteem, make personality statements and/or serve as mere show-off. Searching for products fulfilling inner personal needs is a complex process. Is this trend affected by economic crisis, does it persist, is it dramatically altered or even reversed? This quantitative study measures the relationship between consumption trends with psychological mood in the crisis environment of today’s Athens. A random sample of 100 Athenian residents was constructed in this regard testing the hypothesis of a correlation between consumption tendencies against mood, anxiety disorders and extreme purchasing behaviors were distributed in order to collect the data. The results indicate that anxiety and had a main effect on consuming tendencies. In particular, people with high levels of anxiety, tend to have higher consuming behaviors.