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The Urge to Splurge: A Terror Management Account of Materialism and Consumer Behavior
Abstract
This article presents terror management theory (TMT) as a way to understand how the human awareness of death affects materialism, conspicuous consumption, and consumer decisions. The pursuit of wealth and culturally desired commodities are hypothesized to reinforce those beliefs that function to protect people from existential anxieties. Following a brief overview of TMT and research, evidence is reviewed that explicates how intimations of mortality increase materialism as a way to enhance self‐esteem and affects consumer decisions that support one's cultural worldview. Adverse consequences of materialistic and consumeristic worldviews are described and the challenges for future research to discover ways to alleviate them are considered.
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“Global climate change awareness is increasing, but efforts to convey information can trigger undesirable behaviors , including denial, scepticism, and increased resource consumption.”
From Mortality management and climate action: A review and reference for using Terror Management Theory methods in interdisciplinary environmental research (2022) · cites this paper as Arndt et al., 2004
In the citing paper
“Consumer values are an integral part of the materialist cultural worldview that help people symbolically cope with existential terror, when nonconscious thoughts of death become cognitively accessible.”
From An Integrative Terror Management Theory Perspective on Media Effects: A Model and 12 Hypotheses for Research (2016) · cites this paper as Arndt, Solomon, Kasser, & Sheldon, 2004
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health impacts
Usher, K., Durkin, J., & Bhullar, N. (2020) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.12726 · Cited by 674
“Anxiety related to this pandemic is also compounded by people being reminded of their own mortality that can lead to an ‘urge to splurge’, that is an increase in spending as a means to curb fear and regain control (Arndt et al. 2004).”
BackgroundMaterialistic Values and Goals
Kasser, T. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033344 · Cited by 564
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Metadata
- Authors
- Arndt, J., Solomon, S., Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Missouri (US)
- Skidmore College (US)
- Knox College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Arndt, Jamie
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2004-01
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 198-212
- ISSN
- 1057-7408 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7663
- OpenAlex
- W2024971543
- Cited by
- 463
- References
- 83
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 11.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consumer Psychology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Keywords
- terror management theory, materialism, conspicuous consumption, consumer behavior, mortality salience, existential anxiety, self-esteem, cultural worldview, purchase decision
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