Rutgers Prof Discusses Impact of Anxiety on Consumer Behavior
Rutgers Business School recently published an article by Dory Devlin that explores the connection between anxiety and consumer behavior as part of a study associate professor of marketing Kristina Durante and the University of Miami’s Juliano Laran published in the Journal of Marketing Research last month.
Durante, whose area of expertise is how hormones affect consumer behavior, says the general rule of thumb is that “stress leads consumers to favor saving money.” There’s a funny little catch: “When faced with a spending decision, stressed consumers will pay for necessities they think will help restore control rather than splurge on non-necessities.”
Durante and Laran curated experiments in which participants were presented with stressful situations, like public speaking or how best to spend $250. The researchers found that stress compelled people to squirrel away their shekels.
Chemically speaking, Durante says our bodies increase production of cortisol, a hormone that helps us “enter survival mode and protect resources as a means to ensure survival.” But Durante says that the roots of the stress matter:
“What people feel is a necessity shifts depending on what kind of stress they have.” For instance, “people who said they were stressed about a current job situation were less likely to spend money on clothes, while others stressed about starting a new job were more likely to spend money on new clothes.”
In another study, stressed out participants had their sense of control restored and were then asked about consumption habits that “led to a good outcome.” The researchers discovered that this group was much more willing to part with their hard-earned money. “When there are unpredictable situations – extreme weather, elections – consumers may be more open to products that are framed as necessities or those that can restore control.”
Durante says that understanding how cortisol affects consumer spending habits can give us insight into how we react to other kinds of stress. “Not a lot of research has been done on stress and spending. It’s so nuanced because different people respond in different ways.”
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
