The American Psychiatric Association (APA) does not recognize compulsive shopping as a separate mental disorder. For this reason, there are no uniform diagnostic criteria. Additionally, the researchers debated whether impulsive purchases should be classified as an addiction disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, mood regulation disorder, or impulse control disorder. Although first identified almost a century ago, compulsory buying has become an increasingly common problem. This has led to increased research in this area.
However, further research is needed to determine which people in the compulsive shopping category would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral therapy, or medication.
In consumer behavior literature, compulsive buying has caused considerable consternation. Part of the misunderstanding derives from the name itself. When we first started researching this phenomenon, self-help groups, and the press referred to persons with this condition as "shopaholics." We believed that this name trivialized the disease and would make it more challenging to take the situation seriously.
Furthermore, some writers in psychology and medicine differentiate between addictions, which entail the consumption of substances such as alcohol or narcotics, and excessive behaviors, which do not. In trying to link our findings to what looked to be comparable in the psychiatric literature, the closest disease seemed to be what was then called "compulsive gambling." We called the phenomena we were investigating "compulsive purchasing" after borrowing from this terminology. Regrettably, we did not realize then that psychiatry was changing the term "compulsive gambling" to "pathological gambling" due to misunderstanding whether it was indicative of obsessive-compulsive disorder or an impulse control problem based on gambling. A similar misunderstanding has arisen with the term "compulsive purchasing."
It would have been better to label this phenomenon "pathological purchasing." Even altering the name, though, would not have solved the situation. The psychiatric literature is divided on whether compulsive shopping is an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Several scholars feel compulsive shopping is connected to OCD. Some contend that it should be categorized as an Impulse Control Disorder. Most physicians presently classify it as "Impulse Control Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified" in the DSM-IV. Nevertheless, this is open to change, and as various experts have pointed out, compulsive purchasing is likely to have certain features with both illnesses.
Moreover, some consider OCD and impulse control disorders part of a broader category known as "affect spectrum disorder." Other issues are −
A significant difficulty in estimating the prevalence of CBB is that the classification of this psychological disorder in the international classification system is still under investigation. There is debate, and no diagnostic criteria consensus has been achieved. Existing operational definitions of CBB are based on similarities with impulsive control spectrum disorders.
The specific cause of CBB is unknown. Various factors have been suggested as possible factors. Although some studies on CBB have primarily focused on neurobiological factors, studies on CBB genetic factors and CBB are not. Behavioral addiction consistently finds abnormalities in the frontal region, reward processing, and limbic system.
The available neuroimaging evidence does not fully explain how specific neural mechanisms and cognitive processes make shopping behaviors addictive without associated exogenous stimuli medicine. Unlike other addictions, the development of CBB depends on several cultural mechanisms such as Market economy, a wide range of products available, disposable income, and value material.
Regarding the CBB phenotype, studies point to similarities with other behavioral addictions.
Another point of contention in the consumer research literature is whether compulsive buying is a psychiatric condition or merely one end of a continuum that can be used to assess all customers. This discussion is widespread in various linked diseases, such as eating disorders and alcoholism. Indeed, this is a recurring subject in clinical psychology history: Is specific conduct simply an extreme representation of a more modal behavior, or is it something different?
Historically, social and political influences have shaped the response as much as scientific or factual ones. When factor analysis and other classification techniques first appeared, there was a trend to favor discrete categories. Other times, political and societal pressures have mandated that the borders of "normalcy" be expanded. The degree of deviation vs. discrete disorder issue is frequently termed sociopolitical. Now, a rising number of experts anticipate that improvements in biological psychology may eventually resolve these debates. Nonetheless, clinical experience and non-biological empirical research will have to lead science in this domain until that time.
Impulsive and compulsive buying are often confused but represents varied frequency, cause, outcome, and severity behaviors. Impulsive buying is a more common and expected behavior. Most people make impulse purchases from time to time (without giving it much thought). Impulsive buying is a sudden and strong urge in a consumer to buy immediately. It occurs when the desire for a product or brand outweighs the will to resist. Research on impulse buying focuses on the characteristics of individuals that make them more or less likely to engage in impulsive buying behavior.
These include mood states, personality traits, and situational factors such as proximity and depletion of resources needed for self-control.
On the other hand, compulsive buying is a psychological disorder characterized by an uncontrollable urge to buy. Failure to meet this requirement increases stress that can only dissipate with a purchase. Often this urge is triggered by adverse events or emotions. Ultimately, this behavior leads to highly negative consequences for the individual. Many compulsive shoppers never use the items they buy. Thus, compulsive buying behavior aims for short-term relief from negative feelings rather than a desire for a particular good.
The main difference between impulsive and impulsive buying is the intrinsic motivation or reason for the purchase. Impulsive purchases are primarily unplanned and respond to external triggers, such as impulsive purchases that are internally motivated, such as when you see the product you want in the store. Experts who have looked at the problem say there is an essential difference between compulsive and impulsive buying behavior. It lies in the intrinsic motivation or reason to buy.
Although impulse buying is unplanned mainly and occurs in response to an external stimulus – such as seeing a desired item in a store – compulsive buying is motivated by more inside. A compulsive shopper will plan the shopping experience to avoid or alleviate uncomfortable feelings, such as anxiety. Impulsive shoppers are also more likely to experience negative consequences of their purchases than impulsive shoppers, such as financial difficulties, arguments with family members, and financial difficulties family and emotional disturbances. They are also more likely to fall into an addictive behavior pattern in which they buy more and more to avoid stress and anxiety. This is how shopping addiction develops.
Hoarding is a broader concept than impulsive shopping for people with hoarding problems. It involves hoarding and frequently purchasing goods thrown away by others, suggesting that many impulsive shoppers could collect their purchases and put away unused items. This is often because shopaholics rely on the act of buying rather than the need for a particular item. Many hobby shoppers may collect the items they buy, often storing unused products. This is often because compulsive shoppers depend more on shopping and purchasing than needing a particular item.
It is widely accepted that hoarding is related to hoarding since almost all hoarders hoard, but not all. It is classified as part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an anxiety disorder.
Hoarding disorder itself is a disease. Impulsive buying and hoarding are associated with OCD and are more closely associated with OCD-specific cognitive control disorders. Research has shown that the relationship between impulsive shopping behavior and a person's obsessive-compulsive disorder is mainly due to hoarding. However, hoarding was not fully represented in her TOC sample, so the association between impulsive buying behavior and her TOC needed to be stronger. This discrepancy can be resolved by including the TOC dimension in the hoard definition or by including relevant questions in the diagnostic protocol when assessing hoarding symptoms.
In a way, impulsive buying is related to hoarding. Continually buy items that the person already owns. Generally, these are stored and not used at home. For example, you can buy various watches, notebooks, or shoes. However, when you get home, it will be in a drawer or closet with all the other watches, never to be seen or worn again. In this case, the focus is on shopping and shopping. At the same time, shoppers tend to keep their purchases secret from friends and family.
Further study is needed to separate pathological compulsive purchasers from more general excessive buys and to compare these two groups in order to uncover parallels and differences between these populations. In all of our study and the rest of this chapter, we refer to compulsive purchasers as those whose conduct may be considered pathological and who satisfy the definitional criteria previously established.
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