RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The impact of negative affect and self-control on impulse

buying tendency.
To
Miss saima saeed
By
Muhammad Usman (311202)
Ali Akbar (311238)
BS (6th Bridging) SEMESTER
APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE UNIVERSITY FAISALABAD

 RESEARCH PROPOSAL
The impact of negative affect and self-control on impulse buying tendency.
Chapter 1
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to find out the impact of negative affect and self-control on impulse
buying tendency.

1.1 Impulse buying

According to this fourfold definition: impulse buying is unplanned, decided on the spot, stem
from reaction to stimulus and involves a cognitive reaction, an emotional reaction, or both
(Piron, 1991). According to Burton et al. (2018), impulse purchases occur when there is a
sudden and strong emotional desire, which arises from a reactive behavior that is
characterized by low cognitive control. This tendency to buy spontaneously and without
reflection can be explained by the immediate gratification it provides to the buyer (Pradhan et
al., 2018). Impulsive shopping in addition to having an emotional content can be triggered by
several factors, including: the store environment, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and the
emotional state of the consumer at that time (Gogoi and Shillong, 2020). We believe that
impulse purchases can be stimulated by an unexpected need, by a visual stimulus, a
promotional campaign and/or by the decrease of the cognitive capacity to evaluate the
advantages and disadvantages of that purchase. The buying experience increasingly depends
on the interaction between the person and the point of sale environment, but it is not just the
atmosphere that stimulates the impulsive behavior of the consumer. The sensory and
psychological factors associated with the type of products, the knowledge about them and
brand loyalty, often end up overlapping the importance attributed to the physical
environment (Platania et al., 2016).

1.2 Self-Control

The ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires, especially in difficult
situations. Self-control—or the ability to manage one's impulses, emotions, and behaviors to
achieve long-term goals—is what separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Self-
control is primarily rooted in the prefrontal cortex—the planning, problem-solving, and decision
making center of the brain—which is significantly larger in humans than in other mammals.
The richness of nerve connections in the prefrontal cortex enables people to plan, evaluate
alternative actions, and ideally avoid doing things they'll later regret, rather than immediately
respond to every impulse as it arises. The idea of self-control as a stable trait isn’t always
true. A person's level of self-control tends to wax and wane over the course of a day,
suggesting that self-control is less like a mental capacity such as intelligence and more a
fluctuating resource along the lines of physical energy.
1.3 Negative Affect

Negative affect is a broad concept that can be summarized as feelings of emotional

distress. Negative affect is classified under the classes of mood, emotion, and affect. It
refers to the subjective experience of a group of negative emotional states such as

anxiety, depression, stress, sadness, worry, guilt, shame, anger, and envy. Negative affect
has been studied since the 1960s under the area of psychological well-being which is a key topic
in quality of life research. It is regarded as one of the three interrelated components of a
person’s subjective well-being which, in addition to objective functioning, contributes to the
person’s quality of life (Diener, 2000). Life satisfaction and positive affect are the other two
components of subjective well-being (Diener & Suh, 1997).Negative affect can be
conceptualized in terms of frequency and intensity. Diener (2000) concluded from studies
on subjective well-being that it is the frequency rather than intensity of affect that
influences a person’s overall.

1.5 Objective

To determine the impact of negative affect and self-control on impulse buying tendency.

1.6 Hypotheses

H1

There will be a relationship between negative affect and impuls buying tendency.

H2

Relationship between negative affect and impulsive buying will be explained by self-
control.

H3

Women will engage more in impulsive buying as compare to men.

Chapter 2

Literature review

Early studies, such as those conducted by DuPont, demonstrated how impulse buying
varies depending on the type of goods. By stressing the startling fact that most research
did not include the shopper as an independent variable, Kollatt and Willet (1967) went
one step further and advised a move towards customers rather than items themselves.
Cobb and Hoyer (1986) conducted a study using direct observation and questionnaires to
determine the characteristics of impulse purchasers as a result of the spotlight shifting
onto the consumer rather than the store or goods. In the 1990s, a study stream emerged
that looked at impulse buying from a negative perspective, which was echoed by clinical
perspectives of impulsiveness in psychology. A consideration of unplanned versus
impulse purchase is also necessary for a precise concept description. Starting with Stern
(1962), it is clear that not only is there a distinction between planned and unplanned
purchases, but the authors also agree that there are different levels of pre-purchase
planning and purpose. An accepted definition of the idea is also required to overcome the
many classifications of unexpected purchases and to make the distinction between
unplanned and impulse purchases more evident. According to this four-fold definition,
impulse purchases are unplanned, made on the spur of the moment, and result from a
cognitive, emotional, or both reaction to a stimulus (Piron, 1991).

The bulk of consumer behavior models required explanations of impulsive action due to
the rapidity of behavior and the lack of careful choosing. For example, Engel and
Blackwell (1982) proposed that consumers process information in five stages before
making a purchase decision, with consumers first recognizing a need, then searching for
relevant information and alternative solutions, evaluating the alternatives, and finally
purchasing the chosen alternatives. Finally, the model proposed that buyers evaluate their
decision once they had purchased it. . However, the initial model ignored emotional
processes and the importance of self-control, and hence failed to explain impulsive
purchasing behavior. Only later did Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel (2006) recognize
impulsive buying as a limited problem-solving decision, claiming that the search for
information and pre-purchase evaluations were limited in the impulsive buying decision-
making process. The psychological perspective was given great consideration because
rationale-based or economic cost–benefit orientated models did not fit impulse-buying
behavior (Dittmar & Drury, 2000). Researchers focused their emphasis on the underlying
psychological processes of affect and cognition that drove impulsivity in order to gain a
better understanding of impulsive consumer buying (Youn & Faber, 2000). It has been
highlighted by Youn and Faber (2000) that emotions play a part in the active and reactive
experiences of consumption, and hence, it is important to include the inner conflict to
better understand the dynamics of the impulse buying phenomena. Punj (2011) proposed
that individuals strive to balance pleasure seeking and self-regulation, and the greater the
internal motivation, the more likely the urge to make an impulse buy. In this regard, Rook
and Hoch (1985) suggested that “psychological disequilibrium” led to impulsive purchase
of products, and pointed out that individuals differed in impulsive tendencies as some
people were found to have a higher tendency to buy on impulse than others. Thus,
considering the psychological processes to be the key for understanding and interpreting
impulsive behaviors.

Research scholars have taken a very keen interest in impulse buying for the past sixty
years (Clover, 1950; Stern, 1962; Rook, 1987; Peck and Childers, 2006). Abratt and
Goodey (1990) found that the examination of impulse buying in supermarkets could be of
much interest to the manufacturers as well as retailers worldwide. The researchers have
suggested that impulse purchases can be further classified depending on the consumer's
experiencing emotional and / or cognitive reactions. The earlier studies did not include
the consumer and his personal traits as the factor influencing impulse purchases. . Rook
(1987) argued that during impulse buying the consumer experiences an instantaneous,
overpowering and persistent desire. He characterized the impulse buying as unintended,
non-reflective reaction, which occurs soon after being exposed to stimuli inside the store.
According to Engel and Blackwell (1982) impulse buying is an action undertaken without
previously having been consciously recognized or a buying intention formed prior to
entering the store. Based upon the different description, we conclude that impulse buying
involves hedonic purchase decisions which are made inside a store and excludes the
reminder purchasing activities. Iyer (1989) further distinguished that all impulse
purchases are unplanned, but unplanned purchases are not always impulsively decided.
Han et al. (1991) modified the Stern (1962) classification of impulse mix in context of
fashion products and developed as four types of impulse buying: i) Planned impulse
buying ii) Reminded impulse buying iii) Suggestion or fashion-oriented impulse buying
iv) Pure impulse buying. Mattila and Enz (2002) later argued that fashion-oriented
impulse buying can be influenced by shopper’s own positive emotions when shopping.

Before 1987, most attempts to investigate impulse buying behavior were more concerned
with definitional concerns, attempting to classify impulse into one of several sub-
categories rather than understanding why so many customers appear to act on their
buying impulses so frequently. Researchers began to explore the behavioral elements of
impulsive buying after 1982, when researchers began to refocus attention on the habit.
Recently, studies have come to the conclusion that impulse purchase has a hedonic or
affective component (Cobb and Hoyer, 1986; Piron, 1991; Rook, 1987; Rook and Fisher,
1995; Weinberg and Gottwald, 1982). Rook, for example (1987).Recent research on
impulse buying behavior indicates that individual consumers do not view their specific
purchases as wrong and indeed retrospectively report a favorable evaluation of their
behavior. Specifically, in the Rook (1987) study, a relatively small number of informants
(only 20 percent) report feeling ``bad'' about their impulse buying, but an astonishingly
large number of informants (41 percent) report that they actually feel good about their
impulse purchases. The results reflect that, at least in this context, a large number of
consumers failed to view impulse buying as normatively wrong. , Rook and Fisher (1995)
developed a scale to measure impulsive buying tendencies, proposed as a surrogate for
impulse buying behavior. . In addition, consumers may purchase products during these
shopping trips that were not anticipated but, once consumers see the product during the
shopping exploration, they recognize its suitability for satisfying a particular need. Thus,
consumers may use the shopping experience and resulting impulse buying behavior to
satisfy a number of needs which do not fit into theories of economic utility (Boone and
Kurtz, 1995).
Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Research Design

Sample will be employed through the purposive sampling technique based on cross
sectional survey research design.

3.2 Sample

The sample for current study of 280 financially Independent or dependent men and
women (140 male (dependent & independent) and 140 female (dependent &
independent)) will be selected from different areas of Faisalabad through purposive
sampling technique.

3.3 Instruments

Positive Affect Negative Affect (PANAS)

The PANAS is developed in (1988) by David Watson, Lee Anna Clark and Auke
Ttellenge . The scale is intended to measure someone’s positive and negative affect and
how a person is feeling the movement. Participants utilizing PANAS use a 5-point likert
scale in which they determine if a concept applies.

Impulse Buying Tendency Scale:

A 28 item scale to measure general impulse buying tendency developed by Seungoog

Weun, Michael A. Jones, Sharon E. Beatty, 1998 . The scale include cognitive aspect
(e.g. lack of planning and deliberation) and affective aspects (e.g. feelings of pleasure,
excitement, compulsion, lack of control, regret).

Self-Control Scale (SCS)

The Self Control-Scale (SCS) is 36 items, self-report measure to assess the people’s
ability to control their impulses, alter there emotions and thoughts to interrupt undesired
behavioral tendencies and refrain from acting on them. Developed by Tangney, June P.
Baumeister, Roy F. Boone, Angie Luzio (2004). Participants rank how well a series of
statements describe them on a 5-point scale and the scores are summed to obtain a total
self-control score, whereby higher values indicate greater self-control.

3.4 Suggested Statistical Analysis

Spearmen Correlation

Median Analysis Theory

References
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_1923

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https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/self-control