The Psychology of Holiday Consumerism: Understanding Impact and Wellbeing

In this episode of PsyberSpace, host Leslie Poston explores the timely subject of holiday consumerism and its various impacts on mental health, community well-being, and global issues. Through recent events like the Amazon workers' strike, the episode highlights the complex interplay of psychological, social, and economic forces influencing consumer behavior. Leslie discusses the neuroscience behind decision-making under stress, marketing tactics that exploit emotional vulnerabilities, and the inverse relationship between materialism and happiness. The episode also covers coping mechanisms, such as conscious minimalism and mindful consumption, and provides insights on improving family communication during the holidays. Research on charitable giving, worker rights, and the interplay between consumer choices and environmental concerns is also examined, offering practical strategies for a more meaningful and mindful holiday season.

00:00 Welcome to PsyberSpace
00:24 The Psychology of Holiday Consumerism
02:24 Impact of Stress on Decision Making
03:08 Marketing Tactics and Emotional Manipulation
05:25 Materialism and Psychological Wellbeing
08:00 Economic Inequality and Worker Rights
10:01 Collective Trauma and Consumer Behavior
17:17 Strategies for Mindful Consumption
17:58 Post-Holiday Consumption Depression
22:57 Creating Healthier Holiday Patterns
25:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

References:

Armstrong, A. (2012). Mindfulness and consumerism: A social psychological investigation.

Armstrong, A., & [Co-author] (2015). The mindful consumer: Mindfulness training and the escape from consumerism.

Arora, A., & [Co-author] (2020). The association of hyper-competitiveness and consumerism with ecological and social degradation: A need for a holistic and responsible approach for environmental and psychosocial rehabilitation. 2020 Zooming Innovation in Consumer Technologies Conference (ZINC).

Assadourian, E. (2010). Transforming cultures: From consumerism to sustainability.

Bauer, M. A., & [3 Co-authors] (2012). Cuing consumerism. Psychology Science.

Bauman, Z. (2007). Collateral casualties of consumerism.

Chang, Y., & [Co-author] (2022). Why consumers have everything but happiness: An evolutionary mismatch perspective. Current Opinion in Psychology.

Darrat, A. A., & [2 Co-authors] (2022). Does wanting more lead to losing control? Examining the psychological drivers of compulsive buying. Young Consumers.

Dittmar, H. (2007). The costs of consumer culture and the "cage within": The impact of the material "good life" and "body perfect" ideals on individuals' identity and well-being.

Dittmar, H. (2007). Understanding the impact of consumer culture.

Durning, A. (1992). How much is enough?: The consumer society and the future of the earth.

Earl, P. E., & [Co-author] (1998). The Elgar companion to consumer research and economic psychology.

Emerald, N. D. (2004). Consumerism, nature, and the human spirit.

Faber, R. J., & [Co-author] (2005). Compulsive consumption.

Fumagalli, E., & [2 Co-authors] (2022). Consuming in response to loneliness: Bright side and dark side effects. Current Opinion in Psychology.

Huang, Y. (2024). A review on the cause of Black Friday consumerism. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences.

Kasser, T. (2002). The high price of materialism.

Kasser, T., & [Co-author] (2003). Psychology and consumer culture: The struggle for a good life in a materialistic world.

Kaza, S. (2000). Overcoming the grip of consumerism.

Lane, R. (1994). The road not taken: Friendship, consumerism, and happiness.

Sansone, R., & [Co-author] (2011). The christmas effect on psychopathology. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience.

Solomon, M. R., & [2 Co-authors] (2007). Consumer behaviour: Buying, having, being.

Taylor, D. M., & [Co-author] (2015). Healing ourselves and healing the world: Consumerism and the culture of addiction.

Walters, A. (2019). Holiday stress: Thoughts for finding meaning amidst the pressure. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter.

Wenell, K. (2009). All consuming Christmas? Religion, culture and challenges of consumption.

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★