The Relationship between Curiosity, Materialism and Impulse Buying: A Gender Based Study

Abstract

Background and aim: With the increase in prevalence of consumerism, it has become crucial to understand the psychological factors, such as curiosity and materialism, which have an influence on the impulsive buying habits. The purpose of this research is to examine the connection between these factors with a focus on gender differences. Methodology: Participants (N=150) were taken from both genders (M=75, F=75). Tools: For studying the variable of curiosity, the Curiosity and Exploration-Inventory II (CE-II), for the variable of materialism, the Material Value Scale (MVS), and for the impulse Buying variable, the Buying Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) were used. Results and Conclusion: Results show a strong relationship between materialism and impulse buying, while curiosity indicates a weaker association with impulse buying. There were no discernible gender differences in impulse buying behaviour. But gender differences were observed in the levels of curiosity and materialism. The findings showed materialism to be a stronger predictor of impulse buying behaviour than curiosity.