The Need to Consume: What Psychology Really Tells Us About Why We Buy

For decades, consumer research has circled around a deceptively simple question: why do we buy? The traditional answer has focused on income, prices, and rational choice. Yet contemporary psychological research paints a far more intricate picture—one in which consumption is deeply entangled with happiness, identity, self‑esteem, self‑control, and even our vulnerabilities. When we zoom out, consumption becomes not merely an economic act but a psychological strategy for navigating the self.

Cahit Guven’s (2009) work offers a foundational shift in this conversation by reversing the classic economic question. Instead of asking whether consumption makes us happy, he asks whether happiness itself shapes how we consume. His findings suggest that happier individuals tend to save more and spend more prudently, implying that emotional wellbeing precedes and shapes financial behaviour. Consumption, then, is not simply a route to happiness—it is also a reflection of it.

This psychological turn becomes even more compelling when we consider how consumption intertwines with identity. Razmus, Zawadzka, Grabner‑Kräuter and Kostyra (2022) show that when people integrate brands into their self‑concept, purchases can indeed generate happiness—but only under specific conditions. Buying becomes meaningful when it reinforces who we believe we are or aspire to be. This is not the fleeting thrill of acquisition but a deeper sense of coherence between the self and the symbolic world of brands.

Yet this identity‑driven consumption has a darker side. Dittmar and Isham (2022) argue that materialistic value orientations—where possessions are central to defining success and self‑worth—are consistently linked to lower wellbeing. Fast fashion thrives on this insecurity. The more we rely on objects to stabilise our sense of self, the more fragile that self becomes. Consumption promises emotional repair but often delivers emotional depletion.

Self‑control plays a crucial mediating role in this dynamic. Fennis (2022), drawing on life‑history theory, suggests that individuals who perceive their environment as unpredictable or resource‑scarce tend to adopt short‑term strategies, including impulsive consumption and reduced self‑regulation. In such contexts, overspending is not a moral failure but an adaptive response to perceived instability. This insight reframes consumer vulnerability as a product of lived experience rather than personal weakness.

Sedikides and Hart (2022) add another psychological layer by examining narcissism and conspicuous consumption. For individuals high in narcissistic traits, consumption becomes a stage for self‑enhancement and social signalling. The purchase is not about the object but the audience. This form of consumption is performative, designed to secure admiration and buffer fragile self‑esteem. Yet, as their research shows, the emotional payoff is short‑lived, often leading to cycles of repeated, compensatory buying.

The relationship between consumption and self‑esteem is further illuminated by Consiglio and van Osselaer (2022), who argue that consumption can temporarily boost self‑esteem when it aligns with personal goals or identity. However, this effect is unstable. When consumption becomes a habitual strategy for emotional regulation, it risks eroding long‑term wellbeing. Buying to feel better works—until it doesn’t.

The consequences of these psychological patterns are not merely emotional but financial. Achtziger (2022) highlights how overspending and debt are often rooted in self‑regulatory failures and emotional coping strategies. Poverty, in this framework, is not only an economic condition but a psychological trap, where stress and scarcity undermine the very self‑control needed to escape financial strain. Her work underscores the need for interventions that address both financial literacy and emotional resilience.

In contrast to the risks of consumption, saving emerges as a powerful source of psychological benefit. Shim, Serido and Tang (2012) revisit the fable of the ant and the grasshopper to show that saving is not only future‑oriented but emotionally rewarding in the present. Young adults who save experience greater feelings of security, autonomy, and wellbeing. Saving, in this sense, is not deprivation but empowerment.

Bringing these threads together, Fennis and Rucker (2023) describe consumption as a “coin” with bright and dark sides. On one side, consumption can express identity, generate joy, and support psychological needs. On the other, it can entrench materialism, fuel debt, and undermine wellbeing. The challenge is not to reject consumption but to understand the psychological forces that shape it—and to cultivate forms of consumption that support, rather than sabotage, our emotional lives.

Taken collectively, this body of research reveals that consumption is never just about products. It is about happiness, identity, self‑esteem, self‑control, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. When we consume to express our values, reinforce our identity, or invest in our future, consumption can be life‑enhancing. But when we consume to fill emotional voids or signal worth, it becomes a fragile and costly substitute for genuine wellbeing.

The need to consume, then, is not a flaw in human nature. It is a psychological language—one we must learn to speak with greater awareness, compassion, and intentionality.

I do not need more to be more.

I already have enough to be whole.

The psychology is clear: the need to consume is not about the object. It is about the self. And when the self is nourished—emotionally, creatively, communally—the compulsion to buy fades. What remains is a quieter, more grounded relationship with what we own.

LoveItStitchItKeepIt.com invites us into—one where consumption is intentional, identity is internal, and the most powerful garment is the one we choose to keep.

References

Achtziger, A. (2022) ‘Overspending, debt, and poverty’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Consiglio, I. and van Osselaer, S.M.J. (2022) ‘The effects of consumption on self-esteem’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Dittmar, H. and Isham, A. (2022) ‘Materialistic value orientation and wellbeing’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Fennis, B.M. (2022) ‘Self-control, self-regulation, and consumer wellbeing: A life history perspective’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Fennis, B.M. and Rucker, D.D. (2023) ‘The coin of consumption: Understanding the bright and dark sides’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Guven, C. (2009) ‘Reversing the question: Does happiness affect consumption and savings behaviour?’, Journal of Economic Psychology.

Razmus, W., Zawadzka, A.M., Grabner-Kräuter, S. and Kostyra, M. (2022) ‘Buying happiness: How brand engagement in self-concept affects purchase happiness’, Journal of Consumer Behaviour.

Sedikides, C. and Hart, C.M. (2022) ‘Narcissism and conspicuous consumption’, Current Opinion in Psychology: Consumer Psychology.

Shim, S., Serido, J. and Tang, C. (2012) ‘The ant and the grasshopper revisited: The present psychological benefits of saving and future-oriented financial behaviours’, Journal of Economic Psychology.