Dieters Likely To Splurge, Study Says

People who exercise self control in some way, such as dieting or trying not to look at or think about something, tend to make more impulse purchases, according to a study in the March issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.

Kathleen D. Vohs and Ronald J. Faber, of the University of Minnesota, pointed out that opportunities for impulse purchasing have increased with the proliferation of ATMs and online shopping.

In an experiment, they asked a group of participants to write down all their thoughts for six minutes. Another group was told that they should also write down all their thoughts with one exception. The participants were told that if they thought of "a white bear" they were not to write it down, but instead to place a check mark at the side of their paper.

The participants were then told that they were taking place in an unrelated study and given $10 to spend on items from the college bookstore. They were told that whatever unspent money was theirs to keep.

That small denial caused the participants to spend and buy more.

Those who had just tried to control their thoughts spent an average of $4.05. Those who had been free to write whatever they wanted spent an average of $1.21.

"As a result, people should avoid shopping on days when they have earlier exercised great self-control or when starting a new self-improvement program, such as a new diet," the researchers said.