Category Archives: Uncategorized

Values and Marketing: Beyond the Purchase Teams Up With Zenzi Communications

Beyond the Purchase is excited to announce a partnership with Zenzi Communications, a public relations and marketing company based in San Diego, in order to further our understanding of how businesses and consumers can form mutually beneficial relationships based on … Continue reading

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What is hedonism? A lesson from Dorian Gray.

I must admit, when I was in high school I was more likely to read the sports page of the Dallas Morning News than my English assignments. But, for some reason, there was one book that I couldn’t put down: … Continue reading

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You Know That Sex Sells. Do You Know Why?

Have you ever wondered why certain brands seem to add attractive models, for what appears no good reason? Well, here’s why. Take a look at this picture: You may not realize this, but this photograph will make you take more … Continue reading

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Why Do Shopping Addicts Keep Spending Their Money?

Did you know that approximately 10 percent of adults in western countries are believed to have a compulsive spending disorder? Their spending habits lead them to lose control over their buying behavior, and this trend is on the rise. Interestingly, … Continue reading

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The Costs and Benefits of “Living for Now”

Psychologists describe people who focus attention on the activities and events happening in the present as having a present hedonistic time perspective. We were interested in identifying the costs and benefits of “living for now.” In this study we measured people’s … Continue reading

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The Top 5 Reasons Spending Less Will Make You Happier

In a recent study we conducted in my lab, we investigated how consumers who are able to practice restraint in purchasing are different than those who are loose in their spending habits. The results show that there are distinct differences … Continue reading

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What Is Happiness? Five Characteristics of Happy People

My research team and I just completed a study to examine the differences in how happy people live their lives compared to people who are unhappy. Because we were interested in several characteristics of happy people, we examined the predictors of … Continue reading

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The self-enhancement bias: Or, how I ended up with the Slap Chop

Recently, a friend of mine was asked how tall he was. He quickly replied, Do you mean in person or online? He was joking of course, but the joke is funny because we all know that people tend to, well… … Continue reading

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Sunshine on my portfolio makes me happy

There are armies of very smart, very well educated, numbers- and facts-focused people on Wall Street and in other stock exchanges around the globe. The sharpest minds from the best schools compete at the highest levels for any advantage at … Continue reading

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Less Is More: The Power of Simple Language in Packaging

Take a cursory glance at the history of language in advertising and you’ll notice one thing: simplicity rules the day. Whether that’s the number of images used or the exact wording of an advertisement, less is very often more. Just … Continue reading

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