Household consumption: Influences of aspiration level, social comparison, and money management

The present research posits and tests a model of household consumption of less necessary or luxury goods and services. It is hypothesized that a household's economic situation has a direct effect on this consumption as well as indirect effects mediated by aspiration level, social comparison and money management. Structural equation modeling of questionnaire data from a sample of households in a metropolitan area of Sweden (n=411) was used to test the model. The results reveal that as expected the household's economic situation has a significant direct effect on consumption and indirect effects through aspiration level and social comparison. The results also show that satisfaction with consumption increases with increased consumption and decreases with higher aspiration levels.