The Psychology of Overconsumption

Overconsumption refers to ‘an excessive, troublesome, or massive consumption that harms individuals, society, or the environment’ (Kumar et al., 2025). Presently, there may be many unused items in our homes that will eventually end up in landfills. Considering overconsumption’s harmfulness, why do we still overconsume? Overconsumption is used as a form of self-care, a way to make up for our distractibility, and a means to distinguish oneself and symbolically demonstrate that one is from a certain social class. 

Overconsumption can first arise from current ideals of self-care. Retail therapy is a form of relaxation in which joy is derived from the purchase process (Atalay & Meloy, 2011). Moreover, acquiring items creates a bubble of security due to our evolutionary need to harbour resources for survival (Morrison, 2020). Thus, in the attempt to soothe oneself, individuals may overconsume despite the long-term drawbacks to their well-being.

Secondly, in our stimulating society, where individuals are constantly distracted during activities, the overconsumption of goods may be used to “make up” for the enjoyment lost while distracted (Murphy et al., 2024). Overconsumption occurs as individuals fail to meet the expected enjoyment from an activity, so they consume more to cross that threshold.

Lastly, material items are a symbol of social class. When someone has a collection of items, it is a clear status symbol (Wang, 2024). Individuals use material items to navigate our classed society (Hansen, 2023). Thus, in material societies, overconsumption may be an act of fitting in with the norms. 

For these reasons, it can be seen that many of the factors behind our overconsumption may be beyond our control. However, as overconsumption is harmful, there is a need to overcome this desire. Thus, take this chance to engage in self-reflection and identify the reasons behind your overconsumption and how you can mitigate it.

Writer: Ellery

Published: 08/06/2026

References:

Atalay, A. S., & Meloy, M. G. (2011). Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood. Psychology and Marketing, 28(6), 638–659. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20404

Hansen, A. (2023). Capitalism, consumption, and the transformation of everyday life: the political economy of social practices. In Consumption and public life (pp. 27–54). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11069-6_2

Kumar, S., Kathuria, G., & Malhotra, D. (2025). Overconsumption: A systematic literature review and future research agenda. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 49(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.70026

Morrison, C. (2020, December 14). More, more, more! Saybrook University Digital Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2026, from https://www.saybrook.edu/unbound/more-more-more-overconsumption/

Murphy, S. L., Van Meer, F., Van Dillen, L., Van Steenbergen, H., & Hofmann, W. (2024). Underwhelming pleasures: Toward a self-regulatory account of hedonic compensation and overconsumption. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 127(2), 312–334. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000389

Wang, Y. (2024). Overconsumption among Young People in Big Cities—A Research Based on Behavioral Economics. Information Systems and Economics, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.23977/infse.2024.050214