Neuropsychological Test Profile of Compulsive Buying Behavior: A Study on 50-Year-Old and Over Consumers

Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.7 Issue.3

Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.25.3.08

RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI

Neuropsychological Test Profile of Compulsive Buying Behavior: A Study on 50-Year-Old and Over Consumers

Kompulsif Satın Alma Davranışının Nöropsikolojik Test Profili: 50 Yaş ve Üzeri Tüketiciler Üzerinde Bir Araştırma

Ayşe Bican Şen¹, Aybeniz Akdeniz Ar²

Abstract:

This study aims to contribute to the literature by identifying the neuropsychological test profile of compulsive buying behaviour among consumers aged 50 and above. Designed as a case-control study, the research was conducted at the Neurology Outpatient Clinic of Bursa Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine and completed with 66 participants—33 in the case group and 33 in the control group. The Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE), the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview (MIDI), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), and the Stroop Test-Capa Form (ST) were administered to assess executive functions. At the same time, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) was used to evaluate decision-making behaviour. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and chi-square, Shapiro-Wilk, independent samples t-test (for normally distributed data), and Mann-Whitney U test (for non-normally distributed data) were employed in the analyses. The WCST sub-scores—total number of errors, number of categories completed, total number of perseverative responses, total number of non-perseverative errors, percentage of perseverative errors, number of reactions to complete the first category, and number of conceptual level responses—differed significantly between groups. Similarly, significant differences were observed between groups in the completion times, number of errors, and spontaneous corrections in the first three sections of the ST, as well as in the net scores of the third, fourth, and fifth blocks of the IGT. The findings indicate that the compulsive buying group demonstrated lower executive function and decision-making performance compared to the control group. The results were discussed in the context of existing literature, and recommendations were proposed.

Keywords: Aged 50 and over, Compulsive buying, Neuropsychology, Executive function, Decision making, Case-control study.

* This study was produced from a PhD thesis.

¹Dr., Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Marketing, Balıkesir, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0003-2674-7893

²Prof. Dr., Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of Production Management and Marketing, Balıkesir, Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected], Orcid Id: 0000-0001-6935-2918

Address of Correspondence/Yazışma Adresi: Ayşe Bican Şen, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University, Institute of Social Sciences, Bandırma Onyedi Eylül University Central Campus, 10200 Bandırma/Balıkesir, E-mail: [email protected]

Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 04.03.2025, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 22.07.2025, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 29.07.2025, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 22.09.2025

Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Şen, A. B. & Ar, A. A. (2025). Neuropsychological Test Profile of Compulsive Buying Behavior: A Study on 50 Years and Over Aged Consumers. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 7(3), 285-294.

© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/