12/13/2025
It’s the season of shopping and spending, which, for some, means higher levels of money-related stress. In 2021, Scott Rick, PhD., a marketing professor at the University of Michigan who conducts research on the cause and effects of emotions in consumer spending behaviors and overall financial decision making, joined Kim Mills, the host of the American Psychological Association’s flagship podcast, Speaking of Psychology, for an episode all about spending decisions around the holidays. In this episode, Mills and Rick discuss the role that emotions have in our spending choices, the actual efficacy of “retail therapy”, and the psychology behind why highly-anticipated sales, such as those on Black Friday, seem more difficult to resist.
If you find it hard to manage holiday shopping-related stress, head over to our website (link in bio!) to learn about what services we offer and how to get started with therapy at Compass Counseling and Associates.
Also, be sure to check out this podcast to learn more about how your emotions might relate to spending behaviors, and how retailers’ advertising tricks can influence your shopping choices.
Reference:
American Psychological Association. (2021, December). Tightwads and spendthrifts: How emotions drive our shopping behavior (K. I. Mills, Host) [Audio podcast episode]. In Speaking of Psychology. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/shopping-behavior
