• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.175-188
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• 2014

This study examined the effects of demographic variables and psychological mechanisms (self-efficacy, need for closure, and fashion innovativeness) on each of the four types of impulsive buying, including suggestion impulsive buying, stimulus impulsive buying, pure impulsive buying, and reminder impulsive buying. In addition, the study analyzed the impact these four types had on evaluations after impulsive buying (i.e., diversion in mood, regret for buying decision and a sense of financial loss, and dissatisfaction of products). Data was collected by a marketing research company from five hundreds consumers in seven different cities of South Korea who experienced impulsive buying in the off-line apparel stores within the past three months. The results of regression analyses indicated that self-efficacy and gender significantly affected suggestion impulsive buying. That is, the higher consumers' self-efficacy, the greater their suggestion impulsive buying was. In addition, women had higher Suggestion Impulsive Buying than men did. However, in case of Stimulus Impulsive Buying, gender was the only significant antecedent. That is, women had higher stimulus impulsive buying than men did. In terms of pure impulsive buying, fashion innovativeness was a significant predictor, and for the reminder impulsive buying level, fashion innovativeness and need for closure were significant predictors. Finally, pure and suggestion impulsive buying were correlated with positive consumer evaluations, while both stimulus and reminder impulsive buyings were correlated with negative consumer evaluations. Implications and future studies were discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.799-808
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• 2013

Previous research reported that body size measured as Body Mass Index (BMI) and body shape measured as waist-hip-ratio (WHR) are two essential factors that form the perceptions of body attractiveness. However, the debate on the importance of BMI versus WHR is ongoing. In addition, scholarly articles, that focus on the role of geographic and cultural variability on perceptions of attractiveness, report inconsistent results. Some suggested that according to globalization and the rise of mass media, geographic variability of perceptions of attractiveness have been altered, while others believed that it remains. This study cross-regionally investigates the role of body size and body shape on the perceptions of female attractiveness. Samples were composed of 107 female college students in Alabama and 107 female college students in California. Participants viewed 27 three-dimensional body scan images of women in three body shapes (pear, hourglass, and rectangle) and three body sizes (underweight, normal weight, and overweight) and rated their perceptions of attractiveness. Images were shown to students in a random order with an overhead projector and Microsoft Office PowerPoint software. A three-way mixed-ANOVA was conducted to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that some regional differences exist between the two sample groups. However, regardless of the regional difference, hourglass shapes were perceived to be the most attractive shape and underweight sizes were perceived to be the most attractive size for both samples.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.99-118
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• 2009

In Korean society, a housewife and mother often plays the role of family resource manager. In 2008, the newly appointed Korean government proposed a new direction in social policies, including family policy, that is, "active social welfare". According to "active social welfare", family policy focuses on a preventive policy and a family needs-oriented policy. In other words, newly established family policies should reflect parents' needs in their family resource management. In this economic downturn, family policies should be established to satisfy parents' needs to overcome their own family's economic crisis. This study focuses on policy recipients' real voices and their needs: they need the government's help supporting their efforts to overcome the economic crises within their families.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.443-456
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to explore the patterns of private education, investigate the characteristics of private education patterns, and analyze the differences in study habits and academic achievement of youth on the basis of private education patterns. In this study, we used the data from the 2012 Panel of the Korea Children and Youth Panel Study by the National Youth Policy Institute. The subjects of this study were ninth-grade students and their parents. The statistical methods used for the analysis were two-step clustering, Chi-squared test, analysis of variance, and multiple regression. The major findings were as follows: first, private education was classified into three patterns, namely financial investment, time investment, and reduction of investment; and four categories, namely; private education methodology, private education time, private education expenses, and number of youth with access to private education. Second, the statistically significant socio-demographic characteristics of private education patterns were parents' education, parents' job type, father's working hours, sex of children, housing form, and income. Third, the study found that financial investment and a reduce of investment led to better study habits and academic achievement than time investment and no investment. Fourth, private education and study habits showed statistically meaningful effects on academic achievement; in particular, study habits had strong effects on academic achievement. Based on the results, a variety of educational programs for the improvement of the study habits of the youth were suggested.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.185-199
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• 2019

This study examined the effects of considered attributes when purchase on consumption attitudes and consumption happiness as well as compared the effects for sensible consumption and sentimental consumption. Data was collected from 373 consumers in 20s and 30s from November 15th to 20th in 2017. IBM SPSS 25.0 was used for basic statistical analyses and for paired t-tests, and lavaan 0.6-3 package and semTools package in R 3.3.3(2017-03-06) was used for structural equation modeling. The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, there were almost no differences in product types between sentimental consumption and sensible consumption. Second, consumption attitudes toward sensible consumption were more positive than sensible consumption; however consumption happiness from sentimental consumption was higher than from sensible consumption. Third, considered attributes when making purchases were divided into subjective, objective, and symbolic with the effects of these attributes on consumption attitudes and consumption happiness analyzed by structural equation modeling. Regardless of sentimental or sensible consumption, objective selection attributes have a positive effect on consumption attitude, but subjective selection attributes have a positive effect on consumption happiness. This study implies that sentimental consumption has a positive value for contemporary consumers and that it should be counted as a feasible consumption activity to enhance consumption happiness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.36 no.12
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• pp.1270-1284
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• 2012

This article examines how individual differences on the need for cognitive closure and demographics influence consumer perception and the usage of consumer reviews in online shopping. Data were randomly collected from 2,381 U.S. online consumer review users through an online survey. The findings from multiple regression analyses revealed the different effects of the need for cognitive closure dimensions (i.e., preference for order and structure, preference for predictability, discomfort with ambiguity, closed-mindedness, and decisiveness) and demographic characteristics on consumer attitudes, perceived online review influence, benefits, persuasiveness, and review usage behavior. Finally, practical implications and prospects for future research are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1015-1023
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• 2006

This study examined the levels of consumers' non-ethical behaviors in the marketplace and the factors affecting each category of them. The data were collected from 222 adults in Busan and Gyeongnam areas through a self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple regression analyses were conducted by SPSS Windows. The results from this study were as follows: First, respondents showed the highest level of non-ethical behavior in the no harm/no foul category, while the lowest level in the actively benefiting from questionable behavior category. Second, as the results of multiple regression analyses, age was significant in all categories of non-ethical behaviors. In addition, religion, consumer knowledge and consumer role attitudes were found to be significant in some categories. These results imply that the consumer ethics should be included in the consumer education for more effective consumer behaviors of young generation.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.11-28
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• 2009

This study is intended to make a tool which can identify how consumers consume by presenting a concept of "consumption style" and by developing the scale to measure it. In order to study the scope and meaning of consumption for modern consumers, "the meaning of consumption" was theoretically considered. Based on it, the concept and perspective of 'consumption style'was formed and then the scale for measuring it was developed. To develop the scale, the scale was formed by extracting questions through a literature survey, and verifying validity through experts' opinion. Then, the final scale was developed by conducting a questionnaire survey for consumers. A preliminary 150- item scale was developed through a literature review. 1000 consumers responded to an online survey using the preliminary scale. This research was made with the intention of not only supplying the academic data on the consumer's "consumption style" but also understanding the consumer's basic behavior patterns. Then A series of tests, such as test-retest, item-to-total correlation, Cronbach's reliability coefficient and factor analysis, were conducted using the survey data. The final scale with 68-items was constructed in the end. The "consumption style" Scale for Consumers consisted of 4 factors.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.31-42
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• 2016

We examine the self-control problems of U.S households and their effects on households' retirement preparedness based on the Behavioral Life-Cycle Hypothesis. Using the 2010 Survey of Consumer Finances dataset, the level of retirement adequacy was estimated with income replacement ratio (IRR), and only 42% of households were adequately prepared for retirement. Results from logistic regression analysis indicated that households with loan payment and saving self-control problems were less likely to be prepared adequately for retirement compared to those without such problems. Age, education, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment status, retirement plans, expected retirement age and risk tolerance were significantly related to retirement preparedness. This study provides financial educator and researchers with suggestions on how to help household make a better retirement plan.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.44 no.2 s.216
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• pp.25-36
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• 2006

This study examined the subcategories of the self concept of adolescent consumers, and investigated the influence of this self concept and the demographic characteristics on the evaluation and experience of adolescent entry into harmful places. The adolescent group was divided into 4 subgroups: (group I with negative evaluation and without entry experience, group II with negative evaluation but with experience;, group III with positive evaluation but without experience, and group IV with positive evaluation and with experience). The differences of demographic characteristic and self concept between these. subgroups were inspected. The results of this study were as follows. First, the self concept of the adolescent consumer consists of body self, social self, achievement self, scholarship self and family self. Among these self concepts, scholarship self was the highest, and family self was the lowest. Second, from the result of regression analysis using the demographic element as an independent variable to inspect the factors influencing self concept, sex, school year, living with parents, and economic status were statistically significant. Third, in case of entry evaluation, singing room was evaluated most positively among 10 places with a score of 4.20 and pub/drunkenness was evaluated most negatively. In case of entry experience, singing room was the most frequently experienced place and discotheque was the least. Fourth, with respect to demographic characteristics and influences of self concept, the influencing factors on entry evaluation were sex, school year, social self, and family self, and the influencing factors on entry experience were sex, school year, living with parents, social self, and family self. Finally, examination of the differences of demographic characteristics and self concept according to entry evaluation and experience, revealed the distinctive variables among the 10 harmful places to be sex, school year, living with parents, body self, social self, achievement self, scholarship self, and family self.