The Menstrual Theory of Impulse Buying

Recent research on willpower suggests that it’s a limited resource that can be depleted. Now there’s evidence that something else affects willpower: women’s menstrual cycles. A new study by Karen Pine and Ben Fletcher finds that the further a woman is in her cycle, the more likely she is to make “impulsive purchases.” Pine and Fletcher believe their results are linked to the resource depletion theory of willpower: “We suggest that, in common with other cognitive competencies, the resources that govern spending may also be menstrual-cycle sensitive, and our data reflect women’s lower self-regulatory resources during the luteal (pre-menstrual) phase.” (HT: Nathan Yang) [%comments]