Keywords
Abstract
This research thoroughly investigates the psychological compensation mechanisms of consumer downgrading in the conditions of economic constraint and uncertainty. Inferred from Adlerian individual psychology and macroeconomic and micro-level consumer behavior evidence, the research draws out core strategies—e.g., value for money, category substitution, and emotional consumption—consumers adopt to restore psychological balance. The research concludes that consumers restore psychological balance via “value for money first,” “category substitution,” and “emotional consumption.” Various income groups have three modes of compensation channels: “symbolic self-completion,” “sense of control reconstruction,” and “separation strategy.” Various governments and enterprises must guide healthy compensation behavior with social security optimization and product innovation.
References
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