Collectors and Collecting: A Social Psychological Perspective
- 1 January 2004
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Leisure Sciences
- Vol. 26 (1), 85-97
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400490272639
Abstract
Collecting is a pervasive behavior in our culture, yet it has received little attention in the psychological literature. We examine eight aspects of the collecting process, drawing on existing ideas and research in social psychology as well as existing research on collectors and collecting to describe the motivations that underlie collecting behavior. We suggest that collectors are drawn to collecting as a means of bolstering the self by setting up goals that are tangible and attainable and provide the collector with concrete feedback of progress.This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- I-D Compensation Theory: Some Implications of Trying to Satisfy Immediate-Return Needs in a Delayed-Return CulturePsychological Inquiry, 1999
- Collecting as luxury consumption: Effects on individuals and householdsJournal of Economic Psychology, 1995
- The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.Psychological Bulletin, 1995
- Free Market Metaphor: The Historical Dynamics of Stamp CollectingComparative Studies in Society and History, 1992
- Affective Responses to Autobiographical Memories and Their Relationship to Long‐Term GoalsJournal of Personality, 1990
- Self-focused attention, coping responses, and distressed mood in everyday life.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1990
- The Social Psychology of Self-EfficacyAnnual Review of Sociology, 1989
- Social Psychology of Intergroup RelationsAnnual Review of Psychology, 1982
- Two indirect tactics of image management: Basking and blasting.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1980
- Telling more than we can know: Verbal reports on mental processes.Psychological Review, 1977