The Effect of Self-Investment on Hoarding Tendency of Chinese College Students:Role of Psychological Connections

Because of factors such as energy and time one invests in an object,the stronger the connection,value,and reluc-tance to lose said object individual will have.Hoarding behavior arises when individuals incorporate a strong attachment with themselves to an object.The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of self-investment on hoarding tendency and the roles of possession-self link and liking level in this connection.A hypothetical model of the relationship between self-investment,possession-self link,liking level,and hoarding tendency was tested.A convenience sampling method was used to survey 450 college students in Yunnan Province on either a paper-based or online self-report scale.The data were collected using self-investment,possession-self link,and liking level questionnaires,as well as the Saving Inventory Revised.Results showed positive relationship between the study variables,ranging from 0.37 to 0.87.College students’self-investment had a direct positive pre-dictive effect on hoarding tendency;self-investment,in turn,indirectly predicted hoarding tendency through the mediating effect of possession-self link;and individual liking level of items had a moderating effect for self-invest-ment on the possession-self link.This study shows how self-investment affects the hoarding tendency of college students,and the results of this study also help demonstrate the value of self-investment and possession-self link in optimizing students’hoarding tendency and thus promoting good psychological status.