The joint effects of scarcity mindset, relative deprivation, and cognitive dissonance on exquisite poverty tendency among generation Z consumers

This research examines the psychological factors and their respective contributions to an individual’s tendencies toward exquisite poverty. The phenomenon Exquisite Poverty refers to consumers’ purchase of luxury goods or to their pursuit of lifestyles beyond their financial capacity to maintain a decent public image. Although this consumer’s behavioral pattern has attracted public and media attention, research on its underlying psychological mechanisms remains limited. To address this gap, this study investigates how three key psychological constructs—Scarcity Mindset, Relative Deprivation, and Cognitive Dissonance—jointly influence consumer behavior related to exquisite poverty. The research employs a quantitative design using survey data collected from Generation Z consumers in Taiwan. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regression were conducted to examine the latent structure and relationships among variables. The results reveal that all three constructs significantly predict the Exquisite Poverty Tendency (EPT), with Relative Deprivation emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by Scarcity Mindset and Cognitive Dissonance. The model explains over half of the variance in EPT, suggesting that feelings of resource scarcity and social comparison interact with self-rationalization to encourage financially unsustainable yet socially motivated consumption. This study contributes to consumer psychology by introducing a validated measurement framework for EPT and providing a deeper understanding of how psychological factors shape the paradox of luxury consumption under financial constraint. The findings also offer implications for marketing strategies, financial literacy education, and promoting healthy consumption values among young adults.