Debit and Credit Cards and Diets
(New York Times) — Paying with credit or debit cards makes people more likely to make impulsive, unhealthy food purchases, according to a new study in The Journal of Consumer Research. Previous research has found that paying with credit can encourage people to spend more money because physically handing over a dollar bill increases the so-called “ pain of payment,” which takes away from the pleasure of consumption. It turns out paying with a card can also make consumers likely to spend more money on “bad” things in particular, like junk food.
