Celebrity Worship, Materialism, Compulsive Buying, and the Empty Self

This study tested common predictions from the absorption-addiction model of celebrity worship and the empty self theory. A sample of 171 university students completed a set of scales that included celebrity worship, materialism, and compulsive buying, as well as self-concept clarity, and several other measures of well-being, such as boredom proneness, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. As predicted, materialism and compulsive buying were significantly correlated with celebrity worship, extending research on the empty self theory. Celebrity worship, materialism, and compulsive buying were significantly related to lower self-concept clarity and to lower levels of well-being, supporting both absorption-addiction and empty self theories. The results provide clear evidence for absorption-addiction and empty self theory predictions of a compromised identity. Implications for future research were discussed.