Abstract: Mental accounting describes the entire process of coding, categorizing, budgeting and evaluating. The basic features of mental accounting include hedonic editing, non-fungibility and topical account. These features are influenced by some factors, such as hedonic editing which is influenced by frame and individual differences, non-fungibility and mental budgeting which is influenced by “malleable” factors, topic account which is influenced by original value, semantic relatedness and evaluation methods. Research in the future needs to explore the generalization, underlying mechanism, and cultural differences of mental accounting.

Key words: mental accounting, hedonic editing, non-fungibility, budgeting, self-control