Filed under: notes
Hide your wallet!
Researchers at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and Pitt demonstrated that people are willing to spend more money if they feel sad:
The scientists ran an experiment where one group of participants watched a depressing video about a boy whose mentor dies, while another group watched a more neutral program on the Great Barrier Reef. Then participants were asked how much they’d pay for a “sporty-looking, insulated water bottle.” Those who’d seen the sad program offered nearly four times as much money as those who watched the nature program.
Four times as much!
Good Lord. I think this is especially relevant to those of us who have jobs that we find depressing. Watch yourself with the retail therapy to feel better. I know I’ve fallen into this trapping of wanting something (anything!) to make me feel better when I’m sad, and many of us shop online during the workday.
And, on an evil note, there is a lovely paragraph in the story describing how retailers can capitalize on these findings. All I can say is if you’re in a store, and they’re playing Old Yeller on a TV screen, just walk away.
I was shopping in a Kroger and in the dog food aisle for sale was Disney’s Old Yeller brand dog food. Considering how that movie turned out I don’t think that is the best movie tie-in product.
Comment by Toonhead 02.19.08 @ 2:13 pmLol. Indeed.
Comment by Ms. Theologian 02.19.08 @ 2:21 pmHoly crap that’s scary.
I always buy books when I’m sad. i think I’ll start going to the library instead.
Comment by GhostGirl 02.19.08 @ 3:38 pmCould you believe that people who watched a sad video were willing to pay four times more for a water bottle? That just blows me away. I mean, I knew that there were times when I was more likely to impulse buy, but I hadn’t connected to mood entirely.
Comment by Ms. Theologian 02.19.08 @ 4:38 pmWow! You know, in the book “Your Money or Your Life”, the authors note that having a job you hate costs you more because you always seem to need a dinner or night out because “you’ve earned it”. This dovetails into that book’s theory very well, and I think it makes sense. I’ve been more likely to spend while working on a manageable project with a tough/cranky client than on a tough project with a decent client.
Comment by Mile High Pixie 02.19.08 @ 8:02 pmI definitely have noticed this trend in myself. Back in my melancholy days, I loved to windowshop and “treat myself.” That’s why I have a whole house full of stuff now that I don’t need and don’t use. But I rarely go shopping now. I don’t even buy clothes unless I absolutely have to. I do buy a lot of books, though.
Comment by h sofia 02.20.08 @ 11:18 amHence the appeal of capitalism/consumerism. Feeling sad?
Buy something!
We have just the thing for you. So he was Asian, 47 years old, and he dumped you unfairly?
We have the perfect thing to suit your niche. Look at our research!
Comment by Comrade Kevin 02.20.08 @ 1:47 pmLeave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>