Our buying impulses may be more biological than due to slick advertising

Josh Sanburn wrote an interesting article called “The joy of less” in the March 23, 2015 issue of TIME magazine. It was an eye-opener got me thinking about why people like to accumulate and hold onto things. Elinor Ochs, Anthropology professor at UCLA sees a relationship between feeling anxious and buying or acquiring a lot of stuff. Stephanie Preston, Psychology professor at the University of Michigan, considers the human need to accumulate things as our “Inner Squirrel.” She takes a sort of anthropological or evolutionary approach by saying that early humans gathered just enough things [nuts] to meet basic survival needs and a place to keep them secure [dry/fresh]. The development of tools was a game changer because items were no longer disposable, or had to be consumed right away, but could be taken along and reused later. Preston goes on to say human beings have a need to be validated, appreciated, acknowledged and expect to be supported by others. When this does not happen then anxiety sets in and as people feel socially rejected or undervalued, they become selfish and start to get their hands on as many things as possible; as a remedy for the emptiness or space that is not filled up in their lives. She concludes by mentioning that anxiety is associated with uncertainty, a sign that there might be a scarcity of resources and it is time to start stockpiling (“hoarding”) stuff.

Randy Frost, Psychology professor at Smith College sees it this way: “Objects have meaning about your past that you are still connected to, cherish, and don’t want to let go of.” These possessions evoke real and powerful [pleasant] memories of a certain time that has special meaning and significance. It is a way to forestall, transcend, and pretend that we are able to struggle against and prolong the inevitable- that we are finite and that we are going to end. About 1 in 6 Americans suffer from anxiety disorders, and shopping is seen as one way to alleviate or manage it. The experience has the tendency to release “dopamine” [a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers] into the brain, giving a sense of euphoria. It is a sensation that those who are susceptible want to relive it over and over again, like a drug habit. All is not lost however because there are some new generation consumers called disaccumualists (“minimalists”), who have gotten rid of their excess stuff and only keep and use the essential things. Thomas Gilovich, Psychology professor at Cornell University sees this change as a sort of ‘existential’ awakening [epiphany], and his research has found that it is life’s experiences, not the accumulation of things, that brings true feelings of joy and happiness. It is our fondest memories of those experiences that stick with us in the end because we get used to and/or discard things; but memories last forever.

 

Robert Randle
776 Commerce St Apt B11
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 7, 2015
robertrandle51@yahoo.com