It has happened to all of us at some point: when we are in a bad moment, a little sad or discouraged, we usually do a bit of retail therapy by going shopping, and pampering ourselves by buying a couple of things that, in other circumstances, would be out of our budget . But after a few hours and a few credit card swipes, we came home with that item we always wanted but thought was prohibitively expensive.
Now, it turns out that the high of happiness and adrenaline that we thought a luxury item or an expensive item of clothing would give us actually makes us feel more miserable, according to a study published by Boston College and the Business School of Harvard University. As you read it: the psychological effects of buying a new luxury item are often neither positive nor neutral, as for most of us, owning luxury items makes us feel bad.
Nailya Ordabayeva, study author and associate professor of marketing at Boston College's Carroll School of Management, says that while previous research supports the idea that luxury is attractive to consumers "because it promises status and confidence," there has been little research on how consumers actually feel when they consume luxury products: “we were interested in finding out if this boost in confidence that luxury promises actually materializes or if there are unintended consequences of indulging in luxury for consumers.”
The result was surprising to the researchers, because despite consumers' expectations that buying a pair of Gucci sneakers, a Balenciaga hoodie or a Hermès scarf would be a boost, they actually experienced a "dissonance between what represents luxury and what they really are,” says Ordabayeva. “And that created what we call the impostor syndrome of luxury consumption.”
Learning from mistakes and welcoming feedback as a chance to grow is #4DTeaching's subcomp 2. Modeling how to embra… https://t.co/3nltd3L9cN
— 4D Teaching and Learning Mon Mar 22 23:00:17 +0000 2021
The study found that "imposter syndrome" is prevalent across all age and income demographics. In fact, more than 66% of the 1,000 people who were subjects in the research, regardless of their income level, felt that making a luxury purchase made them feel “inauthentic”, as if their true identity was at odds with opulence. of the items purchased.
However, not everything is so bad for some, as the study shows that those who have a high level of feeling entitled to have these items have this "imposter syndrome" much less pronounced. "People who felt they deserved the best things in life were the only group of individuals with fewer feelings of inauthenticity," says Ordabayeva.
Although the report recognizes points where buying something expensive could be beneficial, such as the clothes to wear to a job interview to impress your potential employer, it tells us that the real question to ask before making an impulse purchase and high cost is: “is this object really a reflection of who I really am?” If the answer is yes, feel free to use the credit card.
Thank you for reading our reports. Independent journalism does not finance itself. We need your support with a contribution, be it big or small for a coffee for our crew. No matter where you are in the world, support us from just CLP 1,000 by WebPay (if you are in Chile) or USD 1 by PayPal (if you are outside of Chile).
After reading, what did you think?
