Study Reveals Why You Might Feel Miserable From Buying Fancy Items You Want
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Getting hold of costly items often makes you feel good one way or another. It could be the satisfaction of owning something opulent or feasting your eyes on the branding. Whatever it is, when you buy it, you feel good, right? Maybe not.
According to The Guardian, research from Boston College and Harvard Business School claims that the psychological effects of buying fancy goods could have you feeling miserable overall. Though previous studies revealed that luxury items were linked with “status and confidence,” there was limited data on how consumers actually feel when they purchase lavish products, until now.
Nailya Ordabayeva, the study’s author and associate professor of marketing at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, said the researchers were interested in finding out if the confidence boost tied with luxury actually “materializes,” or if there are other results that come with indulging in opulence.
It turns out, consumers tend to experience a “dissonance between what luxury represents and who they truly are,” Ordabayeva said, explaining that this could lead many to feel “the imposter syndrome of luxury consumption.”
Two-thirds of the 1,000 research subjects shared that purchasing fancy items—including high-end private items like skincare and even ritzy goods purchased on sale—made them feel inauthentic.
Ordabayeva deduced that “an inherent sense of psychological entitlement” could possibly decrease this sense of imposter syndrome.
The remaining one-third of participants passed an entitlement test set by the team, declaring that they “deserve[d] the best things in life.”
They turned out to be the only group of individuals that had “lower feelings of inauthenticity” no matter the price tag attached to their purchases.
.@BCCarrollSchool Professor Nailya Ordabayeva and her co-authors found that while high-end shopping may boost your mood or give you a heightened sense of status, it can also cause "impostor syndrome." https://t.co/10NKm8yLam pic.twitter.com/gKHTgzwrjt
— Boston College (@BostonCollege) January 17, 2020
[via The Guardian, images via Shutterstock.com]
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