Our lack of satisfaction with purchases stems from four science-based reasons
Introduction
A common issue that may plague our lives is that we are never satisfied with what we buy for long. Our excitement for our purchase soon fades and is replaced with indifference. Is it because the new object is less valuable now? Are we used to its presence, prompting the previous excitement to disappear? This dynamic is due to four factors. The first reason is our unknowing participation in our personal Hedonic Treadmill.1 The second reason is that the marketing industry is a psychology-researched and trillion-dollar thriving industry.2 3 The third reason is that we often buy due to comparison and habitual behaviour.4 The fourth and final reason is that we commonly lack gratitude for what we already possess.5
Reason 1: The Hedonic Treadmill
The hedonic treadmill is the psychology theory that despite what we experience (positive or negative), our brains will default to our baseline emotional and mental state once the event (or, in this case, purchase) is finished.1 The hedonic treadmill theory applies directly to the spike in dopamine and serotonin we acquire while anticipating and purchasing items.1 Once we acquire the item, the dopamine and serotonin boost dwindles, and our brains default to our baseline emotional and mental position.1 For people who have life struggles, their baseline emotional state can be low, prompting their craving for the dopamine and serotonin boost of purchases.1 This phenomenon cements the cycle, or in this case, the treadmill effect of the Hedonic Treadmill.1
Getting off the hedonic treadmill can be challenging and requires us to deal with the factors that have created dissatisfaction in our baseline emotional and mental state. However, in the long term, dealing with a low emotional state will bring happiness and reduce the craving for purchasing, thus breaking the detrimental hedonic treadmill.1
Reason 2: The Success of the Marketing Industry
The second reason we want to buy more is the success of the marketing industry itself. Marketing is a 1.65 trillion-dollar powerful psychology-based tool companies use to entice us to purchase and pay more.2 3 The marketing industry thrives on psychology research, particularly the psychology of how companies can convince people to buy an item or spend more on it.3 For example, it is common for companies to use specific colours in their branding and logos to spark particular feelings in potential customers.3 Companies use red to invoke hunger, while others use pink to connect with female audiences.3 Unfortunately, their colourization is based on research that shows these techniques’ wild success.3 Other examples of successful techniques include the use of buzzwords, aligning to trending causes and the successfulness of targeted ads.
Marketing has also mastered its ability to warp our perception of the difference between needs, issues and luxuries.6 It has become commonplace for ordinary people to see luxuries as necessities thanks to the power of long-term targeted ads, which results in warped need perspectives. Marketing material often exaggerates or showcases a problem that may not be prevalent in our lives and advertises a product that solves it.7 This technique, routinely used in infomercials, is called Problem-Solution Selling.6
Our actual human needs are highlighted in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.8 These basic human needs include psychological needs (water, food, shelter), safety and belonging, self-esteem and self-actualization.8 These needs can be hijacked with products advertised as solutions to our needs when, in reality, they will not meet our needs.7 For example, one cannot find self-esteem or belonging in a purchased item, as much as marketers will have you believe. You can only meet those needs in a loving community and through healing work.
Reason 3: Comparison and Habitual Behaviour
The third reason we want to buy more is because of comparisons and habitual shopping habits.4 It is natural to strive towards happiness. However, with over a hundred years of successful marketing tactics, we may assume either partly or wholeheartedly that happiness comes from purchases rather than perspective changes and other non-purchasable factors.9 Comparison is a common habit that has been shown to increase our spending habits. Studies show that we have the highest level of unhappiness when we are dissatisfied with what we have and decide to want more.9 This is often emphasized when we feel pressure to buy more or feel like we should earn more to acquire more due to the comparison of people in our community.4
However, the benefit of endless comparison and a lack of satisfaction with what we have drives us to find better outcomes.10 Comparison can also lead to faster learning.10 On the other hand, comparison makes us unhappier and can cause us to devalue what we own, which can lead to depression.9 This can be seen in the “Keeping Up with the Jones” effect, where we may be upset by what we do not have compared to our neighbours and friends rather than being happy with what we possess.9 Though comparison could be an evolutionary advantage because it prompts us to seek better options, it can cause an endless cycle of dissatisfaction with one’s belongings, leading to unhappiness overall.9 10
Reason 4: Lack of Gratitude
The fourth reason we want to buy more is a lack of gratitude.5 A lack of gratitude can contribute to our thirst to want more.5 Unhappiness peaks when we are unsatisfied with what we possess.11 If we do not appreciate what we have, we can enter a cycle of wanting because we lack satisfaction with what we own.12 It becomes hard to enjoy the present if we feel lacking, contributing to our dissatisfaction and desire for more.11 However, we are statistically happier when we relinquish the thirst for more, which we can achieve through mindful gratitude.11 This is because when we are content with what we possess and appreciate the present, we eliminate the feeling of shame or envy for more.4 Practicing gratitude changes our perspective and helps us become satisfied with our lives and the objects we acquire.12
Future-orientated purchase thinking also creates dissatisfaction with the objects that we already possess.11The mindset of uncontrolled acquiring means that our possessions may not meet our expectations.11 These unmet expectations cement the cycle of disappointment and dissatisfaction in our possessions, which leads to more wanting.11 A lack of gratitude can also warp our perception of luxuries as standard necessities, contributing to unhappiness.5 These combined factors demonstrate that a lack of gratitude is a critical factor in the dissatisfying cycle of wanting, contributing to unhappiness overall.5 11
Conclusion
In conclusion, our unquenchable thirst to buy more stems from four reasons. The first reason is our unknowing participation in the Hedonic Treadmill, which is to avoid our negative emotional baseline.1 The second reason is the power of the multi-trillion-dollar marketing industry and its psychology-based tactics.2 3 The third reason is community-orientated comparison and habitual spending.4 The fourth and final reason is our lack of gratitude, which leads to dissatisfaction and thirst for acquiring more.5
[1] Hedonic treadmill. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/hedonic-treadmill
[2] Marketing Worldwide- Statistics & Facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/8954/marketing-worldwide/#topicOverview
[3] Color Psychology for Marketers: Brand’s Success Stories and Best Practices. Tailwind. https://www.tailwindapp.com/blog/color-psychology-in-marketing
[4] Humans’ Desire to Want More May Serve an Important Purpose. Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/humans-desire-to-want-more-may-serve-an-important-purpose
[5] The #1 Reason Why We Want More And More (And More). Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/more-more-more/
[6] Needs, Wants, and Demands in Marketing. BBANote. https://bbanote.org/needs-wants-and-demands-in-marketing/
[7] What is Problem-Solutions Selling? (Explained with Examples). Breakcold. https://www.breakcold.com/explain/problem-solution-selling
[8] Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
[9] The Problem with Wanting. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201507/the-problem-wanting
[10] The Pursuit of Happiness: A Reinforcement Learning Perspective on Habitual and Comparison. PLOS Computational Biology Journal. https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010316
[11] The Problem with Wanting. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201507/the-problem-wanting
[12] What is Gratitude and Why Is it So Important?. Positive Psychology. https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/