I Feel So Much Better at Walmart

If you are depressed, you might decide to buy yourself “something nice” in an attempt to feel better.  That folk-wisdom-inspired strategy is common in Western countries where materialism often reigns supreme.  And sometimes, at least in the short run, making a purchase does buoy the spirits.  When and why?

Grant E. Donnelly and his co-investigators (2016) considered pre-existing relevant research to be confusing and conflicting, so they set about to answer that question for themselves.  They ultimately decided to test the hypothesis that materialism provides an antidote for discontent by enabling highly materialistic people to turn attention from internal dissatisfaction to something external, concrete, and non-distressing.  To do so, the investigators employed Roy Baumeister’s “escape from the self” model (1991) that posits six personality factors that contribute to using materialism in an attempt to preserve self-concept: 

1.  Falling short of high standards

2.  A self blaming attitude

3.  Especially high self awareness

4.  Negative emotion and distress

5.  Cognitive deconstruction, meaning such tendencies as toward rigidity of thought,

     myopic focus on the immediate present, and preference for emotional numbness

     or apathy rather than recognizing the true emotional distress

6.  Destructed states, meaning states of impulsivity and/or disinhibition

The Donnelly group concluded that of the six factors, the three that  commanded the most empirical support were: falling short of high standards, especially high self-awareness, and negative emotion and distress.  And the other three were regarded as worthy of further study.

As explained at the outset, the aforementioned investigation concerned persons relatively high in materialism, so they may not apply wholesale to you.  However, the information is worth processing to determine the extent to which it can be personally useful.  For one thing, it illustrates the value of thinking about excessive shopping in a more differentiated way than merely as a brief distraction from feeling "a little depressed."  You might wonder, for instance, whether you are struggling with an injury to your self-esteem. Perhaps you have set one or more unattainably high or impatient goals.  Or maybe you are being besieged by any variety of particularly troubling emotional stressors rather than mild depression.  Anxiety, loneliness, physical pain, and a host of others could be the culprit. There are innumerable upsetting internal stimuli that can prompt anyone to desire to “escape from the self.”

One other psychological concept needs to be introduced into my presentation: the hedonic treadmill which is our innate tendency to become satiated with something that previously brought pleasure.  You buy a new car and it is your crown jewel.  The automobile is shiny, sleek, and chock full of the latest and greatest gadgets; it is all you think about for a week, a fortnight, or a month.  But soon the dings accumulate, the glow dims, and the gem decomposes into mere transportation.  Soon you will covet another radiant bauble to set your soul afire.  That is just how the hedonic treadmill keeps us running.

The best way to feel better is not to visit Walmart, Macy's, or Selfridges.  Instead, visit yourself.  Or, more correctly, revisit your lifestyle.  Look carefully into how you are spending your time.  Determine what makes you physically and mentally healthier, and set out to invest your time and energy in making the lasting changes that enrich virtually every aspect of your life and whose values persist over time.

References

Brickman, P., & Campbell, D. T. (1971). Hedonic relativism and planning the good society. In M. H. Appley (Ed.), Adaptation level theory: A symposium (pp. 287–302). New York: Academic Press.

Donnelly, G., et al. (2016).   Buying to blunt negative feelings:  Materialistic escape from the self. Review of General Psychology, 20, 3, 272-316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000078.