Depressed? Don’t Go to the Mall!

By Queuebot in Science & Tech on Feb 5, 2009 at 3:19 am

Feeling sad or depressed?  Cross off shopping from your list. Researchers have just proven that sad people are big spenders:

In a recent experiment one group of people was shown a sad video clip about the death of a boy’s mentor, while another group viewed a non-emotional clip about the Great Barrier Reef.

Researchers then produced an insulated water bottle and asked how much of the $10 the participants were getting paid they’d be willing to give up in exchange for the bottle.

People who had seen the Great Barrier Reef video agreed to pay on average about 50 cents. People in the group that had been primed to feel sad offered up four times that price, more than $2 on average — but were unaware that the video had any impact on their spending.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.


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  1. Tony LaRocca
    Feb 5th, 2009 at 8:17 am

    Isn’t this what our entire consumer-based economy is founded on? Trying to make people as unhappy as possible, and getting them to think buying crap they don’t need (or to “ask their doctor” for a little happy pill)?

  2. Gail Pink
    Feb 5th, 2009 at 9:25 am

    Maybe they were just thirsty?

  3. Gauldar
    Feb 5th, 2009 at 10:01 am

    1. Make people miserable.
    2. Put them in a mall.
    3. Sell them something they don’t need.
    4. ????
    5. Profit!

  4. thirdtruck
    Feb 5th, 2009 at 11:19 am

    Gaulder:
    Why add Step 4? I think the other four steps pretty much cover it. :)

  5. sw
    Feb 6th, 2009 at 12:27 am

    not terribly scientific, eh?


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