You can manage bookmarks using lists, please log in to your user account for this.
Media type:
E-Article
Title:
The Aptly Buried “I” in Experience: Experiential Purchases Promote More Social Connection Than Material Purchases
Contributor:
Kumar, Amit;
Mann, Thomas C.;
Gilovich, Thomas
Published:
Wiley, 2024
Published in:
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 37 (2024) 2
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1002/bdm.2376
ISSN:
0894-3257;
1099-0771
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>Experiential purchases (focused on <jats:italic>doing</jats:italic> rather than <jats:italic>having</jats:italic>) provide more satisfaction than material goods. Here, we examine a different downstream consequence of spending money on experiences: fostering social connection. Consumers reported feeling more kinship with someone who had made a similar experiential purchase than someone who had made a similar material purchase—a result tied to the greater centrality of experiences to one's identity. This greater sense of connection that experiences provide applied even when someone else had made a similar, but superior purchase. Participants also reported feeling more connected to others in general, not just those who have made the same purchase, when reflecting on experiential consumption—and these feelings of connection were expressed in a greater desire to engage in social activities when participants considered their experiential purchases than when they considered their material purchases. Together, these results demonstrate that experiential consumption enhances people's social connection quite broadly.</jats:p>