Consumer Envy
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods. Simply put: envy = bad. Fair enough, but then why is it so rampant?
Envy, or wanting what another has while also begrudging his or her possession of it, is a basic human response. It's not one of which we're particularly proud, but it's fundamental nonetheless. Sure, we like to tell ourselves that only "lesser" individuals experience it, but deep down, we know that's not the case. To see why, one only need look to a new article in Emotion by Jan Crusius and Thomas Mussweiler.
In a series of experiments, the researchers created a sort of "superior neighbor" vs. "equal neighbor" situation. How? They had people sit next to each other while completing "taste perception" tasks. The catch here was that the tastes involved one eating ice cream or a smoothie while the other, in the superior neighbor condition, tasted yummy substances like sauerkraut juice. Did the poor soul with the unsavory option report envying the better-off neighbor? Here's where it got interesting. Under normal conditions, no. They reported no envy at all. But, if their ability to control their gut responses was tied up through a distraction task (i.e., cognitive load), not only did they report feeling very envious, but they also were willing to pay a lot of money to purchase that delicious ice cream or smoothie.
Writ large, these experiments show a central aspect of the human moral mind. Whether it's a BMW in the driveway, a designer kitchen, or a Rolex, we all feel envy at another's prizes when we don't have them ourselves. We just try to cover it up. But tax our ability for self-control, and not only does envy ooze out, but it makes us open our wallets. In the short-term, buying that prize makes us feel good. It's a mark of status. But in the long-term, it will usually mean our ability to buy what we really need will take a hit. Maybe that's why green is the color associated with envy -- it's associated with grasshoppers too . . . .
In a series of experiments, the researchers created a sort of "superior neighbor" vs. "equal neighbor" situation. How? They had people sit next to each other while completing "taste perception" tasks. The catch here was that the tastes involved one eating ice cream or a smoothie while the other, in the superior neighbor condition, tasted yummy substances like sauerkraut juice. Did the poor soul with the unsavory option report envying the better-off neighbor? Here's where it got interesting. Under normal conditions, no. They reported no envy at all. But, if their ability to control their gut responses was tied up through a distraction task (i.e., cognitive load), not only did they report feeling very envious, but they also were willing to pay a lot of money to purchase that delicious ice cream or smoothie.
Writ large, these experiments show a central aspect of the human moral mind. Whether it's a BMW in the driveway, a designer kitchen, or a Rolex, we all feel envy at another's prizes when we don't have them ourselves. We just try to cover it up. But tax our ability for self-control, and not only does envy ooze out, but it makes us open our wallets. In the short-term, buying that prize makes us feel good. It's a mark of status. But in the long-term, it will usually mean our ability to buy what we really need will take a hit. Maybe that's why green is the color associated with envy -- it's associated with grasshoppers too . . . .
