The Psychology of Brand Addicts

A tiny luxury brand logo placed on a plain white t-shirt can inflate the price tag to surprising amounts. The material or design doesn’t have to particularly be special for a high-end brand product to sell. Then why are some people so fixated on brand products and can’t help to own more?

The Need to Feel Superior

When a person wears luxury items out or posts an expensive bag that they bought, they get a reaction whether it’s the like button or a direct compliment. This empowers them to feel superior and this alone is a good enough motive for some people to purchase these products.

Studies show that people who have the need to feel superior usually have an Inferiority complex. This is why they are unconsciously attracted to things that signify power.

The Satisfaction of Owning Certain Name Brands

The satisfaction that comes from owning brands is enough for someone to become a shopaholic. It is healthy to work towards a goal to own what you want, but excessive desires can put us under financial strain.

The Collectors Mentality

Some people have a collectors mentality where they just want it because it’s a new product even when they don’t have an immediate use for it. This can lead to excessive buying. In this case, the ‘purchasing’ of the brand becomes the goal. These types of people tend to spend on several brands to collect, but oftentimes lose sight of their spending habits.

There are also people who lose interest once they ‘own’ the item with most collected items being unused and stored at home.

How to Not Overinvest Into Brand Addiction

If you’re wealthy enough, it may be no issue to keep spending on luxury items, but some people want to stop this habit. Conscious and deliberate actions are necessary to prevent the habit of spending.

1. Find A Hobby

People who depend on brand names for value oftentimes find joy in collecting luxury items. If they find something else they can feel passionate to focus on, it could change their priority and beliefs in what’s important besides shopping. Therefore, we recommend finding a hobby first.

It can be an outdoor or indoor activity. We recommend something as casual as running or karaoke where participation is fairly easy. Participation in hobbies will distance a shopaholic from the desire to shop and fulfill the loneliness that they might have been trying to fill in.

Study shows that a portion of people who fall into becoming a shopaholic tend to have very thin relationships and don’t have the opportunity to self-express. If there is void and loneliness that creates the need to suppress their feelings, it’s only natural that they resort to shopping to fill it in.

Hobbies and fun activities are effective in feeling less lonely.

2. Learn How to Manage Finances

Many people who overspend on luxury items don’t have accurate ideas on how much they’re actually spending. They use their credit card for the purchase and feel surprised by the total bill later. It can feel like a never-ending cycle of payments that keep accumulating.

Money habits need to be addressed daily for responsible financial decisions.

Nowadays there are tons of apps that can help keep track of our expenditure. The most important thing is to understand how much you are actually using. Once there’s a clear understanding, it’s easier to pull back from spending habits.

3. Seek Professional Help

If the shopaholic tendencies and brand addiction is serious, you can seek professional help for these problems. Trained and licensed professionals can help anyone progress in the right direction and is better than trying to fix it on your own.

Some professionals offer group therapy specifically for people with a shopping addiction. Group therapy can be helpful because it makes people realize that they are not alone, and they can meet like-minded people making the same progress.

Can an AI app provide support? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial.

What Brings Real Prosperity?

Luxury brand items signify prosperity. Many purchase and own it for status and empowerment, but some people get stuck on the idea of purchasing these things.
If you’re finding yourself stuck with shopaholic tendencies, let’s once again rethink what prosperity really means to you at a deeper level.

References:

Satomura, T. (2007). Understanding brand purchase behavior using negative multinomial model. Mita Business Review, 50(2), 35–48. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56673918.pdf

Hayashi, K., Hashizume, M., Kuroki, R., Hashi, K., Asami, K., Fujii, Y., Sunagawa, H., Tsuboi, K., Katsuragawa, S., & Kuroki, N. (2013). Eating Disorder and Female Lifecycle − A case report with financial ruin due to binge eating and shopaholic. Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 17(3), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.18977/jspog.17.3_304

Fujito, K., & Iwabuchi, C. (2017, September). Study on Relationship between inferiority feelings and assumed competence. The 81st Annual Convention of The Japanese Psychological Association, Fukuoka, Japan. https://doi.org/10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_1C-005

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The Desire for Perfectionism and The Fear of Failure

Hearing the term “perfectionist” may make you think of someone who wants to be perfect all the time, self-conscious, and strict towards others. In actuality, perfectionism can be defined by the following characteristics:

1. The desire to be perfect
2. The tendency to hold high standards
3. The tendency to be excessively critical about mistakes
4. The tendency to have a vague distrust of one’s own actions

For example, if a perfectionist were to study for a test, they would have the following thoughts:

1. I want to get a high score on every mock exam, every time.
2. I’m going to finish two workbooks this month.
3. If I had solved that problem correctly back then, this wouldn’t have happened.
4. Does this study method actually help me improve?

All 4 aspects listed above are potential stressors for a perfectionist. Generally, perfectionism can be divided into two groups:
Adaptive Perfectionism: shows stronger tendencies and characteristics of 1 and 2 from the above list.
Maladaptive Perfectionism: shows stronger tendencies and characteristics of 2 and 4 from the above list.

Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism

Now, let’s look at the detailed differences between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism. Academically, they are differentiated in the following manner:

Adaptive Perfectionism: Less stress because there is not much margin of error between what you do and the standard you seek.
Maladaptive Perfectionism: There is a large margin of error between your behavior and the standards you seek, resulting in stress and anxiety.

Both demonstrate a strong desire to be perfect and seek high standards. The difference lies in the level of stress they feel through trying to achieve these expectations. As with anything, goal setting is effective for productivity and growth. However, goals that are too high can cause physical and mental strain, leading to intense fatigue and overcapacity. This can be one of the reasons some people delay work through procrastination or go through academic failure. When we push ourselves to the point of exhaustion to pursue ideals, it can lead to an internal conflict that ends with a form of procrastination.

Put Rules in Place to Avoid Procrastination

To get rid of the habit of procrastination, it’s important to recognize the strong feelings of fear and anxiety we carry within. These emotions can limit our perspective and lead to delaying our responsibilities. Understanding ourselves and shifting our conscious intentions will help with this. Below are two ways to get started.

1. Give It a Try for 10 Minutes

Deciding on a set amount of time to work on something is an effective method. For example, set yourself a 10-minute timeframe, and try working for just 10 minutes first. If you feel good about it, you can continue working, and if you don’t feel good about it, you can stop after the first 10 minutes. Even if we quit, our brain will remember the fact that we did the work and offer a sense of accomplishment. Starting an action and accumulating these little moments of accomplishments will help shift our mindset towards wanting to finish our duties.

2. Create a To-Do List

A to-do list is always effective. Make a list that allows you to visualize your efforts as you go. A visual marker in all what needs to be done, and all that’s checked off, will lead to a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment in progress.

Change Our Thoughts to Reduce Stress

The thoughts, ideas, and influence a perfectionist creates can have tremendous impact on the people around them. In many cases, they make positive contributions to groups and communities. It’s a shame when they lose confidence or turn negative upon facing their own mental blocks. Especially when there is big potential to shine.

We can change any situation by shifting perspectives and changing our mindset. If you read this and recognize that you might be a perfectionist or procrastinator, challenge yourself to shift perspectives. A change in your mindset could brighten your life in new ways.

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If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Image：Unsplash
References：

Ishida, H. (2005). College Students’ Perfectionism and Task-Strategy Inefficience : Why Their Efforts Go Unrewarded? Japanese Journal of Social Psychology 20(3), 208-215. doi: 10.14966/jssp.KJ00003725003

Masui, A., & Iwanaga, M. (2009). The Effect of Self-Oriented Perfectionism and Responsibility on Information Gathering Behavior. Hiroshima University Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences: Studies in Human Sciences, 4, 1-9. doi: 10.15027/29014

Miyahara, C. (2010). Adaptive and Maladaptive Aspects of Perfectionism in College Students: Relationships with Depression, Anxiety, and Coping Behaviors. HEART Hyokyo Institutional Repository. Retrieved from: http://hdl.handle.net/10132/6361

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