There’s an interesting article on Science Daily today about how your self-confidence affects selection habits.
[R]esearchers asked participants to write about health-conscious behaviors with their dominant or non-dominant hands. Then some of the participants wrote essays about the most important value in their lives (an activity designed to restore confidence). All participants assessed their moods and self-esteem levels and then chose between a healthy snack (an apple) and an unhealthy snack (candy bar). Participants whose confidence was shaken (by not using their dominant hand) who didn’t get to self-affirm with the essay were more likely to choose the healthy snack—to restore their health-conscious confidence.
Essentially, when we’re feeling less confident we’re driven to select items that bolster our sense of worth. When our confidence levels have been restored, we’re less likely to choose items simply to sooth our damaged egos. Makes sense, right?
The trick is to turn this information to your advantage. For instance: when I go to the grocery store, I want to make healthy purchases. I’m trying to avoid as much prepackaged and processed food as possible because I believe that is more healthy for me. Based on the information above, lowering my concept of how healthy I am may just do the trick to keep me shopping on the outside edges of the store. After all, if I think I’m doing great than I might start to think I deserve a little splurge, like a box of Oreo Caksters…
But this can turn the other way, too. If I feel ugly, I’m more likely to buy something to make me feel pretty. If I feel unintelligent, I’m more likely to buy something to make me feel brainy. The list goes on: uninteresting, messy, etc. In order to help keep my spending in check, it might be a good idea to give my confidence a boost before I head out. You know: give the stove a quick wipe and turn on the dishwasher before heading out to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for a new knife. Put on a little ‘war paint’ before walking through the cosmetics department. Wear some clothes I look great in before heading out to buy a pair of pants.
And even if it doesn’t exactly work, at least you’ll be walking around feeling a little bit better about yourself, which means you’re less likely to try and shop your sorrows away.
Photo credit: Kaptain Kobold
