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

You’re a smart person: you know the economy is slow and you’ve tightened the belt on your spending. Of course there’s that splurge you want, but you’re doing the responsible thing: holding off on the purchase. If it’s something you really want, though, chances are you go to the store and visit it once in a while (don’t lie, you know you do!).

Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but fondling the object of your spending affection will wind up biting you in the wallet.

See, a recent study has shown that your physical interaction with an object affects not only how much you want to own it, but how much you’re willing to pay for it.

You can look — but don’t touch.
A simple experiment with an inexpensive coffee mug revealed that in many cases, simply touching the coffee mug for a few seconds created an attachment that led people to pay more for the item. The results, which were published recently in the journal Judgment and Decision Making, found that people become personally attached to the mug within the first 30 seconds of contact. People who held the coffee mug longer than a few seconds seemed not only more compelled to outbid others in an auction setting, but they were also more willing to bid more than the retail price for that item.

That’s right: simply touching an object makes you want it. Not only that, but it makes you willing to pay more for it.

With this in mind, try some of these no-contact shopping tips

• Compare items online even if you intend to purchase them locally.
• Keep store visits to a minimum, and always shop with a list.
• Try to do routine shopping (like groceries) alone, otherwise your shopping partners are likely to grab an item and not want to let it go.
• When clothes shopping, know your size and material preferences in advance, and only try on items that you are almost certain you’re going to buy.

When it doubt, just put your hands in your pockets and walk away.

With many Americans putting off routine doctor visits and self-medicating to save money, use of alternative treatments is on the rise - even though evidence is often lacking on their safety and effectiveness.

Climbing sales of herbal medicines have paralleled the tanking economy, according to an Associated Press review of recent data from market-watchers and retailers.

via Physorg.com

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