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. 2008 Jun;19(6):525-30.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02118.x.

Misery is not miserly: sad and self-focused individuals spend more

Cynthia E Cryder  1 , Jennifer S Lerner, James J Gross, Ronald E Dahl
Affiliations

Misery is not miserly: sad and self-focused individuals spend more

Cynthia E Cryder et al. Psychol Sci. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

Misery is not miserly: Sadness increases the amount of money that decision makers give up to acquire a commodity. The present research investigated when and why the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs. Drawing on William James's concept of the material self, we tested a model specifying relationships among sadness, self-focus, and the amount of money that decision makers spend. Consistent with our Jamesian hypothesis, results demonstrated that the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs only when self-focus is high. That is, self-focus moderates the effect of sadness on spending. Moreover, mediational analyses revealed that, at sufficiently high levels, self-focus mediates (explains) the relationship between sadness and spending. Because the study used real commodities and real money, the results hold implications for everyday decisions, as well as implications for the development of theory. For example, economic theories of spending may benefit from incorporating psychological theories -- specifically, theories of emotion and the self -- into their models.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sadness and self-focus influence valuation of material possessions – A conceptual model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
High levels of sadness and self-focus interact to increase spending. When self-focus is high, sad condition participants spend more than neutral condition participants (panel a) and participants with high levels of self-reported sadness spend more than participants with low levels of self-reported sadness (panel b). When self-focus is low, there is no relationship between sadness and spending (panels a and b).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Self-focus mediates the effect of a sadness condition (panel a) and self-reported sadness (panel b) on buying price. Coefficients without parentheses represent parameter estimates for simple linear regression models. Coefficients in parentheses represent parameter estimates for a regression model containing both predictors. Single (double) asterisks signify parameter estimates different from zero at p<0.05 (p<0.01).
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