{"id":80646,"date":"2021-06-22T21:10:34","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T21:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interac1.wpengine.com\/?post_type=content&p=80646"},"modified":"2025-05-30T16:22:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T20:22:19","slug":"this-is-your-brain-on-shopping","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/life\/this-is-your-brain-on-shopping\/","title":{"rendered":"This is your brain on shopping: The link between spending and our emotions \u2014 with the help of a little science"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Picture this: You\u2019ve got a perfect excuse to go shopping. You\u2019re on the hunt for the perfect \u2026 something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you need a new pair of shoes, or a relaxing getaway, or a gift for your newborn nephew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever it is, you\u2019re getting more and more excited looking and hunting \u2014 and then finally, you find it. That perfect something you absolutely cannot walk away from. While the cost exceeds  your personal budget, it\u2019s what you were hoping for. Purchase made, mission accomplished \u2026 right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, your feelings begin to change. You\u2019re definitely not excited about your purchase anymore, or even happy. You\u2019re starting to feel anxious about the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the emotional roller coaster of shopping: For every dollar we spend, there can be an emotional cost, too. Many people experience this. It\u2019s not just you, it\u2019s science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Researchers have studied the \u201cshopping high,\u201d discovering observable effects on our brains and bodies when we shop. Your body and brain are on that spending roller coaster with you, and on the crash afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take hormones, for example. Scientists have explored the connection between the hormone dopamine and shopping. Dopamine is associated with excitement; it helps us experience the thrill of the hunt, keeping us motivated while we track down the perfect birthday gift for a hard-to-buy-for friend. A rush of dopamine feels great, but there\u2019s a catch: The brain releases it in anticipation of a reward (say, a purchase), as opposed to the reward itself. That could be why the \u201cshopping high\u201d vanishes once the spending is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serotonin is associated not only with returning to a state of contentment when it\u2019s disrupted, but also with generosity and other positive, \u201cprosocial behaviours.\u201d It could help explain warm feelings about buying a gift after you\u2019ve given it away. Meanwhile, cortisol, sometimes referred to as the \u201cstress hormone,\u201d appears to play a part in regretful feelings like guilt and shame \u2014 and, potentially, buyer\u2019s remorse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using imaging technologies, researchers are also uncovering connections between particular parts of the brain and certain emotions \u2014 ones that we experience while we shop. The graph below shows parts of the brain that activated \u2014 that is, experienced increased blood flow \u2014 in response to different emotional stimuli, based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question then becomes: Is there a way to spend money that delivers the excitement of shopping and the happiness of a sound purchase, while avoiding the nervous, anxious feeling of a \u201cbad\u201d purchase? Can we engage in mindful spending<\/a> \u00a0in a way that maintains our bodies (and personal budget plans) in balance, and keeps the roller coaster from crashing too hard?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Interac behavioural science experiment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Interac, we know Canadians are shifting their spending in order to lift their moods, but also want to stay on a personal budget and avoid debt. So we\u2019ve just released new research into the rush of emotional responses that people have when they spend money in the hope of bringing some science to the art of smart shopping and mindful spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Interac behavioural science experiment invited 1,088 Canadians to report their emotional reactions to a number of purchases big and small; ones that took place in real life and in a simulated shop. Now, in the interests of science (or at least mindful spending), let\u2019s unpack some key results<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happiness, financial independence and sticking to your personal budget<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the more surprising results? Based on the experiences of our test subjects, a large purchase can often leave you happier than a smaller one. While it\u2019s true that spending above $50 on a purchase gave our volunteers more nervous feelings, their reported happiness and excitement were much higher, which could be an acceptable tradeoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can spending more money actually make us happier? For  expert insight into the data, we\u2019ve enlisted the help of Dr. Gillian Mandich, a London, Ontario-based happiness researcher and founder of the International Happiness Institute of Health Science Research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Mandich suggests that autonomy \u2014 a sense of financial independence through staying on budget \u2014 could be the decisive factor in our emotional response to spending on many purchases, not simply the dollar figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we see from the research is that autonomy is more of a predictor of our happiness than how good looking we are, how popular we are or how much money we have,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen we\u2019re spending our money, it can be a very empowering experience when we do it intentionally and deliberately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that reason, staying on a personal budget with a mindful big purchase, using money you have, can be more happiness-inducing.. \u201cWhen you\u2019re paying with debit, you\u2019re using money you already have,\u201d Dr. Mandich notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The greatest gift of all \u2014 may be for yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why give? Once again, generosity is associated with serotonin, which can help us cultivate a sense of well-being. Note, however, that based on our experimental data, the ideal giftee may actually be yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes a lot of the joy of giving a gift is associated with the happiness that we see it brings to somebody else,\u201d says Dr. Mandich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, treating ourselves feels good, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good times are a great investment\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our experiment confirmed the old nugget about experiences bringing us more happiness than stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Dr. Mandich says experiences can be modest (the results of mindful spending, for example) and still contribute to our happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very clear that we can create experiences that bring us more happiness,\u201d Dr. Mandich says, and a yoga class or an inexpensive outing could be enough. \u201cWe think it\u2019s the big shiny moments, the graduations, the birthdays, the trips that are the things that really bring us the most happiness. But in reality, it\u2019s really the small things day to day that add up to bursts of joy that actually make us happier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For maximum happiness, align your personal budget to your passions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arguably the most important finding of the Interac behavioural science experiment is the insight that spending money in ways that align to their personal passions and financial independence is highly likely to induce happiness when we look back on the purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen Canadians really lean into their passions, discovering new interests and activities that light them up and bring joy,\u201d Dr. Mandich says. \u201cWhen we can have the awareness to know what we\u2019re passionate about, and then align our spending in service of that, it\u2019s sort of the secret sauce for spending our money in a way that creates happiness.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our experiment also suggests that you\u2019re more likely to make purchases that align with your passions if you\u2019re younger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Graphic:<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever your age, the lesson here is that money can\u2019t buy you happiness \u2014 well, not directly. But discretionary spendingcan light up that brain and fire up the hormones, buying you a lasting dose of the good feels, if you align your purchases with your passions, maintain a feeling of financial independence and take charge by spending with debit.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, it\u2019s all about your personal budget fuelling your personal passions. \u201cWhat makes us happy varies from person to person and generally lines up with our own individual passions,\u201d Dr. Mandich says, \u201cWe have to figure it out for ourselves.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picture this: You\u2019ve got a perfect excuse to go shopping. You\u2019re on the hunt for the perfect \u2026 something. Maybe you need a new pair of shoes, or a relaxing getaway, or a gift for your newborn nephew. Whatever it is, you\u2019re getting more and more excited looking and hunting \u2014 and then finally, you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":82379,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"content-tags":[279,294],"content-category":[192],"spokespeople":[],"in_the_know_post_format":[169],"class_list":["post-80646","content","type-content","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","content-tags-interac-debit","content-tags-trends","content-category-life","in_the_know_post_format-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInterac: Your Brain on Shopping<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can we engage in mindful spending and stick to a personal budget to boost happiness and avoid buyer's remorse? 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