Flaunting luxury items has been a recurring theme in most world culture , from the Egyptian pharaohs to today’s Lamborghini owners.
However, even though those who exhibit conspicuous consumption have more social and even sexual success because it indirectly derives greater economic power, this can also raise more pleasure if the affected person suffers a mishap .
Expensive car VS cheap car
Jill Sundie , a consumer psychologist, carried out a very curious study in which she asked a group of students to express their reaction to one of the two alleged cars of another student.
The car could be a $ 65,000 Mercedes or a $ 16,000 Ford Focus.
Next, the students had to see a photo of the supposed car, along with a verbal description of how it had broken down next to a shopping center, leaving the owner and some of his friends stranded .
What happened? As Richard H. Smith explains in his book Schadenfreude :
Students who had read the Mercedes article were much more likely to admit that they had been glad to learn of the mechanical breakdown than those who had read the Ford article, especially if they also reported being envious. .
In other words, what most conditioned their pleasure was the hostility associated with their envy . Perhaps for this reason, like the one who subscribes, he tries to psychologically boycott in some way men who drive cock-cars and women who wear too much makeup, as I explain in the following video: