BOSTON—If you’re sad and shopping, watch your wallet.
A new study shows people’s spending judgment goes out the window when they’re down, especially if they’re a bit self-absorbed.
Study participants who watched a sadness-inducing video clip offered to pay nearly four times as much money to buy a water bottle than a group that watched an emotionally neutral clip.
The so-called “misery is not miserly” phenomenon is well-known to psychologists, advertisers, and personal shoppers alike, and has been documented in a similar study in 2004.