If you feel like you can’t make friends, you might try to buy them,
new research suggests, even if it takes some considerable financial
risk.
The study adds to a host of other work that points out the dangers of
social isolation— from overeating to drug abuse. The findings suggest
that excluded people seek money in risky ways in a desperate attempt to
rebuild social connections — and that has worrying implications in a
world where many countries show a decline in the number and quality of people’s close relationships in recent decades.
“Modern societies are complex social systems [in which] people obtain
what they want via two primary means, popularity and money,” says the
study’s lead author Rod Duclos, an assistant professor of marketing at
the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Duclos presented the
new data along with findings from a recently published study on the
subject at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association
in Hawaii this week.
When people don’t feel connected to their social network, they often
try to buy satisfaction or fulfillment, the research suggests. Prior
studies have found that excluding people drives them to buy products
that symbolize their connection to others, such as merchandise with
sports team logos or brand name products that imply a certain status,
and popularity, in society.
The new research included multiple experiments, some in the lab and
one in the shopping malls, parks and subway stations in Hong Kong.
College students were recruited to write about personal experiences, and
those who were assigned to describe situations in which they felt
socially isolated were more likely to gamble for a potentially larger
monetary prize than those who wrote about circumstances in which they
were socially included or who wrote about neutral topics like their
diet. The latter groups were more likely to accept a definitive, but
smaller payoff.
And the more rejected people felt, the more likely they were to see
money as a way to solve their problems. Another experiment, this one
including 35 students, looked directly at this question. Those who’d
considered an experience of social rejection were again far more likely
to pick a more risky lottery— in this case, one where they could even
potentially lose money. Rejection increased their endorsement of
beliefs linking money to a better life and these beliefs entirely
accounted for the riskier gambling choice.
When people feel excluded, Duclos says, “Money gains importance by
becoming our primary means to maintain control. [It] enables people to
manipulate the social system to give them what they want, regardless of
whether they are liked by others.”
Another experiment, which involved randomly approaching people in
public places in Hong Kong, found that those who said they felt more
rejected in general tended to report more betting on lotteries and at
the horse track or casino, and riskier investment strategies than those
who reported feeling more socially connected. The research
was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Research.
Why does social isolation prompt people to become such poor financial
managers? In some new data presented at the meeting, Duclos says that
people who were rejected may be so focused on gaining social acceptance—
and the need for money to achieve that acceptance—that they tend to
concentrate on the possible gains, no matter how risky or unlikely,
rather than calculate more realistic odds. “Because of this attentional
bias, they go on to favor the riskier but potentially more lucrative
financial plan,” he says.
The findings may have some practical implications, since they lend
support to the idea that people shouldn’t make important investment
decisions or financial plans when they feel rejected or alone. “In light
of these findings, consumers might want to refrain from making
important financial decisions following a breakup or a falling out with
friends, as they might commit themselves to riskier outcomes than they
would normally,” says Duclos. “Alternatively, consulting a friend or any
sort of social support would also counteract feelings of loneliness.”
Social support, it seems, may not just be good for emotional and
physical health — it may be good for the wallet as well.
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