Can’t stop yourself from shopping on Black Friday? The explanation is scientific

Aside from the “saving money” aspect, have you ever wondered why you buy so much during Black Friday? And this almost against yourself. Why does that half-price sweater you don’t like so much make you want to whip out your credit card? The answers to these questions were revealed in a recently published article Yahoo News: . According to some experts cited by American media, dopamine is the reason that motivates consumers to shop during Black Friday. Also called the “happiness hormone,” this neurotransmitter plays an important role in attention and sleep, but also in pleasure and motivation. In general, dopamine acts on the reward system; it gives pleasure after doing something “that counts for human survival; eat, drink, reproduce.” And even if shopping doesn’t keep you alive, something about bargain hunting activates that innate ‘itch’ and keeps the dopamine flowing,” says therapist Lanil R. Plummer to Yahoo!

The feeling of winning all the time

Knowing that shopping is not about survival, how can we explain the presence of dopamine during Black Friday? To do this, we need to understand that the shopping experience, especially during periods of deep discount, stimulates the brain. Colorful labels on the Internet or in stores that display attractive advertisements, flashing signs, and sometimes aggressive marketing approaches used by brands are all reasons that stimulate dopamine in the shopper. “It’s like playing a game and winning,” says Lanil R. Plummer. This topic was already addressed in a 2007 study published on the website of the National Library of Medicine, which analyzed the results of brain scans of people who were presented with various products for purchase. The result: the “pleasure center” in each participant’s brain was strongly stimulated.

We must also consider the modern society in which individuals are developing to understand this phenomenon. According to the article Times In 2022, “many people are stuck in repetitive, mind-numbing jobs; shopping is one of the few ways they can do something extraordinary.” Black Friday, sales, Cyber ​​Monday… Do all these shopping periods where prices are discounted foster the illusion of happiness (with low prices)?