It turns out there is such an important reason for women to buy luxury goods: to prevent mistresses

It turns out there are such important reasons for women to buy luxury goods!

Author | Mo Tiantian

Can I hug you Burberry

Let me be with you Shoulder Gucci

If we want Fendi tomorrow

Let me cry Celine happily

Can I hug you Burberry

Let me do this for the last time Chloé

Neither do you D&G

I will go to LV with a smile

…

< p> This is a "luxury song" that is very popular on Douyin, stringing together the names of many luxury brands without any sense of contradiction. This very expensive song has been enthusiastically sought after by the majority of netizens, which shows that people are sincerely enthusiastic about luxury goods.

In China, people spend about 150 billion yuan on luxury goods every year, of which female compatriots contribute a large part. Designer bags, jewelry, shoes, clothes... Some women seem to be constantly moving forward on the road of "buying, buying, buying." Why can some women be so crazy about luxury goods?

Many studies have found that luxury goods can improve people's self-esteem and make people more confident. Luxury goods can also highlight a person's status and satisfy people's desire to show off. In addition, luxury goods also play an important role in relationships. For example, some research shows that men’s purchase and use of luxury goods can be used to express their financial ability and thereby attract the opposite sex. So, what does it say for women to show off these luxury goods? Especially those women who already have a partner, why do they still love luxury goods?

In 2014, Yajin Wang, a doctoral student from the University of Minnesota, and her supervisor Vladas Griskevicius published a study in JCR "Journal of Consumer Research". They found that some women are crazy about buying luxury goods to show that their partners love them deeply, thereby defeating female competitors who pose a threat to their relationships.

The researchers first conducted an experiment with 69 female participants on Mturk. Participants were randomly divided into two groups, and both read a brief description of a woman on a date with her significant other. In the designer product group, the woman is described as wearing "designer brand clothing and accessories"; in the non-designer product group, the woman is described as wearing "non-designer brand clothing and accessories." After reading the description, participants were asked to answer questions about the extent of the woman's significant other.

The results found that compared with the non-designer product group (M=4.82), women in the designer product group (M=5.40) were considered to have a more giving person. companion. That said, most women believe that their significant other is more devoted to them when a woman wears luxury items on a date. This also gives some women a good reason to buy luxury goods: luxury goods can make other women feel that your boyfriend/husband loves you more!

Figure 2: Luxury goods can make other women feel that your partner loves you deeply

A man loves you One of the manifestations may be that they are willing to spend a lot of money on you, such as buying luxury goods. So, when will these women with objects have a stronger desire for luxury goods? Prefer more conspicuous consumption?

The researchers conducted another experiment with 137 female college students. Participants were randomly divided into four groups and all read a story about a woman and her partner attending a party. In the partner-guarding group, participants imagined themselves waiting in line for drinks when another woman started flirting with her partner; in the partner-attracting group, participants imagined they were single, on vacation, and met an attractive man.

In the neutral control group, participants read a story about the laundry process; in the negative control group, participants read a story about finding a lost key.

After reading the story, participants were asked to consider purchasing 4 products (branded bags, shoes, T-shirts and sports cars). There are 3 brands for each product, and participants need to choose the one they like best. Then, participants need to draw the brand logo on the product picture (as shown in Figure 3) according to their preferences. Studies have found that the more people like big brand logos, the stronger their desire for conspicuous consumption.

The results found that women in the partner-guarding group (M=1.61) were more likely to behave better than those in the partner-attracting group (M=0.70), the neutral control group (0.79) and the negative emotion control group. Women in the group (M=0.77) drew a larger brand logo. That is, after women are motivated to protect their partners (for example, when they see other women seducing their partners), women's desire for conspicuous consumption will become stronger. That is to say, when women notice that other women pose a threat to their romantic relationships, they are more likely to buy luxury goods and their desire for conspicuous consumption is twice as high as usual.

So, can buying luxury goods really scare away potential mistresses? When other women see the luxury bags you carry, will they really think that you and your boyfriend/husband are in a stronger relationship?

Next, the researchers conducted another experiment with 177 female participants on Mturk. Participants were randomly divided into four groups and all read a description of a woman attending a party with her man. In the luxury goods-men spend money group, the woman is described as "wearing luxury bags and expensive jewelry given by men"; in the luxury goods-women spend money group, these bags and jewelry are described as being the women themselves. Bought. In the non-luxury-male spending group, the woman was described as "wearing unbranded bags and cheap jewelry given by men"; in the non-luxury-female spending group, these bags and jewelry were described as The women themselves bought it.

After reading the description, participants were asked to answer questions about the extent to which the man devoted himself to the woman. Participants were then asked to imagine that they were single, attracted to this man, and rate the likelihood that they would pursue this man. The researchers also measured participants' mate selection strategies, whether they favored long-term mate selection strategies (looking for a long-term stable partner) or short-term mate selection strategies (looking for many unstable sexual partners). Some studies have found that women who follow a short-term mate selection strategy are more likely to cheat and become mistresses.

The results found that for women who follow a long-term mate selection strategy, whether it is luxury goods or non-luxury goods, whether men spend money or women spend money, they will not have any influence on pursuing the pursuit of that mate. Male desire had a significant effect (Figure 6 right). That is, women who follow a long-term mate selection strategy are not interested in being a mistress.

In contrast, for women who followed a short-term mate selection strategy, there was a significant increase in the number of women who wore self-purchased luxury goods (vs. non-luxury goods). Pursue the man's wishes. However, when the woman is wearing luxury goods (vs. non-luxury goods) purchased by her man, it significantly reduces these women's willingness to pursue the man (Figure 6 left). In other words, women who follow a short-term mate selection strategy will be less willing to be mistresses when they see other women wearing luxury goods purchased by men.

When a woman wears luxury goods bought by her partner, it can really scare off potential mistresses. The results also found that this is because when these potential mistresses see a woman holding luxury goods bought by a man, they will think that this man has invested a lot of resources and sacrificed a lot for this woman, and loves this woman very much, and love is more valuable than gold. Strong. Therefore, these potential mistresses will retreat in spite of difficulties.

Women not only like to "buy, buy, buy", but also like to buy luxury goods. This research tells us that some women's desire for conspicuous consumption is heightened when their relationships are threatened by other women. In turn, these ostentatious luxury goods such as bags and shoes can also effectively scare away potential mistresses. This is because a woman spending a man's money to buy luxury goods can show that the man loves her deeply, and the relationship between the two is stronger than gold.

In today's society, some women seem to be very passive in relationships. They often use various methods to prove their partner's love for them, such as buying luxury goods Taste. For some men, I wonder if they have ever thought about why your partner loves to buy luxury goods so much? Maybe they just don't feel safe enough in this relationship.

References:

Wang, Y., & Griskevicius, V. (2014). Conspicuous Consumption, Relationships, and Rivals: Women's Luxury Products as Signals to Other Women. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(5), 834–854.

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Editor | Zhao Xueying