Glutton for punishment

[steelhead]

There's an article in today's NYT on behavioral finance that may be of interest to the forum, especially those who love chocolate or are suffering from OMY syndrome. Basically, the more participants "earned" in chocolate, the more they accumulated even if they expected that they wouldn't eat the chocolate and would forfeit it.

 

[pb4uski]

Sounds like hoarding.

 

[Shanky]

Sounds like hoarding.

Exactly.

Look around, there may be some money hoarders on this very site.

 

[NW-Bound]

Hey! Loving money as I do, I am willing to spend 3.5% WR and have been doing that. Am I a hoarder or not?

 

[Jack_Pine]

NYT, just sayin................

 

[kaudrey]

Sounds interesting, but the link doesn't work for me. Also, without a NYT subscription, I can't go find it. Oh, well...

 

[MichaelB]

A different link: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/b...it-with-you-but-you-still-want-more.html?_r=0 The title of the article is You Can’t Take It With You, but You Still Want More

All work and no play may just be a result of “mindless accumulation. So say scholars behind research, published in the journal Psychological Science in June, that shows a deeply rooted instinct to earn more than can possibly be consumed, even when this imbalance makes us unhappy.

They correlate this to working and money, saying people accumulate far more than they need.

 

[Walt34]

That link works, thank you.

Interesting study. They acknowledge that the real world is a bit more complicated but it probably demonstrates the principle at least for some people.