The upside of anger

November 3, 2010

Anger increases desire, according to a study published in Psychological Science. A brief synopsis of how the study was conducted: participants were shown objects on a computer screen; before being shown the objects, a face that was neutral, angry or fearful flashed on the screen (so quickly that it was subliminal to the participants), linking an emotion to the object; each person was then asked how much they wanted the objects. In a variation of the study, participants had to squeeze a grip to demo how much they wanted each object.

And the results? Anger triggered the most want or desire for the object.

Wonder if this is what I witnessed at the Barney’s Warehouse Sale in NYC this August. The crazy crowds, the long lines, shoes and boots falling off shelves and hitting me in the head, women yelling at the sales staff for shoes that disappeared from their pile, the fight to catch a glimpse in the mirror–all kinda leads one to feel kinda P.O.’d…but I suppose everyone’s anger was outweighed by shopping giddiness. People seemed plenty cheerful  forking out the cash for their shopping bags full of still-not-cheap designer goods.

(full disclosure: I caved into my “anger” and picked up some ankle boots).

I can only imagine the pandemonium on Nov. 20th when Lanvin for H&M hits stores. Worth camping out for and getting good and angry over people cutting into line? In a word, YES–I’m sure you’ve already seen it, but if you haven’t, you can check out the collection here.

Filed under: Culture,Random Swellness