Diderot effect
The Diderot effect is a term used in consumer research . The term Diderot effect was coined by the American social scientist and consumer researcher Grant McCracken in his book Culture and Consumption (German translation Kultur und Konsum 1988 ). He derived the name from the subject of an essay by Denis Diderot ; Reasons to mourn my old housecoat , Regrets sur ma vieille robe de chambre ou Avis à ceux qui ont plus de goût que de fortune 1772 . Tsarina Katharina II had given him a new, splendid coat, whereupon he parted with the old one and found that the previously harmonious furnishings of his house did not match the coat. In an essay in 1772 he wrote:
“My old dressing gown and all the trinkets I had set up with - how well one went together! [...] "
General
He describes how, after people have bought an item, they can be forced to make further purchases in order to create a fitting overall picture. The enhancement of a detail, e.g. B. a piece of clothing leads to dissatisfaction with one or more other details and can thus trigger a consumption chain reaction.
For example, someone buys a new armchair that does not match the color of the armchairs in their home. As a result, he is psychologically compelled to replace the remaining armchairs with those that fit into the overall picture. As a result, however, the cabinet no longer fits into the overall picture and it also has to be replaced and so on. Conversely, this problem can also be the reason for reluctance to buy.
The described effect is still considered in advertising psychology today .
Web links
- Dirk Hohnsträter: Denis Diderot and the Diderot effect , portrait of Diderot as a consumer thinker. accessed on January 12, 2020
literature
- Grant McCracken: Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1988 ISBN 0-253-31526-3 ; Pp. 118-129
- Gudrun K. König: Consumer Culture. Staged world of goods around 1900. Vienna: Böhlau 2006. ISBN 978-3-205-77661-1 Therein: Diderots Hausrock. P. 142ff.
- Juliet B. Schor : The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need. Harper Perennial; 1st HarperPerennial Ed Pub. 1999 edition. ISBN 0-06-097758-2 ISBN 978-0-06-097758-0