Recursos de Economía y Desarrollo

14 · Behaviour

A few decades ago, people went shopping only to buy basic necessities such as food and drink. Nowadays, “going shopping” has become a form of entertainment. Is it fun?

‘PROS & CONS’ – Discuss in pairs and afterwards make a decision together.

¿Did you know that…?

Going shopping when we do not have a specific need, simply because we enjoy discovering new products, stimulates the brain’s pleasure circuit by making us produce dopamine, just as happens with gambling, drugs or falling in love… Can you see any risks in this activity?
According to classical economic theory, people make decisions after carefully comparing the different brands available to them… What was the last thing you bought? Did you go through this mental process?
Sometimes we regret buying a product… Has this ever happened to you?

Listen

When we want to make a consumer decision, we should follow this MENTAL PROCESS FOR A THOUGHTFUL PURCHASE:

NEED. We feel that something is missing and want to satisfy that need.
ALTERNATIVES. We look for information about all the available ways of satisfying it.
CRITERIA. We decide which aspects are most important to us and give them a score.
DECISION. We choose one option, taking into account our limitations in terms of money, time and effort.

Companies usually follow a RATIONAL PURCHASING PROCESS based on: -1) Identifying the need -2) Gathering information about all the alternatives -3) Comparing them according to criteria such as cost, time or quality -4) Choosing the best option

However, on most occasions, we are influenced by our emotions and by other factors created by selling companies. BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS analyses the factors that can make a purchase irrational. For example, we tend to trust people who confirm our own opinions, or we may avoid buying from someone who might be trying to take advantage of us by raising prices. In addition, many companies have learnt to increase their sales artificially by using the following psychological strategies:

PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE: Creating products that break down quickly, wear out, lose their functionality or simply cannot be repaired.
CONSTANT LAUNCH OF INNOVATIONS –often not very useful – to create the feeling that previous products have become outdated.
PROMOTION OF FASHIONS AND TRENDS with the same aim: making products that are still in good working order seem old-fashioned.
BRANDS: Creating a psychological sense of difference in terms of quality or exclusivity, even though the products may not actually be better than those of the competition.
PACKAGING AND COMMUNICATION: Carefully chosen messages and vocabulary intended to give the product positive qualities, while hiding other negative aspects in general terms—for example, “bio”, “eco”, “fresh” and “natural”.
ADVERTISING: This is often exaggerated and unrealistic. In extreme cases, it can even become a criminal offence if it is illegal, misleading or subliminal.

We end up buying more stuff than we need because we allow ourselves to be influenced by COMMERCIAL STIMULI such as brands, trends, advertising and useless updates.

Watch

TYPES OF BUYING BEHAVIOURS

PSYCHOLOGICAL TRICKS USED BY SUPERMARKETS TO INCREASE SALES

Interact

Calculating our carbon footprint

< Our excessive consumption and the greed of producing companies are leaving a devastating negative mark on nature. To measure the personal impact we have on carbon dioxide emissions, complete this form or this other one, which requires more information. >

1. Maybe one of you can complete it on the big screen, and we can see how many tonnes of CO₂ each person emits every year.

2. You may voluntarily share your result with the rest of the class. The average in Spain is 7.15 tonnes per year, but the aim is to reduce emissions to just 2 tonnes per year.

3. You should also consider your “shadow footprint”—the impact of your other consumption decisions: what job you do, how you spend your free time, where you keep your money and which political options you vote for…

< Bear in mind that the first personal carbon-footprint calculator was launched by an oil company. It was an industry strategy to avoid responsibility and shift it on to consumers by making us feel guilty… Meanwhile, fossil-fuel companies have managed to maintain and expand the use of polluting energy sources. >

Assessment criterion

6.3. Tackle challenges effectively, fairly and sustainably in a range of real or simulated contexts and situations, applying the necessary economic and financial knowledge.