The Diderot effect: Why we buy things we don't need



In 1769, in Paris, a French philosopher wrote an essay about an unusual experience. His name was Denis Diderot, most famous for his role in compiling one of the first modern encyclopedias.



In the essay, he describes how he'd come into possession of a new, luxurious red dressing gown. But rather than make him happy, it made him miserable; and the cause of that unhappiness is still being examined by psychologists and marketing professionals some 250 years later.



The reason Diderot's new dressing gown was making him unhappy was that its beauty and luxury clashed with his other, much shabbier possessions. Now all is discord, red. the overall effect is lost. There's no longer any unity or beauty. This need for unity left him with a desire to upgrade his stuff so that it matched the luxury of his new dressing gown.



Soon there was a new tapestry, new paintings, new prints, a new chair, armoire, a mirror, a new bureau, an expensive clock. Soon his whole apartment was completely transformed. As Diderot described it, the 'imperious' dressing gown had 'imposed her new harmony' on this home.



In 1988 anthropologists Grant McCracken coined the term 'Diderot effect' to describe this desire for unity and how it shapes what we buy. At that time many economists saw consumer goods in isolation, each one owned just for its function and utility and therefore easily replaced if a cheaper or better version came along.



McCracken argued differently. Rather than looking at possessions individually, he argued the things we own reflect our identity and place in society, and for this reason, often belong in sets held together by the force of the Diderot effect. So, a banker buys a Rolex to go with his BMW and bottle of Bollinger, or a hipster buys a graphic tee and beard oil, to go with his overpriced and under-functioning bicycle.



Now, sometimes the Diderot effect stops a consumer buying something, even if it's useful and a good price, because it doesn't fit with the set of goods that person already owns. But at other times the appearance of something new — what McCracken calls a departure good — can lead to the run of consumption that Diderot observed with his dressing gown: Each new purchase made to match the qualities of that new item.



Now Diderot may have observed this effect a long time ago, but even today his insights on why we buy are still used by one group of people: Those who sell us stuff.



For example, look at Apple. For many, the purchase of the iPhone was a departure good that led — via the Diderot effect — to them buying other Apple products, seeking the unity and beauty that would come with them having the complete set. This is also why it helps Ikea to put its products in branded groups. You come in to replace a chest of drawers, but the Diderot effect tempts you to get the bed, wardrobe, dressing table and hat stand that seem to belong with it.



The way things are laid out in stores works in a similar way. Each of these rooms is filled with items that go with the others and together represent a whole new identity or lifestyle. If you can be tempted by one element of the set, the Diderot effect means a whole run of new purchases are likely to follow.



Other writers looking at the Diderot effect — like Juliet Schor in the Overspent American — have argued there is a cruelty to this never-ending escalator of desire. She argues, often we're buying something because of a 'symbolic fantasy' attached to it. In Diderot's case, perhaps he hoped that with the dressing gown, would come the economic security of those who owned luxurious items just like it. Yet, Schor argues, when we get the product, we don't get the thing that was promised to come with it.



And this was true for Diderot, who despite getting the new gown wasn't rich. Perversely he felt more free in his old gown, which he was more comfortable using to wipe dust from books or clean his pen nibs. As he wrote, I was absolute master of my old dressing gown but I had become a slave to my new one. His new gown had promised security and freedom, but in the end, it trapped him.



词汇表

compile [kəmˈpaɪl] 编纂，汇编，编写

encyclopedia [ɪnˌsaɪkləˈpiːdiə] 百科全书

luxurious [lʌɡˈʒʊəriəs] 奢侈的，豪华的

dressing gown [ˈdresɪŋ ɡaʊn] 晨衣，睡袍

clash with [klæʃ] 与…冲突，抵触，不调和

shabby [ˈʃæbi] 破旧的，破烂的；卑鄙的

discord [ˈdɪskɔː(r)d] 不一致，不协调；意见不合

unity [ˈjuːnəti] 统一，和谐，一致

tapestry [ˈtæpəstri] 挂毯，织锦；织锦画

print [prɪnt] 印刷品；版画

armoire [ɑː(r)ˈmwɑː(r)] （法式）大衣柜

bureau [ˈbjʊərəʊ] 书桌，写字台

imperious [ɪmˈpɪəriəs] 专横的，傲慢的

impose on [ɪmˈpəʊz] 把…强加于，施加影响于

anthropologist [ˌænθrəˈpɒlədʒɪst] 人类学家

Diderot effect [ˈdidəroʊ ɪˈfekt] 狄德罗效应（指人们在拥有新物品后，为保持协调而不断购买更多物品的现象）

utility [juːˈtɪləti] 实用，效用

Rolex [ˈrəʊleks] 劳力士（手表品牌）

BMW 宝马（汽车品牌）

Bollinger [ˈbɒlɪndʒə(r)] 堡林爵（香槟品牌）





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