I am not a psychologist, nor am I philosopher. But I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the goals we pursue, the things we own, and the items we buy. I find it to be a fascinating study into the human spirit.
There are countless reasons we buy more stuff than we need. Some motivations are pushed upon us by society. But other causes seem to spring from our own internal motivations. Either way, arriving at a healthy understanding of why we buy more than we need is a worthy pursuit.
Which is one reason I find the Diderot Effect to be such an interesting phenomenon. This motivation for overconsumption, originally noted in the 18th Century by a French philosopher named Denis Diderot, is still commonplace among us.
The simplest explanation of the Diderot Effect (or at least the part I am most interested in) is this, “the introduction of a new possession into a consumer’s existence will often result in a process of spiraling consumption.”
In other words, the purchase of one new item often leads to the purchase of another. We can see this play out in small ways:
Last week, my wife took my 9-year old daughter school shopping for the upcoming year. On her shopping list was a new backpack. After viewing her choices, my daughter chose one. But this new backpack does not match the lunch bag she used last year—and so, almost immediately, “new lunch bag” was added to the shopping list, even though her lunch bag from last year still worked just fine.
The introduction of a new item (the backpack) resulted in a desire for further consumption. But this, as I mentioned, is only a small example. There are more examples of the Diderot Effect all around us:
- We buy a new shirt or dress… and immediately begin looking for new shoes to match.
- We bring home a new couch… and suddenly the end tables in our living room appear old and shabby, in need of replacement.
- We purchase a new car… and soon begin spending money on car washes, more expensive gasoline, or a parking pass.
- We move into a new home… and use the occasion to replace our existing bedroom set with a new one.
In each circumstance, the reality is that we already owned enough shoes and our end tables and bedroom furniture worked just fine before. But because something new had been introduced into our lives, we were immediately drawn into a process of spiraling consumption.
Denis Diderot observed and noted this phenomenon in an essay titled, “Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown.” In the fictional story, he receives a new, elegant dressing gown from his friend, a kind gesture. However, upon receiving the gown, Denis notices all his other possessions begin to look drab and faded compared to it. He begins replacing them—all of them—even the art on the walls. And by the end of story, Denis notes, “I was absolute master of my old dressing gown, but I have become a slave to my new one.”
In this way, Diderot explains how new consumption often leads to further consumption. But more than that, he argues that we begin identifying with our possessions and search for new things that fit into our specific mold. The purchase of fashion, he would argue, is rarely about the functional use of clothing—it’s not just about finding thread to cover our bodies. Instead, the purchase of clothing (and everything else) represents an opportunity for self-expression.
But for this piece, I am more interested in the idea of over accumulation, how purchases often lead to more, unplanned purchases. Because once you understand the principle, you can begin to break its cycle.
How then might we overcome the Diderot Effect in our lives and resist this pattern of unnecessary consumerism? Let me offer some thoughts:
1. Become aware it is happening. Observe when you are being drawn into spiraling consumption not because you are in actual need of an item, but only because something new has been introduced.
2. Analyze and predict the full cost of future purchases. A store may be having a great sale on a new outfit—but if the new outfit compels you to buy a new pair of shoes or handbag to match, it just became a more expensive purchase than originally assumed.
3. Avoid unnecessary new purchases. Realize the Diderot Effect is a significant force and overcoming it is very difficult. You may avoid replacing those end tables at first, but eventually, at some point down the road, you are going to break down and buy new ones that better match the new couch. There are times when we have a legitimate need to buy new things. But the best way to overcome the Diderot Effect is to never allow it to overpower you in the first place.
4. Remind yourself that possessions do not define you. Abundance of life is not found in the things that you own. Your possessions do not define you or your success—no matter what marketers will try to tell you.
5. Buy things for their usefulness rather than their status. Stop trying to impress others with your stuff and start trying to impress them with your life.
Notice the Diderot Effect in your own life. Soon, as you begin to recognize it around you, it will become one less cause of unnecessary consumerism in your home and wallet (assuming that wallet already matches your handbag).
I’d never heard of the Diderot Effect before– how interesting!
Hubby and I were out the other day looking for a new couch (ours is dilapidated and has served us well, but it’s time for a change). By the time we tried out the first few couches we noticed beds in the other section of the store. Before the hour had passed we had tried bed, couches, sectionals, chairs, and looked at dressers, tables… And I was dreaming of the new bedsheets and curtains to go with it all.
Since I’m the one on the minimalist journey, I noticed how we were spiralling and needed to get out of there before we spent ten grand on new furniture.
This was such a fantastic read, I’m glad baby slept in this morning so I was able to learn a little something.
The question for me is: why does it matter ?
Having something may not be useful, but not having it is not more useful.
It may be hard to admit, but lack of possessions do not define you either.
Why not just buy what you want, and focus on more important things ? What is the downside ?
Juju –
My guess is that if you don’t understand the joy of minimal possessions yet, then you haven’t reached the point in your life where you know what you really want and what will really make you happy. It is natural, even for well adjusted people, to desire possessions. It perpetuates a feeling of self worth and goes a long way to show others that we are successful….. but eventually, you will find something more important to you. And unless you have had some life altering experience that shows you what a waste of time your pursuit of material objects has been, then you may have to wait till you are older to realize how unimportant ‘things’ really are.
“you may have to wait till you are older” … not patronising in the slightest!! Such a judgemental thing to say when you know absolutely nothing about the person you are referring to.
What about individuality? Some people would be quite happy, in the modern day, to live in a one room house with a hole in the ground for a toilet and a river for a bath … others not. We CHOOSE to have things because we ENJOY them, we don’t buy beyond our means but we LIKE having things around us … and funnily enough, THAT’S OK.
Exactly, the point of this blog is to notice when enough is enough. The point is not to have nothing, but rather not to have the tail wagging the dog.
There is nothing wrong with buying things, but it is important to recognize when our possessions own us rather than bring us joy. My litmus test for any purchase (e.g. A water bottle that costs $30) is “Will this bottle bring me $30 worth of joy?” and “How long will that joy last?”.
Setting up an internal system of checks and balances for our purchases keeps us from becoming materialistic and allows us to focus on things that are more important than “things” (i.e. Experiences, friends, family, etc.).
Great post Joshua! I was so excited to see Diderot in the title, as I remember discussing this same smoking jacket / dressing jacket story in graduate school. Recently memory of the story came back to me when thinking about minimalism and the culture of acquisition. On my blog, I wrote about how we can apply the Diderot effect (or the Smoking Jacket Phenomenon) in a reverse manner to simplify our spaces — trying to turn the effect on its head. Anyway, thank you, as always, for writing and inspiring others to follow a path of less.
An interesting tie-in to this is the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility, which is effectively less joy is gained from successive purchases / consumption.
Buy the things you like, but don’t overdo it. Just like everything else in your life.
Thank you for this Diderot article. It’s my first time to hear this theory but this mirrors how we live.
This concept reminds me of the Children’s book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numerous.
Auto correct… author Laura Numeroff
Diderot is a great topic for this forum. It may be working in reverse for me presently. The more things I give away / pare down/ eliminate/ etc the more I want to remove.
It always amazes me that persons who consider a simple and minimalist life to be perfect for them, seem unable to allow that other persons can find a busy and abundant life perfect for themself. For example, we live in a shed with only a basic setup, which is comfortable enough for us but also own many vehicles and other items which give us joy. So we are seen by some to be minimalist when they look upon our home but seen by others to be over abundant when they look upon our possessions. However we are happy and content with strong personal relationships. I enjoy discussion on many and varied topics but would not deem my views more important or valid than any other. Therefore I find it mildly distressing reading some replies here that disallow the persons comment to be as valid, educated or intelligent as the person replying to said comment. We all be on a quest for contentment and happiness and will all find these in many different ways.