The Psychology of Collecting
You spot a new figurine in a store —the one you have been needing to complete your lineup of your favourite series, games, or movies. Or maybe you finally achieved that new character card from your favourite series that you needed to complete the set, making you lean back in your chair in satisfaction. You’ve done it.
This feeling of satisfaction has captivated humans throughout centuries, revealing a psychological motive that shapes our identity. It’s a peculiar quirk of human nature, the urge to gather, organise and have a sentimental value within objects that may seem prodigal to other humans; however, holds a significant value to the collector. But why? What drives humanity into this behaviour? What can it tell us about the workings of the human mind?
Collecting is not just about stuff. It’s about identity. Many psychologists have created an idea called the “extended self”, telling us that the reason why people collect is that it serves as retrieval cues for the stories of ourselves we tell people all over the world. An influential role within this idea is nostalgia as it sparks a sense of identity and belonging and for many collectors, nostalgia and emotional attachment play a huge role in why they have the need to collect, for example a childhood teddy bear or vintage toys draw them into collecting things from their past.
However, many other psychologists suggest that we drive for the feeling of completeness for our need for order and control in a chaotic, disorganised world. By completing a set of something, collectors carve out a little corner of the world that only they can understand. Or a social aspect where we yearn for social status in a world where presentation and reputation is a crucial factor within our society. For example, collection can be a range of unique and expensive objects, whether it’s an art collection or the complete set of first-edition books, the version only being printed 50 times in a certain section of the world. It helps boost social status and help form an identity to create representation of our personalities and interests.
Arguably, there is a spectrum of collectors ranging from casual to obsessed, where one end are relaxed accumulators who will pick up objects that they find interesting or favourable without necessarily considering themselves “collectors”. On the other end of this spectrum, we have passionate collector who will pour their life belongings and savings into their collections and can produce obscure facts of their chosen collection with a flick of a hand.
In conclusion, the psychology of collecting offers a unique window into human behaviour, explaining into things such as cognition, emotion and the social aspects on why people may collect. However, whether you are a dedicated collector yourself or simply curious of why people may collect, understanding the psychology behind it can provide valuable insights on why we may collect valuable things and how we relate to the materialistic world around us.
Sources:
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https://thedatascientist.com/psychology-of-collecting-why-we-collect/
https://neurolaunch.com/psychology-of-collecting/
Leah James
