Tag: threatened self esteem

Self-Esteem Threatened? Hide the Credit Cards!

Some people attempt to repair their sense of self-worth by purchasing luxury items when their egos are threatened because they performed a task poorly or because they were told that they’re not as good as they hoped (or expected). And worse, they’re more likely to use credit cards to pay for these self-indulgences.

 

Since various studies have established that parting with cash can actually be psychologically painful, one study investigated whether people might be more likely to use a credit card when feeling badly about themselves (Pettit & Sivanathan, 2010).