By Dr Samantha J. Brooks Ph.D.
Modern society immerses us in visions of continuous temptation (brain elixirs for eternal youth, longevity, power: food, sex, status symbols) that are difficult to ignore. These temptations are even more alluring during the festive season, when we are all permitted – and even expected - to stop working and enjoy ourselves! Shops fronts, billboards, newspapers, TV and the internet bombard us with enticing special offers and exciting rewards that grab our attention and make us forget about our more sensible long term goals. We are easily tempted to forget that we don’t have endless amouts of money to spend, and we may easily swipe our credit card when we temporarily bond with the friendly, smiling check-out assistant who asks us to hand over our cash. It is only later, when the exciting lights, music and bargains of the shopping mall have ceased - and we are back in the familiar surroundings of home - that we regain our sense of composure. How does this acute loss of control over our spending behaviour happen so readily, and so quickly, to so many people, during the festive season? And how can we try to improve our self-control, so that we don’t start the new year with heavy debts to pay off?
Eva Ritvo M.D., writing for Psychology Today, coins the term ‘trifecta of neurotransmitters’ that infect the way our brain functions on Black Friday. These 3 neurotransmitters are: dopamine (reward/pleasure), serotonin (happiness) and oxytocin (bonding, social connection). These neurotransmitters gain even further traction over our brain’s functioning if we are already in a state of mental overload and anxiety – so many things to buy, so many crowds, so little time and money left before the holidays! When our prefrontal cortex is overloaded with thoughts in this way, the dopamine released in the middle part of the brain takes over our behaviour and increases our craving and impulsivity, and reducing our anxiety. This is particularly true when we are anticipating buying something we like (it is no coincidence that shops start advertising their Black Friday deals early – to give the brain the expectation it craves). What’s more, is that the dopamine build-up is especially sensitive if our peers and other people we value have – or want – these products too. Furthermore, our brains derive the most dopamine release from novelty – new bargains, new products, new stimulating advertisements. And more interesting still – if something is novel and it’s high value has been temporarily slashed – which is what happens on Black Friday, then we don’t have to work so hard to obtain that valuable item! And our brains are wired to find ways to get the most value for the least amount of work – and when Black Friday provides this for us, our brains become drenched in dopamine!
Finally, oxytocin is a hormone produced in the hypothalamus – a brain area associated with hunger and stress, among other homeostatic (balancing) systems in the body and brain. Oxytocin is released when we fall in love, when we have sex, and in the baby and mother when a baby breastfeeds. It is often termed ‘the bonding hormone’, which connects us socially to others. As such, it is interesting to consider that oxytocin is released into the brain when we impulsively search for bargains on Black Friday. But this is partly due to oxytocin’s ability to make us feel calmer. Buying a bargain is a form of ‘self-medicating’, especially if we were previously feeling stressed. Oxytocin is an antidote to stress and anxiety – and could be one route into a sense of loss-of-control and craving the next spend. Women in particular may gain a sense of providing for their loved ones when buying bargains over the festive period – a proxy bonding ritual for the modern age.
Dr Samantha Brooks is a UK neuroscientist in Harfield Village, specialising in the neural correlates of impulse control from eating disorders to addiction. For more information you can contact Samantha at: www.drsamanthabrooks.com.
