Diderot effect

The Diderot Effect is a term used in consumer research. The term was coined by the Diderot Effect American social scientist and consumer researchers Grant McCracken in his book Culture and Consumption ( German translation culture and consumption in 1988 ). He derived the name from from the subject of an essay by Denis Diderot; Reasons to mourn my old house rock, Regrets sur ma vieille robe de chambre ou Avis à ceux qui ont plus de goût que de fortune in 1772. Someone had given him a new, magnificent robe, whereupon he separated from the old and realized that the previously harmonious perceived establishment of his house did not fit to the jacket. In an essay he wrote it in 1772:

" My old house rock and the whole caboodle, with whom I had set myself up - as well fit one to the other! [ ... ] "

Generally

He describes how people after they have purchased an item, you can get into the compulsion to make further purchases in order to create a suitable picture. The appreciation of details, such as a garment leads to dissatisfaction with one or more other details and can thus trigger a consumption chain reaction.

Someone buys for example a new chair that does not fit in perfectly with the existing chairs in his apartment. Thus he falls into the psychological compulsion to replace the existing remaining chair by matching the overall picture. This then no longer fits into the overall picture about the cabinet and he also needs to be replaced, and so on. Conversely, can also be the reason for a reluctance to this problem.

The described effect is still observed in the psychology of advertising.