Recent scientific research using brain scans has determined that women’s thought processes are measurably different than men’s.
Despite this fundamental difference, men and women are encouraged by their nature to seek each other’s company and to try to get along. To a remarkable degree, they succeed.
Humans are divided by another fundamental difference, though, for which there is less hope of reconciliation: Some people are organized, and some are not.
The organized ones simply cannot understand how others live with chaos around them. The disorganized ones, which, sadly, include most of us, have set “getting organized” as a goal for so long they no longer can imagine what it must be like to achieve it.
We can all agree that there is much to be desired, even envied, about the organized life. Still, the organized ones are denied one of life’s particular treats. It is hard, for example, to tell what, if anything, they feel when the fresh new Christmas catalogs arrive from Levenger, The Daily Planner, Hold Everything and similar companies.
For the organized, these are simply catalogs, lists of everyday objects whose use they mastered long ago.
But we know what those catalogs contain for those of us who are disorganized: dreams. Dreams as vivid as any televised toy commercial ever spawned. The lushly photographed filing cabinets, folders, boxes, labels and binders tantalize us with the prospect of a new beginning, a changed life where all is in order. Even the pens and paper lure us with the idea of actually writing those notes and letters – and don’t forget Christmas cards -we have been putting off. If we only had that stuff, we think, next year we could get organized and be at peace with the universe.
The importance of dreams in our shopping behavior is often neglected, because they do not fit into our statistical models. Economists and retail analysts can examine the rational components of shopping – price, quality, convenience, service, attractive surroundings, even weather. But dreams are tougher to measure.
But scientists using brain-scanning techniques similar to those used in the gender comparison have determined that something is going on in shoppers’ minds that makes them happy. Experiments have discovered evidence of dopamine in shoppers’ brain chemistry, which suggests they are enjoying the experience.
It is not clear from the scientific evidence that dreams, as such, are involved in the shopping, but it is a reasonable assumption. While many retail purchases are routine, even the most mundane household product can have a dream attached to its purchase.
When we shop for ourselves, our dreams often play a major part. We buy an article of clothing because we want to look more like a vision we have of ourselves. Often, this actually works, although not necessarily because of the clothing itself. Believing that it improves our appearance increases our self-confidence, and the changes in posture, movement and speech produced by that effect will often enhance our appearance in others’ eyes. (That’s why it’s important to wear appropriate clothing, but something that you really like, to a job interview or a first date.)
When we shop during the Christmas season, generally we shop for others, and here also dreams are a factor. We dream of the smile that will light up the recipient’s face when the gift is opened; we dream of the pleasure the gift will bring when it is used.
Every year at this time, we are treated to reports that indicate retail sales are up, along with quotes from experts explaining the reasons why this is so. Then, a few days later, a new report shows that sales are down, and a new set of experts explains why, of course, that was clearly the case all along.
Worse, whether sales volumes are up or down, critics tell us all that shopping infects kids and adults with the “creeping gimmes” and imparts a crassness to Christmas.
But while the crassness is there, it is hard to find fault with the dreams that motivate shopping.
To make someone smile, or feel warmer, to make someone feel better about themselves, to make their work easier, or even simply to hope that they remember us, these are not bad things.
They are our dreams, and they are more than just a factor in retail sales and our economy. They are good dreams shared alike by men and women, even the organized and disorganized, and nothing brings us closer than shared dreams.
That’s another reason why Christmas shopping isn’t just special for the economy. It’s special, period.
James McCusker is a Bothell economist, educator and consultant. He also writes “Business 101” monthly for the Snohomish County Business Journal.
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