The auction environment is like no other: high-energy, fast-paced excitement – it’s an adrenaline rush for newcomers and old pros alike. When you stop to think about it, the emotional aspects of bidding and buying undoubtedly factor into auction day hype. Read on to see how psychology plays an important role in the moments leading up to “SOLD!”
The emotional aspects of an auction begin before you ever enter the bidding location. Bidders start to imagine themselves in positive scenarios, where they realize their goal of winning, or negative scenarios, where they fail to meet those goals. They anticipate a range of emotions based upon these possibilities, from pride, relief, and satisfaction, to shame, regret, anger, and disappointment. The bidder will then subconsciously decide how much effort they’ll expend in order to reach their positive goal (winning the item they want).
Obviously, imagining these scenarios and actually living out these scenarios are two different situations. Several obscure factors affect the outcome for different individuals, including which items come up at which point during the auction and the audience’s responses to those items up for bid. So how can you stay on course and have the best chance of realizing your goal for the day? Have a game plan. Aside from just knowing your financial limits and honing in on the items that are most important to you, your attire, who you bring along with you, and where you sit or stand in the room can all have an effect on what you take home at the end of the day.
Many auction-goers describe the intense emotions during the bidding process and the tendency to over-bid their pre-determined limits as “auction fever,” but psychologists know that the “fever” is no joke. The feelings bidders experience at auctions can be attributed partially to competition, and partially to what is called pseudo-endowment. This principle basically means that when you feel an attachment or sense of ownership with an item, like you may for the brief moment that your bid is in the lead, you subconsciously value that item more and can be willing to bid a higher price than you originally intended. Pseudo-endowment (pre-factual feelings of possession) increases our desire to actually own the item and thus increases our motivation to win at all costs. Researchers from Ohio State University found that simply thinking about an item can heighten our sense of pseudo-endowment and make bidders feel a bigger sense of loss when full ownership is not realized.
Often, what bidders are willing to pay for an item boils down to intrinsic value. Our individual connections and level of intrigue with items of course play into intrinsic value, but surprisingly, personality traits can affect these values, too. A study conducted by North Carolina State University found that for women, the personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness had a significant effect on auction strategies and how likely someone may be to enter a bidding war. No personality traits stood out as affecting auction strategies for males, but it’s interesting to note how someone’s bidding behavior may change based on their personality as a whole.
It’s also interesting to note the effect of nostalgia on bidding. When someone’s sense of nostalgia is aroused by a certain item, this can directly affect the sense of pseudo-endowment mentioned earlier. And while mass-produced objects, at the time of production, may seemingly have a low intrinsic value, the opposite may be true over time. Because they are deemed common or not unique, few people hold on to these objects over time. But because they were popular at one time, they can be subject to “nostalgia by association” when up for bid at auction. Suddenly, the whole crowd has an affinity for this item and the demand will spike.
Auctions combine competition and winning with discipline and bargain hunting: quite the contradiction. Paired with conflicting feelings of adrenaline and disappointment, excitement and regret, pride and shame, auctions, for many, can be a roller coaster of emotions. Remember that it’s completely normal to feel these emotions at an auction, regardless of whether you go home with the item you wanted. We’re all human, after all.
Auctions don’t have to be intimidating or worrisome, though. At Dakil, our goal is to make the process as simple and enjoyable as possible. For more tips on forming your game plan, check out our helpful Auction 101 archives.
Ready to bid? Take a look at our upcoming auctions.
