20 Reasons Why People Love Spending Money On What They Don’t Need

Researchers at Yale have determined that this quest for authenticity develops early in childhood. A study that tried to convince children that a cloning machine had produced their favorite toy found that most children refused to accept the duplicate as identical.1 It turns out that the sentimentality of the item—the memory or feeling that comes from having purchased a genuine luxury good—is part of the reason that we seek authenticity.