Professor Aaron Ahuvia on Why We Love Things

Why is it that when we really like an object, brand or activity, we say that we ‘love’ it? How can we fall in love with brands, things and experiences?

I’m an Apple fanboy, I love my Peloton bike, and given the time of year, it would be remiss of me not to mention how much I really like Christmas markets in Germany.

What’s happening when I feel that way? On the face of it, this doesn’t exactly make much sense. Fortunately, it’s something my guest can help us with. Based at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Aaron Ahuvia is a Consumer psychologist & marketing professor who studies how we come to love things that aren't people.

Aaron’s book “The Things We Love: How our Passions Connect Us and Make us who we are” shows that we are far less “rational” than we think when it comes to our possessions and hobbies. In fact, we have passionate relationships with the things we love, and these relationships are driven by influences deep within our culture and biology. Some of our passions are sudden, obsessive, and fleeting; others are devoted and lifelong affairs. Some turn dark: we become hoarders or would prefer to destroy certain objects rather than let anyone else own them. And as technology improves, becoming increasingly addictive, one wonders: might our lives become so dominated by our emotional ties to things that we lose interest in other people?

You’re going to — pun fully intended — love this episode.

To find out more about Aaron and his book, visit: https://thethingswelove.com
You can see his faculty page here: https://umdearborn.edu/aaron-ahuvia

To pre-order my book ‘Humanizing Rules: Bringing BeSci to Ethics & Compliance’ visit

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