Professor Aaron Ahuvia on Why We Love Things

Published: Dec. 12, 2022, 1:23 p.m.

Why is it that when we really like an object, brand or activity, we say that we \u2018love\u2019 it? How can we fall in love with brands, things and experiences?

I\u2019m 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\u2019s happening when I feel that way? On the face of it, this doesn\u2019t exactly make much sense. Fortunately, it\u2019s 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\u2019s book \u201cThe Things We Love: How our Passions Connect Us and Make us who we are\u201d shows that we are far less \u201crational\u201d 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\u2019re going to \u2014 pun fully intended \u2014 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 \u2018Humanizing Rules: Bringing BeSci to Ethics & Compliance\u2019 visit:
\u2028Direct from the publisher US: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400

Direct from the publisher DE/CH/AU: https://www.wiley-vch.de/de?option=com_eshop&view=product&isbn=9781394177400&title=Humanizing%20Rules

Direct from the publisher UK: https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Humanizing+Rules%3A+Bringing+Behavioural+Science+to+Ethics+and+Compliance-p-9781394177400

Amazon US : https://www.amazon.com/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?

Amazon Germany : https://www.amazon.de/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Humanizing-Rules-Bringing-Behavioural-Compliance/dp/1394177402/ref=sr_1_1?