The psychology behind collecting
Arizona Coin Collector
http://searchchicago.suntimes.com/homes/news/1406038,HOS-News-cover01a.article
The psychology behind collecting
February 1, 2009
BY CELESTE BUSK - Sun-Times Staff Writer
Whether it be squirrelling away pennies in a jar,
cherishing photographs from special vacations or
going all out with antiques, stamps and coins, >>
sooner or later, experts say, nearly everyone
collects something.
According to a 1980 study, one in three adults
collects something, said Fred Bryant, a professor
of psychology at Loyola University Chicago. Bryant
specializes in personality and social psychology.
"That's a lot of people, and the figures are
probably higher now because we're seeing a surge
in collecting thanks to the popularity of
'Antiques Road Show,' internet auction sites and
eBay," he said.
According to Bryant, there is no limit to what
human beings might find worthy of collecting.
"Hair or teeth of famous historical figures,
bottle caps, beer cans, paper clips -- anything
you can think of," he said.
But what is it about collecting that motivates people?
"For some people, collecting is a hobby that can
bring a lot of joy," said Dr. Sheldon S. Greenberg,
a Chicago-based psychiatrist who specializes in
general psychiatry.
"Collecting can be a way of achieving personal
identity and a nurturing hobby to make one feel
good, safe and loved. Collecting can provide a
method of predictability and bring a sense of
security to one's life," Greenberg said. "When
people collect they have a sense of belonging to
something, days look brighter and they feel more
important."
On the other hand, Greenberg says, for some who
feel anxious, collecting can sometimes give people
a false sense of security. "It's an illusion
because the things they collect obviously only have
limited psychological value. It's only symbolic,"
he said.
Bryant says studies indicate the top motive for
collecting is a "feeling of success, competence
and mastery; that one is effective in world
accomplishment and control. Today, the world may
seem out of control and people feel helpless. But
when they hold [collectibles] in the palm of their
hands, they can feel the fruit of their labor."
Both experts say collecting can foster healthy
socialization. "People form clubs, gather to talk
about their collections and point out this or that
about something they've collected. It's a good
way to start a conversation," Greenberg said.
It's also can make good economic sense.
"It's a way of investing," Greenberg said. "Many
collectibles increase in value over time."
..
PC
"Arizona Coin Collector" <nos...@nospam.com> wrote in message
news:fYCdnWTnu7QOKBjU...@earthlink.com...
>
> It's also can make good economic sense.
>
> "It's a way of investing," Greenberg said. "Many
> collectibles increase in value over time."
>
If by "Many" he means "A tiny fraction of", then I agree.
mazorj
"PC" <P...@Minneapolis.mn.us> wrote in message
news:gm4d0c$ci7$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Depending on the "Humpty Dumpty" effect (a word means only what the
writer intended it to mean), like the plural form of nouns, "many" can
just mean "more than one".
Bruce Remick
I would think that the "over time" part is the key. If you save almost
anything long enough, it will increase in value as a nostalgic collectors
item. Unfortunately, most of us usually will not live long enough to profit
from this foresight.
oly
> FROM:http://searchchicago.suntimes.com/homes/news/1406038,HOS-News-cover01...
Those people who have the gears in their brain to grind in the first
place, such persons read the Chicago Tribune.
oly
mazorj
"Bruce Remick" <rem...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:Jvkhl.4261$io5....@newsfe09.iad...
Even if the value does increase, given the token appreciation of some
"collectibles," the money might have been better invested in an
FDIC-insured bank account drawing 0.3%.
Bruce Remick
"mazorj" <maz...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:Denhl.438$N02...@nwrddc02.gnilink.net...
Most of the things I'm thinking about are items that would not have been
considered collectable and would have had zero value when new-- things like
empty coffee tins, oil cans, cereal boxes, beer cans, etc. After 50 to 100
years, anyone who would have saved instead of discarded this type of thing
would not only be considered balmy, but would be able to sell many of them
for a pretty penny. Things like this often do better as long term
investments than items that are considered "collectibles" when new. You
just have to put up with the raised eyebrows from friends and neighbors.
mazorj
I suspect that many of the props from period movies, like 1930s boxes
of cereal and soap, were bought or rented from prop houses at a pretty
penny. All you need to do is hang on to all your trash for 50 years
or more.
note.boy
A number of years back a man local to me died, he had been manager of one of
the local cinemas for about 40 years, if he had kept one poster from each
film shown his descendants would have inherited a very valuable collection.
The only way to guarantee that a collectable will increase in value is to
acquire them at zero cost. Billy
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
Why be the fool hastening after "money" if one does not intend to use
it? A rich person and a poor person get treated much the same in a
nursing home. Even more so in the grave. Our banks are now in
tatters, to boot. People who collect at least have a bit of
imagination and purpose, against the vacuity of the miser.
oly
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
A very scotch reply, IMHO.
oly
RWF
news:7f7285a5-ec51-41b0...@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
>A very scotch reply, IMHO.
"Scotch" is a type of whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer)
Peter
Anything? Normally not fresh fruit ...
Bruce Remick
I looked into buying an empty example of the early-1950's Wheaties cereal
box I remembered as a kid that had the sports figure cards on the back, but
didn't want to pay the asking price of several hundred dollars for one. I
ate the cereal out of many of these boxes and saved all the cards on the
back, never considering saving one intact. I also saved all the foreign
coins from the mid-50's Wheaties box promotion, too. Hundreds of empty beer
can brands from the mid-1930's to the mid-1950's routinely sell for well
over $100, with several going for five figures. Obviously most were
discarded at the time, hence the stiff price for nice ones today. I've got
one I reluctantly paid $125 for back in 1980, but which now sells for $1,000
to $1,500. I have them on display, so I would hardly consider them as
"trash", even though a non-collector might.
Bruce Remick
"note.boy" <note...@naespamntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:Beohl.9619$3z4....@newsfe30.ams2...
My sentiments exactly. Lots of "free" stuff I couldn't bear to throw away
over the past 50 years is now coming into favor with collectors. All it
cost me was storage space. Thankfully, I have an understanding wife. Now
to get rid of it all before an heir tosses it.
Bruce Remick
"Peter" <w2...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6f66a3b6-8d05-4b4f...@r29g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
I forgot to exempt fresh fruit.
mazorj
"One man's trash..."
mazorj
So 100% of your coins are held solely and purely for their esthetic
value?
You're reading too much into this, oly. Of course money only has
value in what it can provide you. Of course the primary value in
collectibles is in their esthetic appeal. We were talking only about
the investment aspect of collecting. The first rule of collecting for
collecting's sake - be it art or coins or memorabilia - is buy only
what appeals to, and pleases you. That way, after you die, your
relatives will be the ones who have to deal with any appreciation in
the value of "all that crazy junk that he collected".
;-)
Mr. Jaggers
"...usually ends up blowing into my yard."
James the Windy
mazorj
"RWF" <R...@200902.invalid> wrote in message
news:gm5b0q$gdr$1...@news.motzarella.org...
I think the purist's take on that is that it should be referred to
under the original version of the name, "Scot's whiskey". If you
pronounce it that way now, they just assume you have a lisp.
"Whiskey" is derived from its Celtic name which, IIRC, means "water of
life". It's amazing how many of the local originators' names for
different distilled spirits translate to that same meaning. It's not
surprising to find that many indigenous peoples' names for themselves
translate to "The People" but the widespread use of "water of life"
says a lot semantically about the role that booze plays in human
culture!
Just to keep it slightly on topic, antique unopened bottles of booze
usually are collectible and worth far more than the same amount of the
same contents in a modern bottle. That's got to be more of a snob
thing because unlike wine, spirits don't change much after they're
bottled.
OTOH, like a car leaving the dealer lot, beer starts going downhill
the moment it leaves the brewery. "Honey, this six-pack is two months
old! I better finish it off today before it goes bad."
Edwin Johnston
It's my opinion that collectors involve themselves in attempting to
create order out of chaos. They pull things out of society that are
being scattered and organize them back together.
mazorj
"Mr. Jaggers" <lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com> wrote in message
news:gm78q...@enews2.newsguy.com...
Damn, I wish I had thought of that. Oh so true! That and dandelion
seeds.
Edwin Johnston
God invented whiskey to prevent the Irish from taking over the world.
Rav
I guess we collectors are doing our part to defy the Law of Entropy. ;-)
.
oly
>
> - Show quoted text -
I guess that I am not a collector. Chaos is my second middle name,
Pack Rat is my third middle name.
oly
Edwin Johnston
It's a part of it, in one way or another, to be sure.
Bruce Remick
I've never been inclined to make my beer go uphill, choosing instead to stay
dry and to avoid testing that old cliche about what not to do into the wind.
And fortunately, I've never been able to keep beer around long enough to see
it go bad.
Bruce Remick
It's unlikely that a collector who spends several thousand for an item for
his collection wouldn't consider, at least for a moment, how much of the
value he would get back if he had to part with that item. I'm convinced
that in the back of most all collectors' minds is the thought that what they
accumulate will have a greater value one day when they want to quit or pass
it on to an heir.
oly
> "mazorj" <maz...@verizon.net> wrote in message
>
> news:rLFhl.786$eK2...@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > "RWF" <R...@200902.invalid> wrote in message
> >news:gm5b0q$gdr$1...@news.motzarella.org...
> >>news:7f7285a5-ec51-41b0...@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
> >>>A very scotch reply, IMHO.
>
> >> "Scotch" is a type of whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer)
>
> > I think the purist's take on that is that it should be referred to under
> > the original version of the name, "Scot's whiskey". If you pronounce it
> > that way now, they just assume you have a lisp.
>
> > "Whiskey" is derived from its Celtic name which, IIRC, means "water of
> > life". It's amazing how many of the local originators' names for
> > different distilled spirits translate to that same meaning. It's not
> > surprising to find that many indigenous peoples' names for themselves
> > translate to "The People" but the widespread use of "water of life" says a
> > lot semantically about the role that booze plays in human culture!
>
> > Just to keep it slightly on topic, antique unopened bottles of booze
> > usually are collectible and worth far more than the same amount of the
> > same contents in a modern bottle. That's got to be more of a snob thing
> > because unlike wine, spirits don't change much after they're bottled.
>
> > OTOH, like a car leaving the dealer lot, beer starts going downhill the
> > moment it leaves the brewery. "Honey, this six-pack is two months old! I
> > better finish it off today before it goes bad."
>
> I've never been inclined to make my beer go uphill, choosing instead to stay
> dry and to avoid testing that old cliche about what not to do into the wind.
> And fortunately, I've never been able to keep beer around long enough to see
>
> - Show quoted text -
One doesn't buy beer; one only rents it.
oly
mazorj
"Edwin Johnston" <e...@hal-pc.org> wrote in message
news:498733ed$0$10299$a726...@news.hal-pc.org...
Ditto for vodka and us Polish, and wine for us Italians. It appears
to have worked.
Twice in the past century, though, it almost didn't work for Germans
and beer.
mazorj
On Feb 2, 11:08 am, Edwin Johnston <e...@hal-pc.org> wrote:
...
> It's my opinion that collectors involve themselves in attempting to
> create order out of chaos. They pull things out of society that are
> being scattered and organize them back together.
<
< I guess that I am not a collector. Chaos is my second middle name,
Pack Rat is my third middle name.
Et tu, oly? It makes for one helluva monogram, don't it?
- JCPRM -
note.boy
I wish that I had saved a few of the Tennent's Lager cans with the lovelies
on them, a series of illustrations of attractive young ladies, very non PC
now of course. Billy