← The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics
The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics
528. Nostalgia and Tradition: The Emotional Ties that Drive Consumer Behavior
00:29:00
In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, Melina Palmer explores the fascinating psychology behind nostalgia and traditions, uncovering why our brains are wired to cherish these experiences. This episode revisits the powerful emotional...
Loading summary
Transcript7 lines
- [00:01]
A
Have you been thinking about diving deeper into behavioral economics? Now is the perfect time. Our Virtual Applied Behavioral Economics certificate from Texas A and M University is enrolling now, and I'm going to be teaching both foundations of behavioral economics and pricing strategy and product development this fall. Both courses run just once a year and they start September 5th. You will learn directly from me, including the option of live virtual office hours. And you get to be a part of a global cohort of curious brainy professionals from around the world. Get all the details and claim your spot at HBL Tamu Edu. That's HBL like Human Behavior Lab. TAMU like Texas A and M University Edu and click on Certificate Program. Your future self will thank you and when you're ready, let's start the show. Welcome to episode 528 of the Brainy Business Understanding the Psychology of why People Buy. Today's episode is all about why our brains love nostalgia and traditions.
- [01:11]
B
Ready? Let's get started.
- [01:17]
C
You are listening to the Brainy Business Podcast where we dig into the psychology of why people buy and help you incorporate behavioral economics into your business, making it more brain friendly. Now, here's your host, Melina Palmer.
- [01:33]
A
Hello. Hello everyone. My name is Melina Palmer and I want to welcome you to the Brainy Business Podcast. What's a smell, sound or flavor that instantly brings you back to your childhood? Maybe it's the scent of cookies in the oven, a jingle from a favorite commercial, or the crinkle of wrapping paper at the holidays. Our brains are wired to love these moments, those warm, familiar feelings that make us feel grounded, sensitive, seen and connected. But did you know? Nostalgia and tradition are more than feel good memories. They're also powerful behavioral cues that influence decision making, brand loyalty, and even innovation. As we step into the final third of the year and approach the holiday season a time full of reflection and planning, this refreshed episode couldn't be more timely. Originally released during the holidays, this episode explores the science behind why traditions matter, how nostalgia can be harnessed in your business, and and what it all means for creating lasting emotional connections with your customers. I'm bringing it back now for a few reasons. First, it's a great foundational primer as we lead into some upcoming content that's going to introduce our newly launched YouTube channel. Yes, it is live, and we've kicked things off with a series that we're calling Retro Rewinds, where we explore nostalgic brand launches like Crystal Pepsi, the Disney Vault, and Skip it and break down the behavioral science. Why they worked or didn't. More on that in the next episode, but again felt like they really went together. And then second, this episode is especially relevant as businesses begin to look ahead toward end of year planning. What traditions are you holding onto in your company or marketing efforts simply because that's how it's always been done? Are those habits still serving your goals or is it time to reevaluate? What are your customers traditions that you can tap into as you plan your end of year promotions? So as you listen today, keeping all that in mind, I invite you to consider this question. Where are nostalgia or traditions helping or unintentionally holding back innovation in your business? Really quickly, before we get into the episode, I want to be sure you know there are links in the show, notes for my top related past episodes and books, ways to get in touch, and more. It's all within the app you're listening to and@the brainybusiness.com 528 now let's jump right in and learn about why our brains love nostalgia and traditions.
- [04:02]
B
I want to start with nostalgia to set a foundation did you know that nostalgia as a concept was first introduced in the 1680s? It was developed when Swiss soldiers were having all sorts of negative symptoms as they were far from home, many of them having to be discharged from service. The term nostalgia is from the root of two return home and pain. Over time, people discovered nostalgia was a condition felt by more than just the Swiss. Originally it was deemed as a cultural affliction and still later researchers discovered that while it can be associated with painful symptoms or circumstances, nostalgia in and of itself is not a negative or pain inducing thing. It in fact it's kind of the reverse. Nostalgia is often triggered by a negative emotional state, perhaps a sad or traumatic event which makes you think about the good old days. Thankfully, there are many, many benefits of nostalgia. It can help people increase self esteem and their own feelings of belonging to a social group. It can also encourage growth on a psychological level and even make people choose to act more charitably. Nostalgia can also be used to naturally reduce distress and restore well, helping us to remember that our lives can have meaning and value. And as we'll get into later, it is a powerful technique for marketing and advertising. I've linked to a few videos and studies in the show notes and one of the ones I found particularly interesting was explaining why we remain nostalgic and how our bodies are made up of constantly changing atoms. The human body is a constant flux of atoms in and atoms out and the entire makeup of each person changes every five years. Essentially, there is not one atom in your body today that was part of you five years ago. Think about that for a minute. That's. That's just crazy. So how do you stay you and what makes you you and how does that continue to pass through generations of atom transformation and not get lost in the shuffle? You know how they say your taste buds can change every seven years and that you should try new foods even if you hated them a while back? This is why it's all new atoms in there deciding what they like or don't like. This got me thinking of that old joke which is particularly fitting. At this time of year, a woman is preparing a roast for her first holiday as host, and she cuts the ends off before putting it in the pan. Her significant other asks, why do you cut the ends off? That's the best part. And she says, that's how my mother always did it. So they ask mom why she cut the ends off the roast, and she said, because that's how my mom always did it. They then call Grandma and ask her about the deep and meaningful reason behind cutting the ends off the roast, to which she says, it's the only way I could get it to fit in the pan. Wah. Wah. Sometimes what feels like a tradition or the way things must be be done is actually an assumption made by the observer. Whether it is the atoms making up your body, someone making a roast at the holidays, or the way we've always done it in the office, it all comes from the same rule and inclinations in our brain. This, of course, gets back to one of my favorite lessons or recommendations. Ask the question. Even if you aren't in doubt, ask a question. Just because you've always done something a certain way or others have, doesn't mean it's for any real or good reason or that it's the best way. But we're talking about nostalgia and traditions here, so I'll step off that particular soapbox for now. Nostalgia helps us to remember our lives can have meaning and value. And most of our best memories, the ones we remember the clearest and most fondly, are from the ages of 10 to 30, a span called the Reminiscence Bump. This period of time is important because it's heavily linked to the time we form our sense of self. But even more than that, earlier, we form a sense of the world around us and get excited about traditions. I've linked to a great article on this from the Conversation, and I want to read a little about it for you. Now, I've made this as kiddo friendly as possible, but if you have little ears around, this is my parent to parent moment to give you a heads up that you might want to pause and listen to this one part a little later when you're alone. All right, no more kids listening. One more pause. Here is the excerpt One might be tempted to think that children are particularly susceptible to to the fantastic. And while this may not be entirely unfair, children engage in a wide variety of judicious and skeptical behaviors, and compelling them to believe the fantastic without considerable effort is very difficult. In one study, known as the Princess Alice Study, researchers told children about the invisible and imaginary Princess Alice who was present in the room and sitting in a nearby chair. After this, children were left alone and given the opportunity to cheat on a task for a reward. While some children looked toward the empty chair, fewer still waved their hands through Alice's ostensible location. And there was only very weak statistical evidence that this induction influenced children's behavior at all. In contrast, there is the Candy Witch study. Here, two different adults visited a school on two separate occasions, told children about the candy Witch, and showed the children pictures of her. They were told the candy witch would trade some of their Halloween candy for a toy if they could refrain from eating it. No small task for a child. Parents also needed to phone the candy Witch in advance, and as a result, many children believed in the candy witch, some even a year later. The primary difference between these two studies is the amount of effort many adults put in to compel the children. Children are quite sensitive to effort, and with good reason. Actions speak louder than words. Childhood is a unique, evolved life stage in which sexual maturation is delayed in favor of brain growth and social learning. Historically, the only way to learn about something you haven't directly experienced was to rely on testimony. Children can differentiate between fantasy and history, evaluate the strength of evidence, and prefer claims with scientific framing. Children in many cultures are less likely than adults to appeal to supernatural explanations for unlikely events. In fact, children learn to make supernatural claims like the Candy Witch and Princess Alice. It's the level of effort and continued insistence that incites belief. The brain likely says something like it must be true, otherwise why would my parents go to all this trouble? Because all the actions being taken in a specific way every year are done in the name of the candy witch and not in the name of tradition, and it all becomes more ingrained and believable. But I do want to say a couple more things about nostalgia before getting all the way into tradition. As I said feelings of nostalgia are most likely to come up whenever you feel sad or lonely. Nostalgia Remembering important people in your life or key moments help you to feel better about yourself. Maybe you're more inclined to reach out to someone you've been fighting with or haven't connected to in a long time. It can also be bittersweet as you have fond memories of someone you had great traditions with at the holidays who's no longer around to enjoy them with you. People are also most likely to become nostalgic at major transitions in life. This is why a midlife crisis is a time where people buy the car they always wanted when they were in high school or go back to visit their childhood home. And this is why marketing or advertising for these sorts of things at the right time can trigger nostalgia and action in a buyer of a certain age. It could be sports cars to the empty nesters with the right music playing. Depending on the demographic, that could have been the Beatles or the Eagles, then Huey Lewis in the news, Back to the Future anyone, or New Kids on the Block or whatever. Finding a trigger that can make someone feel nostalgic can make them feel better and more endeared toward your product. Incorporating all the senses is also important when working to trigger nostalgia, as they're closely tied to the memory center of the brain. I've talked about this before in the series on the Five Senses, which I've linked to in the show Notes at the brainy business.com 79 Marcel Proust Writings about the taste of a cookie and how it flooded his brain with specific memories is one of the most quoted excerpts. When it comes to nostalgia and the senses, it reads like this and once I had recognized the taste of the crumb of Madeline soaked in her decoction of lime flowers, which my aunt used to give me in that moment. All the flowers in our garden and in M Swans park and the water lilies on the Vivan and the good folk of the village and their little dwellings and the parish church and the whole of Cumbr and of its surroundings, taking their proper shapes and growing solid, sprang into being, town and gardens alike. From my cup of tea. Notice the use of all the scents and scenes and feelings, along with the taste of that tea and cookie, bringing him back to a moment in his childhood that he can't help but remember in every possible detail. Perhaps for you, it's when you smell the cologne your first love always wore or hear your favorite teenage rebellion song on the radio, it can all bring back those moments in an instant. So you Feel like you're there right now because they're part of that reminiscence bump, the formative years that are more firmly printed on your brain. One really cool thing I found while researching for this episode is that studies have shown nostalgia physically warms you up. Whether it's belting out your favorite tune or watching a classic movie or thinking about your mom's cherished holiday decorations, they will actually cause your body temperature to increase. And as a word of caution, your brain is also wired to make all those memories seem much better than they were. And that's okay. It's when we try to recreate or revisit, we realize they aren't quite the same. And it can have sort of a negative effect. Have you ever tried to watch a movie you loved as a kid and realized it really, really didn't hold up? That's normal. And there are some things better left as memories because our nostalgic brains have built them up and to be better than anything could possibly live up to. Another way nostalgia is making a comeback is at the box office. How many of our favorite shows and bands have been given a reboot in the past few years? It seems like everything we loved as kids or teens is now new again, from Queen to the Beatles, getting featured in big movies to Star Wars. Disney classics now available. Streaming Aladdin with real people and Mulan coming back soon. Soon. Indiana Jones and all the Marvel heroes. The list goes on and on and on and on. This is not an accident. We who loved those characters and stories in our youth are now at an age that we want to relive the good old days and share them with our own kids or grandkids or significant others or friends. Our brains are nostalgic, and that's something brands can and should use in advertising or marketing or when it makes sense to do so. But you have to pick the right memories and trigger them properly for this to work. We don't get nostalgic over mundane stuff like taking out the trash or paying taxes. It's a specific type of moment, and to really trigger the memory, you want to get as close as you can to the emotion and context of the moment, including sights and smells. Every detail, including the language used, can have an impact if your target market is bilingual. The language you use in your advertising is very important when you're trying to use nostalgia or not, and knowing this can shift the way they perceive and relate to the ad or the brand. So if you want to trigger nostalgia and memories of childhood to a native Spanish speaker, let's say you would want the ad to be in size Spanish, even if they predominantly speak English now, and that's whether it's written and they're reading it or they're hearing it. If you put the same advertisement in English, they will not relate to it and reminisce in the same way as they would if it was in the language they originally associated with those memories. It makes sense when you hear me say it to you now, of course, but maybe not something you knew for sure until now. I've linked to a study that goes into more detail about this, so you can check it out if you're interested. One tip I really liked from one of the videos was about how to use nostalgia to your advantage instead of getting sucked into a negative space. This is very much like the episode and tips I gave on counterfactual thinking to not get stuck and using that next time aisle language. So when you start feeling nostalgic, don't say those were the days and then sit around being sad. Instead, ask something like why did that experience mean so much to me? Or how can I relive some of that joy today? Or who would love to hear this story? Take that nostalgia out of the shadows of your memory bank and into the light of day where it can help others to enjoy it with you. Which is a perfect transition to our conversation about traditions. Why do we love traditions? If you remember back to last week's interview with Nir Eyal, he put this in a way I really love the brain doesn't do what will feel good. It does things based on what has felt good in the past. I've linked to an article from Bustle that has some really great insights on it, and it's so well written, it's another one I want to read some excerpts from for you here now. Humans love predictability and stability. We love it so much that up to 93% of all our actions can be predicted ahead of time, according to a 2010 study from Northwestern. And also because we're a herding species, we may follow tradition because we're afraid of what might happen if we don't. Back to the article now. There are, it turns out, four key elements to any tradition or ritual that retains its whole hold over the years, whether it exists just within your family or is part of a wider community. These ingredients are 1 a strictly defined time and place 2 a set of features that are repeated year after year three another set of features that are different from year to year and four a lot of symbols Think of Christmas. It's always on December 25th. Its traditions regarding food and present giving are pretty set in stone, but every year new elements like family members or guests can be introduced, and it's packed full of symbols from the tree to the flaming pudding. As an aside here, I'm interested to know whose house has flaming pudding. I feel like my traditions are super lame in comparison. So linking back to what I said in the last section, the article goes on to say it's also psychologically important for the event to contain a lot of sensory information. We tie a huge amount of meaning to memories of sensory information, which is why a whiff of perfume can make you remember a grandmother you barely even met. Traditions that incorporate serious sensory stimulation, from smells to tastes to sounds, are likely to be incredibly powerful psychologically and to have a lot of significance for for us, that roasting chestnut smell isn't Willy Nilly, and I love this next finding if your parents absolutely adored the rituals of Christmas, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, or whatever they celebrated when they were children, chances are high that you yourself have had more positive interactions with those traditions and are mentally more stable as a result. According to 2003 research published in monographs for the Society of Childhood Development, there's a strong link between parents with positive ideas about traditions and rituals and how much fun they have with their kids. It turns out that having enjoyed a happy set of childhood traditions may make your parent more likely to give you support and enact effective rituals for your own time as a kid. That structure and positive reinforcement reduces your risk of developing a mental illness later in life. Life it's particularly psychologically important to keep up those rituals when children become teens. So if you had a happy childhood, you may be able to credit it in part to your mom's inability to stop dancing to Christmas songs. The lesson for you now is that traditions can help us to raise happier and more mentally stable children. Whether they're around the holidays or other times of year, traditions are important, and they're things we humans have done long before our current iteration of the holidays. Traditions have been passed down through story or ritual and cultures all around the world for a reason. They teach us morals and what is important, and they help us have strong connections with the people around us. They help us to know who we are, what we stand for, and why that matters. And sometimes there are smart brands that have found a way to be part of family traditions. In episode 73, I talked about Starbucks and all the smart things they do around the holidays red cups and special drinks. There are tons of other traditions we love. Perhaps that great movie you always watch and laugh at every corny joke even though you've seen it a million times and can recite it by heart. When I was a kid we watched Christmas Vacation every year at least once between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. These days we watch Elf with the kids and love actually is one I could watch every holiday season. These are brands aligning with our traditions. Think too of Advent calendars. They're much more than cheap chocolate. Now our kiddos got some sweet Advent calendars this year. The three year old gets a new Paw Patrol mini toy each day and our almost 7 year old gets a Marvel themed Funko Pop minifigure every day. We can't even begin to believe how much they love those things. They play with the boxes and they're so excited to open up a new number every day. And I can't talk about holiday traditions. Brands have completely ingrained themselves in without talking about Macy's and not just because my husband and I actually got to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade up close and in person while in New York on Thanksgiving this year, which many of you saw on my social media page where you can find me as the brainy biz. Traditions are also in the type of food we buy. Do you have a special can of soup you use for that green bean casserole or or the Hallmark ornaments we hang on the tree? We actually just experienced a brand being unavailable for our tradition. That makes me a little sad, but my husband has vowed to scour all the stores in the next couple days to find what we need to make one of my favorite holiday traditions, chex mix. It's December 12th today and when my husband went to the store this morning they were sold out of every box of Chex in the entire grocery store because everyone else is making Chex Mix too. Why is Chex Mix the holiday tradition and why is this the only time of year most of us even make Chex Mix or that Chex is sold out? Because it's tradition. That's what we do. Possibly what our parents did or something we saw in a movie or on a commercial. But it is ingrained and there isn't any other brand of cereal I would ever use. You can't have Chex Mix without checks. I can't imagine not having it at the holidays, but I would go without before I would substitute the cereal. And I love that they have gluten free recipes on their website and that for the two types I like to make. I don't have to make a bunch of substitutes, it just tastes the same as what I used to enjoy. They are still just like they would be with the gluteny stuff and oh so good. Do you like Chex Mix or have another brand that has woven its way into your holiday traditions? Share it with me on social media where you can find me on your favorite channel. As the Brainy Biz I can't wait to see. But until I'm able to make my own, maybe don't brag with too many Chex Mix pictures since they're sold out around here. Just kidding of course. I would love to see pictures of all your holiday traditions. Share them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with me, the Brainy Biz and think about how this could be translated into your business. Even if it's not a food item. There are lots of things that can be part of the traditions, whether they're at the holidays or another type of year. Remember the Starbucks red cups? And yes, a cup is a vessel for their coffee, but there are other things about that that make it an experience and a tradition of going together to get the first red cup and to be able to celebrate that time together with family and and knowing how nostalgia ties into traditions. Some may argue the commercialism is getting more and more each year, which is true in some ways. But also I love the holidays. I love decorating and creating new traditions like my totally non traditional rose gold and teal Christmas tree which I absolutely adore and also share it on my social media. You can see it there if you haven't already checked when you go to post your traditions with me. I loved learning about some of your traditions. Over the last couple of weeks I've been asking about these and not surprisingly this is something people love to share about because we love our traditions. They make us happy and warm and nostalgic and are a reason to learn from others and to bond and see how we're alike and how we're different. There are a lot of traditions my husband and I are starting now for our kids. Like those Advent calendars. I don't remember ever having one as a kid, but I love them. They're so fun and they spread joy through the month. But some old traditions will always make their way back in, like spending time with family, drinking hot cocoa or peppermint mochas from Starbucks and baking cookies. What is your favorite holiday tradition and why is it important to you?
- [27:52]
A
So what got your brain buzzing as you learned about The Power of Nostalgia and Traditions Today for me, the reminder that nostalgia can physically warm you up and even increase charitable giving or positive feelings is so cool. Pun intended. And I still love the story of the roast and the too small pan. It's a perfect example of how the way we've always done it isn't always based on logic or strategy. Especially right now, as we explore new channels and creative ways to connect, like our YouTube series, it's important to pause and examine the habits we've built in our businesses. Some traditions are worth keeping, others might be due for a thoughtful refresh. So as you leave the episode today, I want you to ponder this question. What is one tradition in your company or brand that might deserve a second look? And what might you gain by asking why? What if or how might we Instead of assuming it has to stay the same, come share your thoughts with me on social media. You'll find me as the Brainy Biz pretty much everywhere and as Melina Palmer on LinkedIn. And if you want a sneak peek, the new channel on YouTube has me as Brainymolina. There are links in the show notes to make it easy, as well as links for my top related past episodes and books, ways to get in touch, and more. It's all waiting for you in the app you're listening to and at the brainy business.com 528. And just like that, episode 528 on why our Brains Love Nostalgia and Traditions is done. Join me Thursday for another Brainy episode of the Brainy Business Podcast. It's going to be a lot of fun. You don't want to miss it. Until then, thanks again for listening and learning with me, and remember to be thoughtful.
- [29:41]
C
Thank you for listening to the Brainy Business Podcast. Molina offers virtual strategy sessions, workshops and other services to help businesses be more brain friendly. For more free resources, visit the brainy business dot com.