<p>I've noticed some people are more inclined to use something they paid for even when it's not the best use of their time or a substitute is freely available that better solves their problem. I.e. since they <em>paid</em> for (some thing) they want to <em>use</em> that thing.</p>
<p>What psychological phenomena explains this behaviour?</p>
<ul>
<li>I've noticed self-aware people &quot;hacking&quot; this quirk: e.g. buying an expensive gym membership so they actually go! ..and indeed, it works, they <em>do</em> go, whereas when they had a just-as-good free alternative, they didn't use it.</li>
<li>Although it happens with money, it can also happen without; for example if someone puts <em>time</em> into something and rational assessment does not support spending more time on it, they still may. It could also happen with a mixture of time and money.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-23T03:03:28.877Z
Sounds like sunk cost or escalation of commitment or cognitive dissonance; similar to these questions: [Name of the psychological phenomenon of doing something just because you've already started doing it?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/17648/7001) and [Is there a psychological term for enduring hardship to achieve a promised state?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/17323/7001)
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-23T05:52:19.350Z
*"I've noticed self-aware people "hacking" this quirk: e.g. buying an expensive gym membership so they actually go!"* I have noticed a lot of people who subscribe to gym membership for a year and don't go. They may go for a couple of months but then waste their money on unused membership. I have seen people buy an expensive kitchen or DIY tool only for it to sit on the shelf unused. There are opposites and [not all psychological phenomena needs a specific term in psychology other than the general term already applied](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/2374).
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-23T05:53:52.820Z
Is there something you read which makes you think it could be a psychological problem to just use something purely because it cost more money?
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-23T06:16:45.887Z
@ChrisRogers I don't think it's a problem at all; more an unintuitive feature (at least for me). I've seen a small number of people 'hack' this, but I'd like to explore it more and see if I can too. Some other random examples which *may* (or may not) be the same phenomena at play: [a self-imposed fine if you don't do something](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3nb_Qj3mRA&t=5m16s), and [bribing kids to perform better](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/freakonomics-goes-to-school-and-teaches-us-the-right-way-to-bribe-kids/258672/)
stevec
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-23T07:00:40.520Z
Well.. In the first part of your question, you're right.. this usually happens in people who don't trust themselves... but are self aware... they 'force' themselves to perform instead of just going to the gym, in your case. This also happens in case when someone isn't completely motivated.. or else, why would someone force themselves to do pay, instead of just moving ahead?
Suhan G Paradkar
<rationality>
Which psychological phenomena explains why someone would use something they paid for more than something that's free?
stevec
# Which psychological phenomena explains why someone would use something they paid for more than something that's free?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-01-23)

I've noticed some people are more inclined to use something they paid for even when it's not the best use of their time or a substitute is freely available that better solves their problem. I.e. since they *paid* for (some thing) they want to *use* that thing.

What psychological phenomena explains this behaviour?

* I've noticed self-aware people "hacking" this quirk: e.g. buying an expensive gym membership so they actually go! ..and indeed, it works, they *do* go, whereas when they had a just-as-good free alternative, they didn't use it.
* Although it happens with money, it can also happen without; for example if someone puts *time* into something and rational assessment does not support spending more time on it, they still may. It could also happen with a mixture of time and money.

**Tags:** rationality

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Sounds like sunk cost or escalation of commitment or cognitive dissonance; similar to these questions: [Name of the psychological phenomenon of doing something just because you've already started doing it?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/17648/7001) and [Is there a psychological term for enduring hardship to achieve a promised state?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/q/17323/7001)  
> **username_2**: *"I've noticed self-aware people "hacking" this quirk: e.g. buying an expensive gym membership so they actually go!"* I have noticed a lot of people who subscribe to gym membership for a year and don't go. They may go for a couple of months but then waste their money on unused membership. I have seen people buy an expensive kitchen or DIY tool only for it to sit on the shelf unused. There are opposites and [not all psychological phenomena needs a specific term in psychology other than the general term already applied](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/2374).  
> **username_2**: Is there something you read which makes you think it could be a psychological problem to just use something purely because it cost more money?  
> **username_0**: @ChrisRogers I don't think it's a problem at all; more an unintuitive feature (at least for me). I've seen a small number of people 'hack' this, but I'd like to explore it more and see if I can too. Some other random examples which *may* (or may not) be the same phenomena at play: [a self-imposed fine if you don't do something](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3nb_Qj3mRA&t=5m16s), and [bribing kids to perform better](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/06/freakonomics-goes-to-school-and-teaches-us-the-right-way-to-bribe-kids/258672/)  
> **username_3**: Well.. In the first part of your question, you're right.. this usually happens in people who don't trust themselves... but are self aware... they 'force' themselves to perform instead of just going to the gym, in your case. This also happens in case when someone isn't completely motivated.. or else, why would someone force themselves to do pay, instead of just moving ahead?  

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## 0 answers

