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Bloom's "Lure of Luxury" thesis explains that people are drawn to luxury items not just because of their quality but also because status they project. He argues that we value things like designer brands or rare collectibles because of their history, authenticity, and the signaling they give off.

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What is signaling? What does it mean to be cool? What makes you cool? (Signaling)

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What is signaling? What does it mean to be cool? What makes you cool? (Signaling)

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This discussion of signaling theory highlights how human behavior and consumer choices are often driven by the desire for social approval. Paul Bloom starts this citation by mentioning, “Signaling is a theory with broad scope… Consistent with this, neuroscience studies reveal that when people look at products they judge to be ‘cool,’ brain areas associated with praise and social approval are activated.” (3)  What does this mean? It means that the concept of signaling applies to a large range of human behaviors and social interactions, basically the motivation to why they act the way they act. Since signaling is relevant in many aspects of life, it's considered a theory with broad applicability. It helps to explain behaviors and consumer choices. He also uses the example, "Your spouse and children love you because you bought the right brand of frozen pizza." This citation made me analyze how he uses this as an example to show that buying certain products will let someone earn respect and social approval. By choosing the "right" brand, you might be signaling that you care about their preferences, that you are attentive to the small details that make them happy, or that you are financially able or willing to make a certain purchase. This applies to the thesis, which states, "...people are drawn to luxury items not just because of their quality but also because status they project." Since it directly ties into the concept of signaling, luxury items aren't just valued for their expensive quality. They are also valuable because they signal something about the person who owns them, such as wealth, taste, or success. Bloom's use of the frozen pizza example and the thesis about luxury items both show how people are often motivated by signals. The idea is that we don't always make decisions based solely on functional needs but also on the messages our choices send to others.

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What makes something valuable? (Celebrity Endowment Effect)

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What makes something valuable? (Celebrity Endowment Effect)

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In the article, Bloom's exploration of consumer behavior reveals how social influence and perceived status shape purchasing decisions, showing that people often seek objects to not just use them but to have a connection of desirability or historical significance. According to Bloom's quote, “Consumers are more likely to buy something that has been touched or tried on by a physically attractive person… In a 1996 auction, President John F. Kennedy’s golf clubs sold for $772,500, and a tape measure from the Kennedy household sold for $48,875…Then we asked how much they would pay for a specific object, such as a sweater, that was owned and used by this person. When our subjects were told that the object would be thoroughly sterilized before it got to them, they dropped their offers by a third.” (6) This citation shows that people often look to others, especially those they perceive as socially desirable, to guide their purchasing decisions. Seeing an attractive person interact with a desired product hints that they have an aspirational lifestyle. This makes a consumer more likely to buy the product, believing it will enhance their own lives. To follow up with that idea, Bloom states, "In a 1996 auction, President John F. Kennedy’s golf clubs sold for $772,500, and a tape measure from the Kennedy household sold for $48,875." This quote shows how objects that are associated with historical figures can command extremely high prices due to their worth as people. JFK's golf clubs and even a simple tape measure became valuable because of their connection to his legacy and status. The high auction prices show that rarity and historical significance play a major role in determining an item's worth. This supports the thesis by demonstrating that people value luxury items not just for their material qualities but for the status, history, and authenticity they carry.

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Almost all of my peers are on TikTok. I've seen this trend that feels very fake. It feels like every day there's a new green juice, face cream, or any type of treatment. But do these things even really work? Or is it just signaling? I feel like these posts make young girls feel like they NEED these things when, in reality, they're just fine without it.

An article from Newsweek mentioned, "Tips and tricks for detoxification are seemingly endless, from vegetable juicing to saunas and special herbal teas, but it remains unclear whether these methods are effective." This part of the article stood out to me because it really does feel that there are new things in the media to "better yourself," but what makes these the best products? What qualifies these items as superior?

Social media creates the illusion that drinking green juice or following a wellness routine signifies personal development. The reality, however, is that maturity is often unrelated to these surface-level choices. It's concerning that something as simple as a daily drink can be viewed as evidence of self-care or responsibility when, in reality, it's just another consumer choice driven by trends. This plays into the making of well-being, where brands capitalize on the idea that personal growth can be purchased rather than cultivated through real experiences.

I can relate this "green juice" example to Bloom's "frozen pizza" analogy since he mentioned my spouse and children would love me due to the right brand of pizza. This relates to the green and detox juices because if you do these things, the public views you as "healthy and put together." The public eye sets different things at a maturity level that even just drinking a green juice is seen as maturity. Bloom's analogy suggests that external choices, like the brand of frozen pizza you buy, can influence how others perceive you rather than deeper qualities. Drinking green juices or detox products can function as a status symbol that signals a health-conscious lifestyle. This highlights how consumer habits become shorthand for personal identity in a society that relates purchasing decisions with character.

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Every five years, I would go to Niagara Falls for vacation. One time, I went on a tour, and they told me about a man, named Jean Lussier, who fell down the falls in a rubber ball and survived. That story has stuck with me for a while since it was so crazy. The man survived and proceeded to sell pieces of the rubber ball that he fell down the falls with. Soon enough, people noticed he wasn't running out of rubber and realized they were being scammed. He got sued and was in complete shame by his "fans." A Niagara Falls Information article mentioned this exact story, "In order to profit from his success, Lussier began selling off pieces of debris, from his rubber ball, to tourists. When he sold out Lussier began selling pieces of rubber that he purchased from a nearby tire store." This citation really proves how desperate Lussier was for fame that he scammed his own fans just to make more money. The fact that people were in lines, wasting good money just to get pieces of this rubber ball, shows how items with history and meaning really mean to people. This is a great example of Bloom's point of JFK's gold clubs being sold at such a high price, but people will still buy them due to the history. Bloom argues that people assign deep emotional and symbolic value to objects connected to important figures or events. Just as JFK's golf clubs were not inherently special as gold equipment but became priceless because of their association with him, Lussier's rubber ball became valuable because of its connection to his survival story. Even when the rubber he sold was fake, people were still drawn to it, much like how people might overpay for memorabilia simply because of the perceived historical weight it carries. It makes me wonder, Is the value in the object itself or the story attached to it? People often justify paying a lot of money with historical meaning, even when those items are functionally no different from regular objects.

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“History of Niagara Falls Daredevils - Jean Lussier.” Niagara Falls Info, 3 Feb. 2017, www.niagarafallsinfo.com/niagara-falls-history/niagara-falls-tourism-history/daredevils-of-niagara-falls/jean-lussier/.

Bloom, Paul. “The Lure of Luxury.” Boston Review, 22 Oct. 2015, www.bostonreview.net/forum/paul-bloom-lure-luxury/.

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Hatty Willmoth. “Detox Tea: Does the TikTok Trend Work? Experts Explain.” Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2024, www.newsweek.com/detox-tea-tiktok-does-it-work-nutritionist-explains-1974487. Accessed 18 Feb. 2025.

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How do you value certain objects? (History)

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How do you value certain objects? (History)

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Objects are valued for their functionality or social signaling, Bloom highlights that some items hold deep emotional significance, demonstrating that personal history and sentimental attachment can make certain possessions irreplaceable. “Then there are more personal cases. Think about your wedding ring on your child’s baby shoes. Such objects serve no practical purpose, they need not to be beautiful in any sensory way, and they are useless as signals.” (7) In this citation, Bloom developed further the idea that valued objects are functional and signal to the public. By mentioning items that hold sentiment like a wedding ring, he demonstrates that certain objects hold deep emotional significance despite lacking status-enhancing qualities. These items lose their value from emotional attachment rather than external validation. This suggests that signaling plays a really big role in how people purchase certain items. Bloom dives deeper into this idea by demonstrating the experiment that proves people's preferences for items with history, “We then fooled the children into believing that we had made perfect copies of their attachment objects and asked them which they wanted to take home, the original or the duplicate. They tended to want the original” (7) This experiment with children’s objects shows the deep emotional connection people form with significant items that hold history. Even when they were presented with duplicates, they still preferred the original, suggesting that the value of these items as replaceable possessions but as unique carriers of personal history. The study reinforces the idea that certain objects hold intrinsic emotional meaning, making them irreplaceable regardless of their physical appearance.

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Does hard work and effort change how you see certain objects? (Ikea effect)

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Does hard work and effort change how you see certain objects? (Ikea effect)

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The effort and personal involvement shape the way people value objects and experiences. Bloom argues that increased accessibility may diminish satisfaction while mental factors, rather than consumer culture alone, influence how individuals assign worth. Bloom demonstrates this when he states, “...the Web has made it far easier to listen to a song or watch a movie or buy a book, and this arguable leads to a corresponding drop in the pleasure of listening, watching, or reading. Laboratory studies show that you like something more if you built it yourself–the “Ikea Effect.” (6) This quote suggests that increased accessibility to entertainment and consumer goods may paradoxically reduce the satisfaction derived from them. The ease of doing something like streaming a song removes the effort traditionally associated with acquiring these things. He introduces and references the “Ikea effect,” a psychological phenomenon where people tend to value things more if they contribute to their creation. This shows that effort and personal involvement enhance how a person feels about an item. When something requires work to have, it gives it more meaning. This is also seen when Bloom explains how this effect takes place, “Some of these effects might be the product of living in a consumer society, but this can’t be the whole story. For instance, the conclusion that individuals value an object less if they had previously rejected it does not apply only to market-savvy consumers” (6) The way people assign value to objects is influenced by more than just consumer culture. Living in a consumer-driven society may amplify these behaviors. Bloom argues that certain patterns, such as devaluing an item after rejecting it, are not exclusive to experienced consumers. He slowly starts to develop more of his argument as he implies that consumer behavior is not solely shaped by external economic systems but also by personal mental beliefs that influence how people perceive and assign value.

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Paul Bloom’s main thesis ends with the endowment effect. I believe that it ties down to the endowment effect. Bloom uses an example of the endowment effect and mentions, “It is clear, though, that we can be influenced by the history of an object even when it has nothing to do with communicating status or with differences in quality. One example of this is the endowment effect– you come to value an object, such as a mug, more if you own it” (5) Bloom introduces the endowment effect throughout this entire article but specifically in this citation, he introduces it by suggesting people placing greater value on objects simply because they own them. This suggests that attachment and personal association can increase an item’s worth in our minds, even if its value remains unchanged. This effect shows how mental state can affect ownership and plays a key role in consumer behavior. Bloom backs up his argument by mentioning another example, stating, “You also value an object more if you purposefully chose it than if it was just handed to you. And you value it less if you had previously rejected it. You enjoy something to a greater degree if you had to work to get it, a phenomenon that may have serious implications for modern life…” (6) This quote expands even further on this idea, emphasizing that value is also shaped by the process through which an object is acquired. Bloom also introduces the idea that effort enhances appreciation, when people work hard to obtain something, they tend to derive greater satisfaction from it. This relates to the “Ikea Effect,” where personal effort increases emotional attachment to an object. Together, these ideas suggest that human valuation is deeply mental and influenced not just by an object’s material properties but by the person's experiences and decisions associated with it.