180. What Makes Some Objects Feel Special?

No Stupid Questions

Where does sentimental value come from? Why did Angela throw out her childhood journals? And would Mike wear Hitler’s sweater?

• SOURCES:
  • Jeffrey Galak, professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • John Irving, author.
  • Marie Kondo, professional organizer and consultant.
  • Paul Rozin, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Yang Yang, research scientist at the Institute of Behavioral Research at Texas Christian University.

• RESOURCES:
  • "Experiences Endure," by Angela Duckworth (Character Lab, 2022).
  • "Study Finds That THESE Are the Most Valued Family Heirlooms," by SWNS Staff (SWNS, 2021).
  • "Micro Wave: How 'Bout Dem Apple...Seeds," by Thomas Lu, Madeline K. Sofia, and Brit Hanson (Short Wave, 2021).
  • "Sentimental Value and Its Influence on Hedonic Adaptation," by Yang Yang and Jeffrey Galak (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2015)
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, by Marie Kondo (2010).
  • "A Real-Life Version of the Hitler’s Sweater Experiment," by David Berreby (Big Think, 2010).
  • "The Makings of the Magical Mind: The Nature and Function of Sympathetic Magical Thinking," by Carol Nemeroff and Paul Rozin (Imagining the Impossible: Magical, Scientific, and Religious Thinking in Children, 2000).
  • "Operation of the Laws of Sympathetic Magic in Disgust and Other Domains," by Paul Rozin, Linda Millman, and Carol Nemeroff (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1986).

• EXTRAS:
  • "How Do You Connect With Someone You Just Met?" by No Stupid Questions (2023).
  • "Do You Savor or Gobble?" by No Stupid Questions (2022).
  • "Why Do We Hoard?" by No Stupid Questions (2020).
  • The Twilight Saga, by Stephanie Meyer (2005-2020).
  • A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving (1989).