Diderot effect

The Diderot effect is a phenomenon that occurs when acquiring a new possession leads to a spiral of consumption that results in the acquisition of even more possessions. In other words, buying something new can cause a chain reaction leading to one buying more and more things. Each new item makes one feel like one needs other things to go with it or to keep up with it. This can lead to overspending and accumulating more possessions than one needs or uses.

The term was coined by anthropologist and scholar of consumption patterns Grant McCracken in 1986, and is named after the French philosopher Denis Diderot (1713–1784), who first described the effect in an essay titled "Regrets for my Old Dressing Gown, or, A warning to those who have more taste than fortune".

The term has been used in discussions of sustainable consumption and green consumerism, in regard to the process whereby a purchase or gift creates dissatisfaction with existing possessions and environment, provoking a potentially spiraling pattern of consumption with negative environmental, psychological, and social impacts.

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