Stamp Chat S2E5: Inside the Head of a Collector: Neuropsychological Forces at Work

Approximately one-third of the population enjoys collecting objects, which provides intellectual stimulation, the thrill of the chase, and the opportunity to leave a legacy. However, the same pursuit can also engender pain, such as paying too much for an object, unknowingly buying a fake, or dealing with the frustrations of collection dispersal. Until recently, there was no objective way to enhance the positive (pleasure) aspects of collecting and minimize the negative (pain) aspects.
Now, for the first time, scientific research in neuro- and behavioral economics gives us a way to turn this around. Using examples from these disciplines, Shirley M. Mueller, M.D., relates her own experiences as a serious collector and neuroscientist to examine different behavioral traits that form the basis of collecting.
About the Presenter: Board-certified in neurology and psychiatry, Shirley M. Mueller, M.D., is internationally recognized as a lecturer and author in neuropsychology and as a collector and scholar of Chinese export porcelain. She is an adjunct professor in the Department of Neurology at Indiana University.

[@ThriftShopHustler]

Interesting talk for sure. I've always found the psychology aspect of collecting fascinating.

[@GreatStampAdventure]

Fascinating presentation. Thanks!

[@mariamarrero3494]

Thanks!!! It justifies my love/hate relationship with philately!! “The process of collecting stimulates our pleasure center which enhances our quality of life. Still, our collecting decisions involve a struggle between our emotions and logic.
By understanding this, we can not only increase pleasure and diminish pain, we can also make better life decisions in general.”

[@bzurer]

I have also often wondered about why I collect stamps. But I also question why I am a little uncomfortable about it. I have a theory which I will propose at the end.
In the late 1950's the mother of one of my school friends organized a weekly stamp club for us kids. As you know, at that time, stamp collecting was wildly popular, especially among boys aged around 7-12. I grew up in Manhattan. Nassau Street and Times Square were teeming with stamp stores. I became passionate about it. My interest disappeared when I hit puberty and more pressing passions took center stage.
When I was in my forties and married with children my passion for stamps returned. It was a way to escape (for the moment) the weight of the responsibilities I had willingly and fully taken on as a father and husband. At some point, when our children entered adolescence and my parents started becoming more infirm, again my interest gave way to more important concerns.
Now, in my middle seventies my interest has returned. My parents are gone, my children are grown and I have sufficient money so I don't have to work or struggle. But, having reached this age, I have a natural trepidation about what is to come. Stamps (again, just for the moment) offer a place of safety, a place where I can create a world that is totally under my control and in which I can get lost. That's another way to describe the flow state you mentioned.
So here's the theory.
When was it that I first experienced that safe place? It was a time when my responsibilities were few or none and I could get entirely lost. It was at the period in my life when I entered what Freud terms the 'latency stage'. I propose that my interest in stamp collecting is a desire to go back to that time, if only for a little while, to live in that safe haven.
And that's the rub. Perhaps, underneath it all, I am uncomfortable or even a little ashamed about going there. It is summed up in that the brilliant line from "Lyin' Eyes" by Don Henley and Glenn Frey. "I guess every form of refuge has its price"

[@funhistory]

The first time the monkey throws the cucumber back & shakes the glass in anger at 35:24 ... 😂

[@gilanganeh1]

Has she published an article on it ?