Dopamine Made Them Do It: Can You Spot the Esteem Addict’s Car?

by Charlize Roselli on July 6, 2011

“Man will do many many things to get himself loved; he will do all things to get himself envied.”   – Mark Twain 

Spotting esteem addicts can be tricky. For example, many SUV drivers have practical reasons for buying their environmentally unfriendly vehicles. At the same time, significant numbers of hybrid vehicle owners admit they were willing to pay thousands of dollars extra for underpowered and uncomfortable cars specifically to feed their esteem needs.

OK, so most hybrid owners didn’t actually admit or even understand that dopamine made them choose cars to feed esteem needs. What we do know is when Honda and Toyota introduced their first hybrids, the Toyota hybrid was a huge success and the Honda hybrid an enormous failure. Why? Because the first wave of drivers who rushed out to buy hybrids wanted the world to think they were special. Toyota won the sales race hands down by introducing a new and impossible-to-miss Prius. Honda lost because they dropped their hybrid engine into an old model nobody noticed.

It seems safe to say that while many Prius drivers are genuinely concerned about the environment, an awful lot of them aren’t all that different from insecure Hummer owners who care much more about boosting their image than about money, gas, or pollution.

What do you think?

Is it possible to explain to Hummer or Prius drivers who are angered by this post that their reactions are a symptom of esteem addiction?

Discussion

One Response to “Dopamine Made Them Do It: Can You Spot the Esteem Addict’s Car?”

  1. Absolutely esteem addiction. As a Vegan I encounter this all the time. So many Vegans prefer to preach morality, and continually involve themselves in endless/mindless arguments and then brag about :/ Then there are the ones who are hooked on the drama-fix of Veganism. All they can do is share the slaughtering films and cry about how barbaric humans are.

    What I have found most interesting is how few Vegans are aware that we humans are anatomically and physiologically herbivore/frugivore, and only know the most superficial aspects of the environmental devastation from humans meat and dairy (MAD) consumption… it’s all about the drama – the D-fix.

    What you folks may find interesting is the fact that when I bring up cognitive dissonance to Vegans, and speak to the facts that humans really do not know what they do, I get attacked, and thanks to you all, now I know why… VERY COOL learning here!

    I am certain you will find my DA somewhere in here 🙂 so please let me know where my addiction/fix is.

    GROK to you all :’)

    Posted by Lain | July 29, 2011, 10:50 pm

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