Peter Murrell shows how power and entitlement can corrupt our decision-making

In cases like this, the behaviour is often less about the actual objects and more about what buying them does emotionally.

Purchasing can create a temporary sense of excitement, reward, or control. Over time, that can become habitual.

The secrecy usually develops because people feel shame, fear judgment, or become very good at compartmentalising their behaviour. Understanding those psychological processes helps explain how it happens, but of course, that doesn’t remove responsibility for the choices that were made.

I work exclusively with high-profile figures in the public eye and people of high net worth, and I have seen how power and entitlement can sometimes distort judgment.

Where somebody has access to money, resources, or authority over a long period, they can gradually normalise behaviour that would once have felt unacceptable to them. A gradual escalation. They are often surrounded by wealthy people and feel they want the same.

It often doesn’t begin with a huge transgression. Psychologically, people rarely wake up one morning and decide to commit a major fraud. What we often see is a gradual erosion of boundaries, where behaviour becomes easier to justify to oneself over time.

Many people who engage in secretive behaviour become very skilled at psychological compartmentalisation. They keep different parts of their lives mentally separated, allowing them to see themselves as a good person while simultaneously doing something they know others would object to.

When we see repeated purchases of items that are barely used, we’re often looking at behaviour that serves an emotional function. The excitement often comes from obtaining the item, rather than actually possessing it. This can be one reason why someone might hide their purchases.

People sometimes use spending to manage stress, anxiety, emptiness, low mood, frustration, loneliness, or feelings of inadequacy.

An extravagant purchase can create anticipation, excitement, a sense of reward, and a temporary boost in mood. The problem is that that feeling fades, so the behaviour has to be repeated over and over, like an addiction, an emotional “hit”.

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Honey Langcaster-James is a TV & Radio Psychologist & Speaker.

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