Purchasing a well-designed, visually appealing product — anything from a calculator to a pair of sunglasses — may send you home with a cheerier disposition and feeling better about yourself after a day of shopping. In fact, even a choice that is less practical than its retail shelf mates, as long as it is more attractive, often gives a consumer a self-affirmation boost, according to research by Claudia Townsend, an assistant professor of marketing at the School.

Townsend describes self-affirmation as “a process by which a person becomes more confident and aware of his or her values.” She explains that it is strongly linked to how consumers act when shopping and choosing between similar products.

People may feel guilty when they pay a premium for a better-looking product, she says, yet we are all predisposed to picking items that are indicative of what we aspire to be, and associating oneself with a beautiful product improves a consumer’s sense of self. Townsend’s research, conducted with Sanjay Sood at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, found that product choices are often based on consumers’ desire to reaffirm their self-confidence.

“Owning a product that looks nice — regardless of whether it helps or hinders functionality — may make us more attractive to others and similarly boost our sense of self,” she says. The research also found that those who chose a product with betterlooking design were more open to counterarguments when discussing matters they felt strongly about, in addition to being less likely to commit to a failing course of action, indicating a strong sense of confidence. “We propose that the ‘beauty premium’ often found in judgments of people applies to product choice, such that when something is good looking it is often perceived as good in other, unrelated areas as well,” she says.

What does this say about how you should shop? Quite a lot, actually. Although buyer’s remorse may strike after the purchase of a highly attractive product, it shouldn’t, according to Townsend. “It should be Okay to like good-looking things,” she says. “If something makes you feel good about yourself, you’ll treat people better.” Townsend’s paper, “Self-Affirmation Through the Choice of Highly Aesthetic Products,” will be published in the August 2012 edition of the Journal of Consumer Research.