Houses are getting bigger in the United States even as the birth rate is falling. The change appears to prevent people from keeping all of their possessions, ultimately encouraging hoarding. For example, the demand for houses with large closets is growing every day.
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There are also many people who turn bedrooms into large closets or storage areas for things. According to some sources consulted, about 10% of Americans rent storage space to solve the space problem. So it can be said that the line between healthy and pathological buying behavior is very fine if you take these points into account.
Psychologists are now faced with the problem of distinguishing between hoarders and foragers, as this is a problem that affects around 30% of adults. In London, they conducted studies using a few different methods. We interviewed 29 participants with an accumulation disorder and another 20 people who call themselves collectors. During the analysis, the researchers were able to identify some differences between them.
See 12 Ways to Differentiate
1. Selectivity
It could be observed that collectors focus on a certain type of objects, while accumulators collect and store other things. Collectors grouped six types of objects, while others collected an average of 15.
2. Planning
Anyone who values a collection has thought everything through and organized it carefully. Hoarders did not plan or arrange objects. It didn’t matter where exactly they landed.
3. Excessive Acquisition
Hoarders buy or keep twice as many items as gatherers, although both struggle with overacquisition of objects and things. However, it could be seen that the collectors delimit a space for the collections. Others leave it stacked throughout the house for years.
4. Clutter
Collectors organize what they acquire carefully, accumulators do not! Which leads to clutter and even harm to them.
5. Fear
Some reported enjoying this process of collecting, searching, and buying objects. Others admitted feelings of distress and disorder. The only caveat is that some collectors have also pointed out some fears gleaned from other sources such as: B. the unhappiness of the partner with whom they live.
6. Social Disability
Accumulators have many prejudices and social deficiencies towards collectors. For them, the loss is small. From the tests it can be observed that the collectors were married and the collectors were single.
7. Disability
Collectors show a high level of dedication to the work. The others don’t.
8. Motives to collect
Hoarders are more likely to collect than collectors themselves, as they believed certain items would be useful in the future and also because of the compulsion to shop.
9. Reasons for keeping the objects
Both groups struggle with discarding items, but collectors were found to be more willing to do so as they did not want to create waste. It was also noted that there were some similarities in motivations such as: B. believing that the item would be valuable in some way later or that it was part of their personality or identity.
10. Collector identification
Half of the collectors identified themselves as collectors, while all accumulators claimed to be collectors.
11. Other psychiatric disorders
In this case, although very common in both groups, more hoarders had an Axis 1 disorder than gatherers.
12. Demographics
Finally, it has been observed that the gatherers are more educated and maintain larger homes than the gatherers. Previous research has found that hoarders tend to have lower incomes compared to foragers.