November 18, 2025

The Hidden Psychology of Black Friday - How do shops manipulate us (and make calm aunties fist-fight over PlayStations)?

28 minutes

Inner Peace vs Retail Rage - How do shops design our experience to remove our decisions and make us to FOMO into all sorts of weird situations?

This episode peels back the slick banners and countdown timers to show the tiny psychological tricks that turn shoppers into hunters. Scarcity, anchoring, and anticipation aren’t marketing buzzwords — they’re brain hacks.

Retailers riff off ancient instincts: spot a rare fruit, grab it. Online, those instincts run on caffeine and fast clicks. The result? We chase status, reassurance, and an imagined better life via objects.

Three actionable takeaways:

Pause 24 hours before you buy to let impulse die.

Flag “true needs” vs “story purchases” in a list.

Reframe purchases as stories you’ll tell later.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 The Contradiction of Black Friday

00:42 A Brief History of Black Friday

01:02 The Psychology Behind Sales

06:28 The Power of Anticipation

06:47 The Perfect Storm of Psychological Triggers

07:57 Case Studies of Black Friday Madness

09:18 The Dark Side of Black Friday

09:41 The Role of Deindividuation and Competition

10:15 Social Contagion and Polyvagal Theory

10:48 Acts of Kindness Amidst the Chaos

12:19 Cyber Monday and Online Shopping

12:44 The Shift to Online Shopping

16:26 The Environmental Cost of Black Friday

18:32 Global Perspectives on Black Friday

18:44 Black Friday in Brazil and France

19:40 Singles Day in China

20:18 Human Nature Revealed by Black Friday

20:31 The Irrationality of Value

21:35 The Social Dynamics of Black Friday

22:18 Final Thoughts on Black Friday

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By Sam Webster Harris | Growth Mindset Psychology

4.5

325325 ratings