Introduction
Have you ever bought anything that is absolutely useless?
Have you ever bought anything useful, but it is for the useless item you bought earlier?
This cycle just goes on and on, and you will end up with tons of useless stuff.
And yup! This is a phenomenon we call The Birdcage Effect.
What is the birdcage effect?
Here’s the Birdcage Logic.
You never had any pets before, and you don’t feel like having a pet animal.
One day, your friend sends you a well-decorated but empty birdcage as your birthday present, and they tell you to put it on your table because it looks great there. Of course, you agreed, so now you have an empty birdcage on your table.
For the next few days, multiple people pass by your table and ask you if you got a pet bird and where it is. After you answer no, people start to suggest you get one for the birdcage
Some time passes, and one day, as you are enjoying your morning coffee, you spot the empty birdcage. Then you start to think – it indeed will look good if there’s a bird inside the cage. Therefore, you jump into your car, determined to get a pet bird
After you bought a beautiful pet bird and placed it into a cage, the bird and the birdcage look very fit on your table. So you kept it, and now you have a pet bird.
In the near future, you realize you are spending a lot of money on your bird: you bought bird treats, toys, and even clothes. However, because those are necessary things for a pet bird; so, you keep adding more items to the bird’s bill and do not notice anything wrong.
Let’s think, is there anything wrong?
Consequences of the birdcage effect
As the name suggested – the birdcage effect hinders people’s ability to think from the outside of the scenario in a birdcage.
In this case, the birdcage your friend gave you trapped your brain. You buy a pet bird – which you never thought about having – because of the birdcage. This effect is mainly caused by you voluntarily assuming that the birdcage is part of your table; it acts as one of the conditions instead of a variable – which it is supposed to be.
However, you are unlikely to notice that, just like the old saying, “bystanders are clear, and authorities are obsessed.” Therefore, you will end up spending the necessary money on something unnecessary.
The birdcage effect took place more often than you think. For example, buy 1 get 1 for free – the discount caged you so that you are getting something excess that is unneeded.
How to escape from the birdcage effect
Now, it comes to how to avoid the birdcage effect.
First, we need to be result-oriented; impulsion is illogical and often does not give us the best outcome. Therefore, in order to get rid of the impulsiveness when dealing with a birdcage, telling yourself to consider the result before stepping on the path is a wise approach. Giving yourself a direction of where you want to go and where you can’t go will help you to make better decisions and effectively terminate impulsive actions.
Moreover, it’s crucial to keep in mind that less is typically better than more. For example, when given a “birdcage,” throwing away the birdcage may seem ignorant and wasteful; however, it will stop you from getting a bird and spending – or more precisely, wasting – more money on unnecessary things. In contrast, if you keep the birdcage, you profit only at the beginning – you get a birdcage, yet as time goes on, as you are investing more and more for the birdcage, you are not profiting anymore; instead, you start to waste money.
Conclusion
The Birdcage effect is one of the psychological effects that are most difficult to get rid of. However, it can be deterred if we properly control our irrational desires.
The birdcage effect teaches the lesson: Do not let an object authorize your action, but let your logical mind orient your decision. Put the focal point of investment on yourself instead of a birdcage.
Discussion Question:
Have you ever experienced the birdcage effect? What is it?
