Psychoanalytic theory of upgrades/perks/status.
Mar 23, 2015, 9:42 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 502
Psychoanalytic theory of upgrades/perks/status.
In a bull session at our university faculty club a psych professor claimed that one reason people seek status/perks while flying is for a sense of control in what has become a helpless/powerless situation of being herded like cattle while flying.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Mar 23, 2015, 10:14 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 300
In a bull session at our university faculty club a psych professor claimed that one reason people seek status/perks while flying is for a sense of control in what has become a helpless/powerless situation of being herded like cattle while flying.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Does the professor consider low fares not to be a control issue? Aren't savings and assets control?
Mar 23, 2015, 10:26 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
Not much literature on the subject of airline status in particular, but here's some food for thought.
Feeling Superior: The Impact of Loyalty Program Structure on Consumers’ Perceptions of Status
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/593946
Feeling Superior: The Impact of Loyalty Program Structure on Consumers’ Perceptions of Status
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/593946
Status matters
because the need to compare oneself with others is
pervasive and often occurs whether or not individuals intend
to do so (Gilbert, Giesler, and Morris 1995) and without
them being aware of what they are doing (Stapel and Blanton
2004). Research has shown that people compare themselves
to someone who is either better off (upward comparison)
or worse off (downward comparison), and everyone engages
in each at one time or another (Wood 1996) and sometimes
both simultaneously (Taylor and Lobel 1989). Such comparisons
have an impact on people’s evaluations of their
satisfaction with life and are important when determining
subjective well-being (Diener 1984). Not surprisingly, people
feel better when they perceive themselves to be superior
rather than inferior to others (Giordano, Wood, and Michela
2000; Locke and Nekich 2000)
because the need to compare oneself with others is
pervasive and often occurs whether or not individuals intend
to do so (Gilbert, Giesler, and Morris 1995) and without
them being aware of what they are doing (Stapel and Blanton
2004). Research has shown that people compare themselves
to someone who is either better off (upward comparison)
or worse off (downward comparison), and everyone engages
in each at one time or another (Wood 1996) and sometimes
both simultaneously (Taylor and Lobel 1989). Such comparisons
have an impact on people’s evaluations of their
satisfaction with life and are important when determining
subjective well-being (Diener 1984). Not surprisingly, people
feel better when they perceive themselves to be superior
rather than inferior to others (Giordano, Wood, and Michela
2000; Locke and Nekich 2000)
Mar 23, 2015, 1:56 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
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Posts: 5,678
There's always a psychological/ego aspect to elite schemes, in the airline world or elsewhere. Heck, even the general reference to them as "Elite Programs" is part of that. Some things are trivial - e.g., a shiny silver/gold colored name tag...others can be worthwhile depending on one's travel pattern and needs.
That doesn't mean there aren't other drivers toward earning elite status in addition to the psychological aspect, that have value (such as better seating, getting on board before overhead bins are full, etc). Like any multiple incentive "carrot", it will vary from one individual to another which factor(s) are more effective.
That doesn't mean there aren't other drivers toward earning elite status in addition to the psychological aspect, that have value (such as better seating, getting on board before overhead bins are full, etc). Like any multiple incentive "carrot", it will vary from one individual to another which factor(s) are more effective.
Mar 23, 2015, 2:58 pm
#7
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I don't know...I think of the whole upgrade game as a total lack of control. I never know until a day or two before a flight whether or not I "won" the lottery. When I was UA 1K it was 4 days and a slightly higher "win" rate, but I still felt powerless. There was a vast chasm between the F and Y fares, far more than the actual value of F to me, making the seemingly-random upgrade game the only practical way to get the F seat.
In a bit of an ironic twist, a control freak should fly Spirit and buy the larger seat at booking time. That eliminates the variability and gets an F seat (in the basic short-haul 35" x 20" narrowbody sense) for approximately what most people would consider it to be worth.
But for every control freak out there, I think there's also someone out there who likes to gamble. Likes to hack the system and have the feeling of getting a "win". Simply buying the seat...regardless of how barebones or full-service it is...doesn't provide that thrill.
In a bit of an ironic twist, a control freak should fly Spirit and buy the larger seat at booking time. That eliminates the variability and gets an F seat (in the basic short-haul 35" x 20" narrowbody sense) for approximately what most people would consider it to be worth.
But for every control freak out there, I think there's also someone out there who likes to gamble. Likes to hack the system and have the feeling of getting a "win". Simply buying the seat...regardless of how barebones or full-service it is...doesn't provide that thrill.
Mar 23, 2015, 3:25 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2011
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As to upgrades, not status, I think the main psychological reason people is simply to get a much nicer experience - in other words, directly attributable to the objective benefits of it. (In my own case, I only started scrambling for upgrades after some horrible TATL experiences in coach, and once I tried it and got one, I thought I was a fool for not having done it before.) I can buy that some people (not all), take some comfort from the "comparison to others" element of having elite status, but I don't think it is a control thing, since there doesn't seem to be much control offered by it at all. (Though if UA wants to make me GS to see if that makes any difference, I'm willing to try it.)
Mar 23, 2015, 3:25 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2014
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Posts: 259
I don't know...I think of the whole upgrade game as a total lack of control. I never know until a day or two before a flight whether or not I "won" the lottery. When I was UA 1K it was 4 days and a slightly higher "win" rate, but I still felt powerless. There was a vast chasm between the F and Y fares, far more than the actual value of F to me, making the seemingly-random upgrade game the only practical way to get the F seat.
In a bit of an ironic twist, a control freak should fly Spirit and buy the larger seat at booking time. That eliminates the variability and gets an F seat (in the basic short-haul 35" x 20" narrowbody sense) for approximately what most people would consider it to be worth.
But for every control freak out there, I think there's also someone out there who likes to gamble. Likes to hack the system and have the feeling of getting a "win". Simply buying the seat...regardless of how barebones or full-service it is...doesn't provide that thrill.
In a bit of an ironic twist, a control freak should fly Spirit and buy the larger seat at booking time. That eliminates the variability and gets an F seat (in the basic short-haul 35" x 20" narrowbody sense) for approximately what most people would consider it to be worth.
But for every control freak out there, I think there's also someone out there who likes to gamble. Likes to hack the system and have the feeling of getting a "win". Simply buying the seat...regardless of how barebones or full-service it is...doesn't provide that thrill.
Mar 23, 2015, 5:07 pm
#10
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In a bull session at our university faculty club a psych professor claimed that one reason people seek status/perks while flying is for a sense of control in what has become a helpless/powerless situation of being herded like cattle while flying.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Let's face it some of these perks-priority bording/check in- are pretty trivial IMHO.
Mar 23, 2015, 7:16 pm
#11
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DMV
Posts: 2,092
I think the words "elite" and "status" say it all regarding the main psychological drivers.
But I think a big underrated element is the bargain hunter instinct. Far odder than the snobbery involved with it is the amount of effort involved in trying to "game" the system. There is a psychological drive to get the maximum amount of possible "discounts" out of a system. It's like a more upscale version of the bargain shopping hunters you see on those TV shows. I also think that's why there's so much hatred for minor fees on here. A lot of people on a forum like this are incredible cheapskates in spite of not lacking in funds.
But I think a big underrated element is the bargain hunter instinct. Far odder than the snobbery involved with it is the amount of effort involved in trying to "game" the system. There is a psychological drive to get the maximum amount of possible "discounts" out of a system. It's like a more upscale version of the bargain shopping hunters you see on those TV shows. I also think that's why there's so much hatred for minor fees on here. A lot of people on a forum like this are incredible cheapskates in spite of not lacking in funds.
Mar 23, 2015, 7:48 pm
#13
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 704
Personally I very much like upgrades bcs the seats are lie flat with a paitch of almost 80 inches,and the food is edible,but,ofcs thats just a rationalisation of a deeper psycological impulse,I dooooo know that,stupid that I am!!!
Mar 23, 2015, 9:19 pm
#14
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 164
There may be some truth to it. People will do lots of things for perceived "status".
The upgrade lottery is classic intermittent reinforcement (just like playing a slot machine).
For me, it's a cold-eyed calculation of cost vs. reward. I'm flying "x" many flights a year. If I keep them on one airline, I get status check in, 1st class security line, more available flights for saver rewards, access to the lounges during downtime (and the CSRs in the lounge during IRROPS). My airport is a United hub, so there are United non-stops pretty much wherever I need to go (making it practical to keep my flights on one airline).
Same with hotels.
By doing it, my wife and I could fly F to New Orleans and spend a week at the Waldorf, for nothing. We spent a week at Key West last year, and will spend a week somewhere else this year.
The upgrade lottery is classic intermittent reinforcement (just like playing a slot machine).
For me, it's a cold-eyed calculation of cost vs. reward. I'm flying "x" many flights a year. If I keep them on one airline, I get status check in, 1st class security line, more available flights for saver rewards, access to the lounges during downtime (and the CSRs in the lounge during IRROPS). My airport is a United hub, so there are United non-stops pretty much wherever I need to go (making it practical to keep my flights on one airline).
Same with hotels.
By doing it, my wife and I could fly F to New Orleans and spend a week at the Waldorf, for nothing. We spent a week at Key West last year, and will spend a week somewhere else this year.
Mar 23, 2015, 9:50 pm
#15
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Nothing stupid about seeking a lie-flat, spacious seat for an overnight flight. Nor does that have anything to do with control. It's about sleep, something rather essential to our psychological health.