Psychology says preferring experiences over possessions is a subtle sign of these 7 personality traits

If you instinctively reach for concert tickets instead of the newest phone, you are part of a growing psychological puzzle.

Two decades of research—from Thomas Gilovich’s seminal Cornell studies to hundreds of replications worldwide—keep finding the same thing: people derive deeper, more durable happiness from what they do than from what they own. Experiential spending boosts anticipation, stories and social bonds, while material spending fades into the background of ordinary life.

But the “experiential advantage” doesn’t just affect mood. A closer look at the data shows that people who habitually favour experiences over possessions share a distinctive psychological fingerprint. Below are seven personality traits that quietly surface when you pick a road-trip over retail therapy.

1. High Openness to Experience

One of the Big-Five traits, openness describes a curiosity about ideas, aesthetics and adventure. Open people actively seek novelty, complexity and diversity—precisely what experiences deliver.

Vacations, classes or festivals present fresh stimuli, whereas a new gadget quickly becomes familiar. Research reviews note that high-openness individuals score higher on creativity and feel comfortable with change, making them natural experiential shoppers.

Take-away: When you book that hiking retreat, you’re satisfying an inner appetite for novelty, learning and creative self-expression.

2. An Attitude of Gratitude

In a landmark set of six studies, Walker, Kumar and Gilovich found that reflecting on an experiential purchase elicited more gratitude than recalling a material one—and that surge of grateful feeling predicted greater generosity toward strangers.

Experiences are rich in unrepeatable moments, so we perceive them as gifts rather than entitlements. Gratitude, in turn, amplifies well-being and strengthens relationships.

Take-away: If you often feel thankful for memories rather than merchandise, that disposition fuels both personal happiness and prosocial behaviour.

3. Low Materialism & Intrinsic Values

Materialistic values tie happiness to status and stuff; experiential buyers show the opposite pattern.

In Leaf Van Boven’s experiments, partners who talked about a recent purchase liked each other less when the purchase was material and viewed the material-spender as self-centred, whereas experiential spenders came across as friendlier and more altruistic. University of Colorado Boulder Preferring experiences signals that your self-worth is grounded in growth, connection and meaning rather than displays of wealth.

Take-away: Choosing a weekend workshop over luxury jewellery is a behavioural hint that you orient toward intrinsic goals—learning, community and personal fulfilment.

4. Strong Social Connectedness & Extraversion

Even solitary adventures become stories we share; most experiences (concerts, travel, team sports) are inherently social. Three controlled experiments showed that experiential purchases alleviate loneliness because they enhance relationships—a mediating effect not found for material buys. Frontiers

Extraversion itself may not cause experiential spending, but a comfort with—and enjoyment of—social engagement reinforces the preference.

Take-away: If your calendar is filled with shared activities, you’re not just outgoing; you’re using experiences as social glue.

5. Mindfulness & Present-Moment Awareness

Mindfulness researchers argue that paying non-judgemental attention to the here-and-now reduces mindless consumption and down-regulates materialistic drives.

Bibliometric analyses show that mindfulness promotes non-materialistic values and more sustainable consumer behaviour. Nature Experiential spending aligns perfectly: it demands presence (you can’t “multitask” a sunset) and rewards sensory awareness.

Take-away: Your habit of spending on yoga retreats or cooking classes may reflect, and reinforce, a mindful orientation that values lived moments over visible trophies.

6. A Need for Autonomy & Self-Congruence

Self-determination theory posits three psychological nutrients—autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Recent studies show that recalling an expensive experiential purchase makes people feel more autonomous—that the choice expressed “who I really am”—compared with recalling an equally pricey material item.

This autonomy boost, in turn, predicts greater gratitude and easier justification of the expense. PubMed

Take-away: Selecting experiences over things hints that you like decisions that feel self-endorsed and values-congruent, not externally driven by trends or comparison.

7. Minimalist & Sustainability-Oriented Values

Minimalism research finds that people drawn to simpler living report higher well-being via a sense of environmental and ethical alignment. Experiential buyers, by definition, accumulate fewer physical goods and generate less waste, mirroring minimalist motives. PMC

This prosocial, eco-conscious bent often co-exists with conscientiousness and future-oriented thinking.

Take-away: If you’d rather learn scuba diving than fill another closet, you may be signalling a broader commitment to living lightly and responsibly.

Bringing the traits together

None of these characteristics exists in isolation. High openness fuels curiosity; curiosity invites mindful attention; mindful attention deepens gratitude; gratitude fosters social bonds; social bonds create stories that become part of the self, enhancing autonomy; and a self built on experiences, not objects, naturally leans toward minimalism. Each trait reinforces the next in an upward spiral of psychological flourishing.

Conversely, heavy material spending can trap us in a downward loop: status anxiety breeds comparison, comparison undermines gratitude, and clutter crowds out opportunities for rich experience. Understanding the personality profile behind experiential spending can therefore be a roadmap for personal development.

Practical tips to lean into experiences

1. Audit your budget: Allocate a fixed percentage to experiences—courses, trips, tickets—before discretionary shopping.

2. Plan for anticipation: Schedule experiences ahead of time; the waiting period itself lifts mood more than waiting for a package.

3. Seek micro-adventures: Not every experience needs airfare. A new hiking trail or museum counts.

4. Reflect and share: Keep a “memory journal” or photo diary; reliving events cements gratitude and social connection.

5. Practice mindful buying: When tempted by an item, pause and imagine spending the equivalent on an activity—then notice which option excites you more.

Final thoughts

Preferring experiences over possessions isn’t merely a spending style; it’s a psychological signature. It whispers that you are open-minded, grateful, socially attuned, mindful, self-directed and ethically grounded. Recognising these traits can help you cultivate them further—and perhaps nudge others toward choices that turn money into meaning rather than clutter. The next time you have disposable income, remember: the ticket, lesson or journey you choose might say more about who you are becoming than anything you could ever put on a shelf.