Why Do We Feel the Need to Collect So Many Things? — Here’s How the Urge to Accumulate May Have Helped Our Ancestors Survive

A lot of people love to collect things, whether it is books, toys, or even expensive items like luxury cars and watches. There are also others who don’t even categorize themselves as collectors, but still subconsciously keep extra food, tools, and cash. This strong urge to accumulate resources is common for a reason.

It is true that there are individuals who do them for fun, but others do it to make themselves feel safer. But why exactly did we develop this habit as a species? Could it have some evolutionary roots that once helped our ancestors survive their harsh world? Let’s dive deeper into our past to explore these questions about why we love collecting things.

What Does It Mean to “Collect” Things?

First off, what exactly does it mean for someone to collect things? Is it just about buying all the sequels of your favorite books? Well, collecting means gathering certain items in a planned manner. These objects are then often organized with extreme care to be displayed later on.

For many collectors, this hobby gives them a sense of pride and joy. They would collect stamps, coins, trading cards, and even souvenirs from places they have visited. In a lot of cases, these habits also give individuals a personal identity, that they are someone who loves to collect these specific things.

For example, there would be people who buy a Ferrari because they wanted to show off, to flaunt their wealth, or to just experience the vehicle itself. However, there would be exotic car collectors who would spend a fortune on it, just because the act of collecting it is a part of themselves. But why do our logical brains allow us to have this habit, and actually make it feel good?

Read more: Wikipedia

Why Collecting Feels So Good to Our Brains

Our Brains are Wired to Collect Things | Daniel Krawczyk | TEDxSMU

Collecting often feels rewarding, especially for people who do it deliberately. Each new piece of an item could feel like a reward, as our brains release dopamine, which is a chemical linked to pleasure and motivation. Some of the possible reasons behind it are that adding a new collection could give a sense of achievement for the collectors. So, adding more pieces to it could be like winning a prize over and over again.

Another reason could be that collecting could give people a sense of control. When someone becomes a collector, they usually will be the ones to choose what types of items to collect, they learn about it, and then work hard to try to get every item belonging in that collection. These items could also symbolize a special memory, person, or experience. So, in a way, they could be considered as part of their story and identity.

How Saving and Storing Helped Our Ancestors Survive

In today’s world, collecting items may just be a dopamine-centric hobby. One that gives humans a sense of joy, control, achievement, and identity. Some would even consider it unnecessary; however, what if hundreds of thousands of years ago, collecting was actually a skill that was vital for our ancestors to survive?

In the past, gathering resources was not always easy. The environment changes, and shifts in seasons or climate could literally deprive humans of food and supplies. So, being able to collect resources and store them could mean the difference between living and starving during scarcity.

Additionally, this is not unique to humans, because there are a lot of species in the animal kingdom that have learned how to collect things. Examples include squirrels, birds, and even some rodents. They all love to gather food supplies and store them in a safe location to prepare for bad days like the winter season or harsh climate changes that transform their natural habitats.

Early humans likely faced the same challenges. During winter, vegetation may completely go away, and animal herds could migrate to warmer environments. So, human beings who were adept at collecting and storing their resources to prepare for these types of seasons may have been the ones who survived and were able to pass on their traits and characteristics to their offspring, like the strong urge to want to collect things.

In the modern day, we may still carry this old mindset of saving a resource for later. This is especially observable during times of uncertainty, when people would often rush to grocery stores to buy and stockpile goods, such as before storms or during crises. So, maybe that is why we still love to collect things, no matter if it is our favorite books or expensive watches. Our brains may still have the hardwiring that kept our ancestors alive back in their days.

Read more: Psychology Today

Author's Final Thoughts

Prehistoric Hunter Gatherer Societies: Exploring the Lives and Cultures of Early Humans

Our need and want to collect things is part of being human. If our ancestors did not have that trait, it probably would have been a different world. Their brains may have been hardwired to release dopamine, or a feel-good chemical, when they were able to successfully collect a piece of resources, because back then it could have meant the difference between surviving one more day or not.

Understanding why we collect things, both in how our brains work and our history, could give us a better balance on how to enjoy this now fun and meaningful hobby. It may not have been as crucial today to have this skill or to have this strong urge to collect, but it could have once ensured the survival of our species, from the Stone Age to the present day.

Read next: Why Do We Remember Rare and Dramatic Events More Than Common Ones? — Here’s How the Availability Heuristic Once Kept Our Ancestors Alive

References & Further Reading

Bergstrom, T. C. (2014). On the evolution of hoarding, risk-taking, and wealth distribution in nonhuman and human populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1400817111

Pravosudov, V. V., & Smulders, T. V. (2010). Integrating ecology, psychology and neurobiology within a food-hoarding paradigm. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2009.0216

Apicella, C. L., Azevedo, E. M., Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2014). Evolutionary origins of the endowment effect: Evidence from hunter-gatherers. American Economic Review. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.6.1793