Seen At 11: The Science Of Shopping: What's Behind Our Buying Compulsions

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - While you're shopping for the holidays, you may find it hard to resist the urge to buy for yourself.

Now, researchers are studying brain activity to find out why some shoppers just can't say no.

As CBS2's Kristine Johnson reported, what they're learning could help us all save money.

When Lena Press buys what she wants instead of what she needs, she says she spends too much.

"I can't seem to be OK with the things that I have and constantly need to purchase new things to feel better," she said.

Experts say it's a common problem.

"We take the dog to the park and I think I need a blanket. So I go on Amazon and I buy a blanket for the park," she said.

Paul Zak, professor of neuro-economics, studies the psychology of the economic decision-making process.

"By measuring brain activity, we're able to cut through all this noise in the background in your brain, and find out what you really care about," Zak said.

As Press looked at images of various products, Zak scanned her brain, measuring the activity.

He learned that Press's brain scan spikes whenever she talked about her boyfriend and buying things for him.

Experts say retailers know this and do everything they can to capitalize on this emotional connection.

"So the kinds of ads we found are the most effective, especially around the holidays, are ads that use social influence, that focus on the family, that focus on how happy you'll be when you buy some product," Zak said.

This type of marketing can be so powerful, Zak says, it can help us justify spending more than we know we should.

"If the price is high, the brain encodes that as pain. It's painful to think of giving up $5,000 for this beautiful necklace for my wife, but that I'm balancing how much she'll like it and by refection how much she will like me," he said.

Dr. Carl Marci does similar brain research on behalf of retailers using special eyeglasses.

"We are very much getting inside people's heads," Marci said.

He says he's trying to get into those few seconds before a shopper makes a decision to buy or not to buy.

"There is no 'buy' button in the brain. and we are not talking about manipulation. We are just talking about using tools to help create a better retail experience," Marci said.

But there are ways to gain control over your spending. Experts say never shop alone and try and think about something for at least 24 hours before actually buying it.

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