Chapter Summary: The Impulse Society

The Impulse Society The first chapter of The Impulse Society discussed a number of things relating to how the market was working and how people just wanted more and more things to feel better about themselves. The first idea that was discussed was about the feeling people get when using little clever gadgets that Apple has put into their iPhones. The idea is that people like to feel like they are accomplishing a lot by simply pushing a button or two when in reality it is as simple as it gets. Then the book goes on to discuss the creation of the assembly line by Henry Ford. The creation of the assembly line allowed Ford to produce cars rapidly for a cheap price. It changed people’s way of life. The overall opportunities for the common person …show more content…
The chapter starts by talking about how cash is very different from credit cards. People do not get the same feeling that they are spending money with credit cards, and they know that they have time to pay it off so the reality does not set in until later down the road. The chapter also talks about “intemporal” choices, which are the choices between something now and something later. They say that “intemporal” choices are the choices that we most often have to make, and the choices that we make have a significant outcome on our success in life, especially our financial success. The chapter talks a lot about how in the past our society was focused on long term success and rewards but now everything we think about is just in the short-term. There is a very interesting study that they talk about in this chapter regarding power. There is a monopoly game setup where one person is giving a major advantage over the other player that allows them to take control of the game. The study showed the person that started with the power bullying the other player and degrading them even though it was just a game and they did not even have to work to get in the position that they were in. It went on to talk about how the more power someone has the more they care about themselves and fulfilling their own interests. The end of the chapter goes on to talk about how Wal-Mart took away the need for Main Street and gave consumers the power to go to one place and buy practically anything that they