The psychology of collecting seeks to understand the motivating
factors for persons who, throughout the ages, have devoted great amounts
of time, money, and energy making and maintaining collections.
Introduction to collecting
When people think of collecting, they may put in mind expensive works of art or historical artifacts that are later sold to a museum or listed on ebay.
But the truth is, for many people who amass collections, the value of
their collection is not monetary, but emotionally valuable—and often not
for sale. Collections allow people to relive their childhood, connect
themselves to a period in history or time they feel strongly about, to
ease insecurity and anxiety about losing a part of themselves, and to
keep the past present [1] Some collect for the thrill of the hunt. Collecting is much like a quest, a lifelong pursuit which can never be complete.[2] Collecting may provide psychological security by filling a part of the self one feels is missing or void of meaning.[3]
When one collects, they experiment with arranging, organizing, and
presenting a part of the world which may serve to provide a safety zone,
a place of refuge where fears are calmed and insecurity is managed.[4] Motives are not mutually exclusive, different motives combine in each collector for a multitude of reasons.
Psychologists perspectives
Psychologists have often taken a Freudian perspective when describing why people collect.[7]
They highlight the controlling and impulsive dark side to collecting,
the need for people to have "an object of desire." This desire, and
hence the innate propensity to collect, begins at birth. The infant
first desires the emotional and physical comfort of the nourishing
breast, then the familiar baby blanket the child clings to for comfort and security.
Stuffed animals, favorite toys are taken to bed and provide the emotional security
needed to fall asleep. A sense of ownership and control is facilitated
through possession of these items for the vulnerable child.[8]
Freud himself took a more extreme position on the origins of
collecting. Not surprisingly, he postulated that all collecting stems
from unresolved toilet training
conflict. Freud took the stance that the loss of bowel control was a
traumatic experience, and the product from the bowels was disgusting and
frightening to the child.
Therefore the collector is trying to gain
back control of their bowels as well as their "possessions" which were
long flushed down the toilet.[9] Where Freud linked object fixation to the anal-retentive
stage in childhood, Muensterberger, in his perspective paper "Unruly
Passion" believes collecting to be a "need-driven compensatory behavior
where every new object effectively gives the notion of fantasized
omnipotence." Jung had his own theories about why people become collectors. He touted the influence of archetypes on behavior. These universal symbols are embedded in what he termed our collective unconscious.
Using this logic, collecting and completing sets have as their
archetypal antecedents the collecting of "nuts and berries" once needed
for survival by our early ancestors.
source: Wikipedia.com
