The basic premise of mental accounting theory is that people are not rational. The theory of mental accounting comes from one of the pioneers of behavioral economics, Nobel laureate Richard Thaler (1985, 2015), a colleague of Kahneman and Tversky-you may also know of him as an author of the popular book Nudge (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). #GirlMath describes a subverted version of subjective mental accounting. In fact, the use of self-deprecating jokes often reflects a negative self-view that can make you ultimately feel worse (Martin, 2003), especially if you’re overdrawn at the bank. Take a moment to think about the implicit message that #GirlMath sends. #GirlMath TikToks offer often spurious explanations of why a splurge purchase decision makes sense, why prepaid Starbucks cards make coffee free, and why paying with a credit card isn’t like using real money. A good meme can give you a boost of positive emotion and a sense of camaraderie and normalize silly or embarrassing experiences, triggering a neural reward to the sense of relief that comes with “thank goodness I’m not the only one.” #GirlMath: When Funny Isn’t Good for You Even Freud thought humor and laughter were positive adaptive responses to negative emotions (Martin, 2003), and research continues to show the benefits of humor on well-being, mood, and general health (Kennison, 2020). Humor changes our body chemistry and improves our mood. Physiologically, things that make us laugh or smile are good. Memes that can capture mundane and pervasive bits of real life-especially those that defy rational logic or are a little bit embarrassing-can elicit a knowing chuckle, if not an outright guffaw. Some of the #GirlMath examples are actually pretty funny, but that’s because they describe human phenomena, not because they are linked with girls. #GirlMath is so popular that brands are jumping on the bandwagon (another cognitive bias) because it’s trending without regard to perpetuating a condescending stereotype. It is a cognitive bias called mental accounting, except #GirlMath turns mental accounting into an Xtreme sport. Rationalizing financial decisions makes popular #GirlMath memes, such as “You save money by buying things on sale” and “If you buy it with cash, it’s free.” This phenomenon has nothing to do with gender. “Girl Math” describes the use of illogical logic to justify spending choices. I don’t know what bothers me most: the continued labeling of women as “girls,” a gender-neutral cognitive bias being attributed to females, or the fact that so many women think it’s funny. It is one of those TikTok trends that has grown out of the popularity of “girl” hashtags (#girldinner, #hotgirlsummer, #lazygirljob). I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I see #GirlMath. Master’s in Organization Development and Leadership.PhD in Organizational Development and Change.Neuropsychology Specialization Training Program.Postdoctoral Certificate in Respecialization in Clinical Psychology.Postbaccalaureate Certificate in Clinical Psychology.PhD in Infant and Early Childhood Development.PhD in Psychology with an emphasis in Media & Technology.Global Indigenous Peoples Acknowledgement.Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.Center for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL).Alonso Center for Psychodynamic Studies.
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