[Skip to content](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/community/inside-the-psychology-of-why-we-want-wait-and-act#maincontent) [Newsroom](https://www.t-mobile.com/news)Toggle secondary navigation - [Network](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/network) - [Devices](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/devices) - [Un-carrier](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/un-carrier) - [Community](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/community) - [Offers](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/offers) - [Business](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/business) English [CommunityCategory](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/category/community)[Story](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/story) # What’s Your Reason? Inside the Psychology of Why We Want, Wait and Act By T-Mobile StoriesSeptember 01, 2026 Cost. Frustration. FOMO. A better option. Consumer psychologist Matt Johnson helps unpack five reasons that motivate us to make a change.    11 min read - Facebook IconShare on Facebook - Share on Twitter - LinkedIn IconShare on LinkedIn Are you a maximizer or a satisficer? A neophile or a neophobe? And what on earth does “mimetic desire” have to do with the phone in your pocket?  Quite a lot, according to consumer psychologist [Matt Johnson, PhD](https://www.linkedin.com/in/neuroscienceof/).   “We want to see ourselves as rational actors and we feel as though we’ve done it for good reasons,” Johnson says. “But when researchers look beneath those explanations, people do engage in behaviors for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with their supposed explanations.”  Johnson, a professor of psychology and marketing at Hult International Business School and instructor at Harvard’s Division of Continuing Education, has spent much of his career studying exactly that intersection: what brands think motivates us, what consumers *think* motivates us and what may actually be happening beneath the surface.  So as the latest devices hit the market and consumers once again decide whether to upgrade or make a switch, we asked Johnson to help us decode five very human reasons that can turn *maybe* into *yes*.  What’s your reason?  ## REASON 1: Because I can justify it.  THE PSYCHOLOGY: *Functional alibi effect* Of course you bought the car for its safety rating. But Johnson says our rational explanation for a purchase isn’t always the whole story.  Consumer psychologists have a name for this: the functional alibi effect.   “We want to see ourselves as making decisions for good reasons,” Johnson says.  Take buying a car. Maybe we tell ourselves we want the newer model because it’s safer or gets better gas mileage. Those may be perfectly legitimate reasons. But Johnson says they may not be the only reasons.  Since we like to see ourselves as rational actors, we’re especially good at identifying sensible reasons for wanting something even when emotional or social motivations are operating underneath.  “It’d be weird if we went up to our group of friends and said, ‘Hey, I bought this car because I want to look cool and I wanna flex.’”  So, maybe the car is safer. It also happens to be gorgeous. Maybe the new phone has better battery life. It also happens to be the one everyone notices when you put it on the table. Both things can be true.  “We use brands and the products we utilize to say things about ourselves for us. The brands do the speaking, right?”  That’s where social signaling comes in. The things we choose can communicate something about who we are without requiring us to say it ourselves.   ### Reason to Choose T‑Mobile [Get a new phone for $0 out-of-pocket](https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/eip-flex-36): Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) Flex 36 is a new financing option that lets well-qualified customers finance a new phone, including taxes and fees, over 36 months with a limited time 0% APR for the entire term — meaning $0 at checkout.  ## REASON 2: Because people like me want it.  THE PSYCHOLOGY: *Mimetic desire* Johnson says there’s research that proposes most humans don’t know what they actually want so they look to others to help determine what is desirable, even though we experience the resulting preference as our own. Translation: Your friend’s rave review might matter more than you realize.  Think about the last time a friend gushed about a restaurant you suddenly needed to try, a show everyone seemed to be watching or a device that somehow started appearing everywhere. Our preferences may feel deeply personal, but Johnson says they’re also profoundly social.  “There’s a concept created by French philosopher [René Girard](https://iep.utm.edu/girard/) that says human beings don’t know what to desire, so they look to others in their environment.”  Remember when seemingly everyone suddenly had an enormous Stanley water cup? Unless humanity collectively developed a hydration emergency, something else was going on. The same can happen with the phone in our pocket. A friend’s excitement about their coverage or extra plan benefits and a coworker’s excitement for the latest phone can quietly become part of our own calculus.  And yet the resulting preference still feels entirely like ours.  [Switch To T‑Mobile In Just 15 Minutes](https://www.t-mobile.com/switch/15-minute-switch) ## REASON 3: Because change doesn’t feel so scary anymore.  THE PSYCHOLOGY: *Neophilia vs. neophobia and the Law of Least Mental Effort* Our brains are apparently capable of yelling “Ooh, new!” and “Absolutely not!” at the same time. Johnson explains that humans can be both neophilic, attracted to novelty, and neophobic, wary of the unfamiliar. There’s even a name for the sweet spot between *boring* and *whoa, that’s too much*: MAYA, or “Most Advanced Yet Acceptable.”  “On the one hand, we are kind of neophiliacs because we really want to explore new things, we’re curious and we want to mix things up. On the other hand, we are neophobic and we are afraid of the new.”  We’re drawn to what’s new, Johnson explains, but we also want it to feel safe and familiar. Tilt too far toward the unknown and hesitation can creep in. And when we’re contemplating a change, that uncertainty raises another question: How long are we willing to spend in the uncomfortable in-between?   Now apply that tension to something you depend on virtually every waking hour.   For those switching carriers, Johnson says it can feel like you’re cut off from your lifeline.  “Our life… stops when we don’t have a mobile device. So it’s like, ‘Hey, you’re on life support right now. Do you want to switch to this other life-support provider?’”  Johnson says even if we’ve conquered the fear of the unknown, there’s another formidable enemy: hassle. He calls it the “law of least mental effort,” meaning consumers tend toward the path of least resistance.  Sometimes we are just allergic to hassle and if there are too many steps, it’s easier to rationalize that it’s worth sticking with the status quo because as Johnson puts it: “We hate thinking.”   > We use brands and the products we utilize to say things about ourselves for us. The brands do the speaking, right? > > Consumer Psychologist Matt Johnson, PhD ## REASON 4: Because saying yes doesn’t hurt as much.  THE PSYCHOLOGY: *Pain of paying* Turns out “that price hurts” may be more literal than we realize.  Upfront costs commonly known to cause sticker shock are cited as one of the most common reasons customers hesitate and Johnson says neuroscience helps explain why.  “We find paying for something to be psychologically painful.”  Johnson points to neuroscience research showing that anticipating a payment can engage some of the same brain regions associated with processing pain. And it’s not necessarily just the amount that matters.  “It’s also about how it’s framed,” says Johnson.  But removing an upfront cost may matter for another reason, Johnson says: Not every consumer is looking for more reasons to be convinced.  Consumer psychologists sometimes distinguish between “maximizers,” people willing to put in extra effort to get what they consider the very best option, and “satisficers,” who generally want something that meets their needs without turning the decision into an Olympic event.  And Johnson says most of us, especially in most purchase categories, fall into that second camp.  For someone who already wants a new phone or better wireless experience, that distinction matters. Johnson says continuing to pile on benefits can eventually produce diminishing returns. For a sufficiently motivated satisficer, removing what’s standing in the way may be more powerful.  “What’s really going to move the needle is removing those barriers.”   So, what underlying factors actually get us to act? Johnson points to a behavioral-science framework called COM-B, which considers three forces behind behavior:   __Capability:__ *Can I do it?*   __Opportunity:__ *Is the situation making it possible?*   __Motivation__: *Do I want to?*    The takeaway: Sometimes wanting something isn’t the problem. Something is simply standing in the way.    ### What’s Driving Your Reasons? Your Consumer Psychology Cheat Sheet __Functional alibi effect__  The sensible reason we give ourselves may not be the whole reason.  __Mimetic desire__  Other people’s desires can help shape our own.  __Neophilia + neophobia__  We crave novelty and fear it simultaneously.  __Law of least mental effort__  We tend toward the path requiring less mental work.  __Satisficer vs. maximizer__  “Good enough” versus “I want the best.”  __COM-B__  Can I? Is there an opportunity? Do I want to?  Consumer Psychologist Matt Johnson, PhD ## REASON 5: Because It Feels Like More Than a Transaction THE PSYCHOLOGY: *Warmth + competence + belonging* Johnson says people are not just social creatures, they’re tribal beings looking to form a culture and community through a shared sense of identity.   “We want to find not just people, we want to find our people.”  That instinct doesn’t disappear when we’re consumers. Brands can become part of communities built around shared interests, experiences and even language, but Johnson says belonging alone isn’t enough to sustain a relationship.  And that’s where another very human instinct enters the equation: skepticism. Johnson says skepticism toward marketing claims isn’t cynicism; it’s healthy.  “We recognize what’s not sustainable and have built up a resistance to certain claims.”    So what does it take to feel confident enough to say yes? Johnson points to two deceptively simple qualities: warmth and competence.  __Warmth:__ *Do you actually have my interests at heart?*  __Competence:__ *Can you deliver what you promised?*  “One of the things that is primary here in building these perceptions of warmth is exuding good intentions.”  Johnson likens it to friendship. If a friend calls because they’re having a bad day, we don’t immediately start calculating what they owe us in return. Johnson’s research perspective suggests that nontransactional gestures can contribute to perceptions of warmth and over time that produces a sense of competence, meaning those gestures may matter beyond their dollar value.  Maybe that’s the funny thing about our “reasons.” We like to think they’re entirely our own. But they’re shaped by what we want, what other people want, what feels safe, what feels easy, what hurts and who we trust.  So when the latest devices arrive and you’re once again deciding whether to upgrade, stay put or make a switch, there may be more happening beneath that decision than you realize.  __Ask yourself: *What’s your reason?*__   ### More Reasons to Choose T‑Mobile With [Experience Beyond 2.0](https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans), members with [America’s Best Network](https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/network)  score the [best benefits in wireless](https://www.t-mobile.com/benefits) plus a [five-year price guarantee](https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/price-lock-faqs) — no add-ons required. 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