Faculty News

Professor Priya Raghubir comments on how the hierarchy of human needs plays into the sharp increase of stationery sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Town and Country Logo 190 x 145
Excerpt from Town & Country -- "According to Dr. Priya Raghubir, a professor of business at New York University, the reason why it feels “right” boils down to simple psychology—and the hierarchy of human needs. 'At the bottom are very basic needs: food, water, sleep. The next level is safety, then social needs, followed by esteem and self-actualization,' she says. 'In most advanced Western economies, the basic needs of most people are met. But when anything unsettles, like the pandemic, we obsess over the basics and tend to do things like stockpile food and toilet paper. After the immediate threat is assuaged, we begin to ascend the hierarchy again. Now we want to socialize—sending cards and letters help us form connections.'”

Read More