When Caitlin Feighny wants to head downtown to go shopping, she has a sorority full of 80 girls she can invite along. Feighny goes clothes shopping about once a week and almost always asks if any of her sorority sisters want to join her on the way out the door. Usually they just browse, she says, but sometimes several of her friends will go shopping together with a specific purpose, like finding an outfit for an upcoming theme party. “If someone’s birthday is coming up and we all want to look really good, we’ll go together,” Feighny says.

Feighny, Topeka senior, is not alone in her habitual attire-hunting habits. Women and men of all ages regularly use shopping as a form of entertainment, a platform for conversation and even a (relatively) inexpensive type of therapy. The American economy is fueled by consumption, and so, we consume. But while the purchases made in a retail store might be external goods, the allure of shopping is not just superficial. There are physiological reasons why shopping feels good — the catch is that the shopper’s high, however sweet, is always short-lived.

The emotional high shoppers feel right before they purchase an item is actually a release of dopamine, the same chemical in the brain that makes an addict crave and anticipate a drug fix. Dopamine activity in the brain increases in anticipation of many different types of rewards, from gambling-related rewards to monetary and social rewards, says Dr. Susan Bookheimer, assistant professor of the Brain Mapping Division and Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine.

Unfortunately, after the initial excitement of an anticipated purchase fades, consuming can turn sour and shoppers may be left with buyer’s remorse or a sadly skinny wallet.

Nick Bideler, Fort Smith, Ariz., junior, overspent earlier this month and says he already owns more jeans than he needs. By his own estimate, Bideler could avoid doing laundry for up to three weeks and not run out of jeans to wear.

Feighny, who works 15 hours a week and is taking 20 hours of classes this semester, says she rewards herself by shopping. “I don’t have time to go see movies,” she says, “so I take that $14 that I would have spent on two movies and spend it on something that will last me even longer.”

Feighny says that she gets excited to open her closet and see a new top, but that her lift in mood is short-lived. “It’s nice to get lots of compliments on something new,” she says, “but ultimately I recognize that it’s a superficial thing.”

Some people do not share Feighny’s rational take on shopping: as many as 15 percent of young Americans suffer from a psychological disorder called compulsive consumption, says Tim Kasser, associate professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., and author of The High Price of Materialism. These people feel an overwhelming sense that they need to consume something, Kasser says, and end up shopping compulsively, not unlike a binge eater, to assuage stressful situations.

Even healthy people shop because it feels good. Shopping is an American pastime, Kasser says. He says that after 9/11, when George W. Bush was asked what the average American could do to help, he responded with one simple command: “Shop.”

Most people of Generation Y define themselves by the clothes they wear and the music they purchase, Kasser says. Clothes are one of the main ways by which we express our identities and are also our main avenue for attracting the sexual attention of our desired mates, he says.

Natalie Kelley, Wichita senior, says that her clothes are of a reflection of her personality and mood. Kelley, who works at Gap, 736 Massachusetts St., says she usually shops at least twice a week. Kelley and her closest friend shop together, and actually call each other and request “retail therapy” when they are stressed out or upset. But Kelley says she would usually rather spend her time doing more productive things like going to the gym or hanging out with her friends.

Spending time developing relationships is one part of a set of values that Kasser says are ultimately more satisfying than materialistic endeavors. Kasser says that developing a sense of identity, nuturing relationships with friends and loved ones, and fostering a sense of community involvement through volunteering ultimately makes people happier than external endeavors like shopping.

“There are studies that show that people who shop religiously are actually not happy people,” Kasser says, “and there are also studies that show that people who volunteer regularly are the happiest of all.”

Focusing on these intrinsic values, Kasser says, will create more satisfaction than a great sale every time.