the phenomenon of conspicuous consumption, when people buy expensive goods not for the sake of their functionality, but to increase their social status and demonstrate their exclusivity. In contrast to ordinary demand, with the Veblen effect, an increase in the price of luxury goods can cause an increase in demand, as high cost becomes a symbol of prestige and inaccessibility for the majority. The effect is named after the economist Thorstein Bunde Veblen and is studied by both economists and the interdisciplinary field of fashion psychology (see Fashion Psychology in Chapter 1.8. Key Psychological Concepts in Social Psychology).