Holidays beat luxury!

According to researchers,experiences bring us greater joy because they are more individual and harder for us to compare with other people8217;s.

But the gloss we get from new purchases is often taken off shiny when we see newer,better models owned by other people,they said.

Psychologist Professor Thomas Gilovich,who carried out the research,said: 8220;Your experiences are inherently less comparative. They8217;re undermined much less by invidious social comparisons.

8220;Imagine you buy a flat screen TV. You8217;re very happy with it and then you come to my house,and I have a bigger,clearer picture than yours.

8220;That makes you feel a bit disappointed and annoyed. 8220;But suppose you go on a vacation to the Caribbean instead. You may find out I8217;ve done the same,and my holiday sounds better than yours.

8220;It might bother you a little bit,but not nearly to the same degree because you have your memories 8211; it8217;s your unique connection to the Caribbean that makes it your holiday.8221;

The study is published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.