People who feel socially excluded will sacrifice their personal and financial well-being for social acceptance, concludes the Journal of Consumer Research study, which also discovered people will eat foods they often don’t eat or like and do illicit drugs to feel liked.

In four experiments, researchers paired study participants together and induced them to feel socially accepted or excluded. Then, they assessed how their spending and consumption patterns changed.

Overall, excluded participants were more likely to buy a product symbolic of group membership and tailor their spending preferences to the preferences of an acquaintance, researchers said.