Your shopping style may be a window on your happiness -- and what you spend on may matter more than how much you shell out.

It turns out that the happiest shoppers aren't those who bag the biggest bargains, or those who spend whatever it takes to get the best items out there, or people whose wallets are gathering dust while they pinch their pennies.

The happiest shoppers are people who aren't hung up on money or things. They'd rather spend on experiences, like dining out or traveling.

Those people are "experiencers," as Miriam Tatzel, PhD, of Empire State College in New York calls them.

Tatzel asked 329 college students to complete surveys about their shopping habits and happiness. Those surveys showed four shopping personalities:

Big spenders: Buy everything full price and buy only the best.

Value seekers: Seek bargains on nice things.

Non-spenders: Don't spend much and don't want to.

Experiencers: Spend freely on experiences, such as good food or travel, but not materialistic.

Experiencers are the happiest; big spenders are the least happy -- and have the most credit card debt, Tatzel reports.

She presented her findings today in Boston at the American Psychological Association's annual conference. Those findings don't show which comes first -- shopping style or degree of happiness.

你的购物方式也许是你是否快乐的一个窗口,你所花费的东西比你付出的更重要.这才是关键.

事实证明,最快乐的购物者不是那些购物袋里装得满满的人.而是那些把钱花得恰到好处的人.是那些紧紧捂住自己的钱包不让它随便流走的人.

最快乐的购物者是那些不在钱上计较的人他们宁愿把钱花在购买经验上比如外出或者旅游.也不愿把钱花在购物上.他们是经验主义者.正如纽约帝国大学的米兰塔泽尔所说.塔泽尔在329个同学身上完成了一项民意调查,对他们的购物习惯和快乐感方面的调查显示了这四种购物性格:花销大的:买东西只看好坏不看价格.物有所值者:买东西只买好的,值得去买的.

抠门的:不瞎花钱也不想花钱太多.经验主义者,凭经验花钱,比如美食或者旅游,但不是唯物论者.

经验主义者最快乐;花销大的人快乐最少,但是信用卡透支最多.她今天在美国波士顿美国心理学协会年会上提交了自己的对于购物方式和快乐程度的首次发现