Happiness Emodities: Commodification and Marketing Strategies in Popular Psychology

Abstract

In the context of the growing demand for psychological services in Russia and the spread of therapeutic culture, digital platforms like YouTube are becoming a key locus for the commercialization of emotions. However, the mechanisms of commodification, particularly concerning happiness, remain underexplored in this digital environment. This article examines how popular Russian psychological bloggers on YouTube construct, package, and commodify the abstract concept of ‘happiness’ as a standardized commodity, which we term an ‘emodity.’ The research employs a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, combining quantitative (content analysis and thematic modeling of 118 videos) and qualitative (analysis of rhetorical and performative strategies) approaches. The analysis reveals four dominant marketing personas—‘academic’, ‘esoteric’, ‘caring’, and ‘hybrid’. These are built upon three primary performative goals: establishing authority (via science, wisdom, or personal experience), diagnosing consumer problems (often by invoking Soviet history or gender stereotypes), and presenting distinct ‘emodity’ packages (conceptualized as either reflective psychology or positive psychology). Furthermore, these strategies correspond to different models of audience engagement, aimed at either maximizing reach, cultivating loyalty, or generating viral content. The study adapts and applies the concept of ‘emodities’ to the Russian therapeutic culture, describing how the Western individualistic therapeutic narrative becomes ‘commensurate’ with the post-Soviet social imaginary. The article contributes to economic sociology by demonstrating how the digital market for emotions transforms collective social anxieties into individualized consumer practices.