Consumers Hesitant Even As Economy Grows : NPR

Consumers Hesitant Even As Economy Grows : NPR: "There is a sort of disconnect between consumer spending and consumer confidence," Silvia acknowledges. "It appears as if, yes, people are not all that confident in the future, but they are dealing with today's reality, and they are going on with their lives."

But there's something deeper going on, according to Dan Ariely, a behavior economist at Duke University.

The numerous hits to the economy have caused consumers to basically shut down. It's something psychologists call "learned helplessness."

I think it's a case of watch what people do, not what they say.

- Stuart Hoffman, economist

"If you take an animal and you give the animal shocks — punishment — in unexpected intervals, the animal gets very depressed and after awhile just lays around in the cage," he says. "Even if you put it in a new cage, it doesn't explore, it doesn't look for ways to escape."