Materialism and Happiness
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Transcript of Materialism and Happiness
Athens University of Economics & Business
M.Sc. in Marketing & Communication - Specialization in International Marketing
Cross-Cultural Consumer Behaviour
Instructors: Flora Kokkinaki
Zoe Anagnostidou
Materialism & Happiness Working group:
Alexandra Boula Miltiadis Lappas Nikoleta Moutafidou Pavlos Papadimitriou
“Materialism is a value that represents the individual's perspective regarding the role possessions should play in [a persons] life”
(Richins , 1994, p. 522)
“The importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions. At the highest levels of materialism, such possessions assume a central place in a person's life and are believed to provide the greatest sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction” (Belk, 1984, p.291)
Possessiveness - control or ownership of possessions (Belk, 1983, p.514)
Nongenerosity – unwillingness to share (Belk, 1984, p. 291)
Envy - feelings of hatred or dislike at another person’s superiority (Schoeck, 1966)
Materialistic Traits
◈ Pursuit of possessions and materialism’s role in consumption choices reflects materialism as a value
A Value Conceptualization of Materialism
◈ The importance of acquisition to reach satisfaction
◈ Impossible to achieve happiness
(Fournier & Richins, 1991, p. 411)
Possessions & happiness
◈Devotion of time and money (Boven, 2005, p. 132)
◈The importance of buying more (Richins, 2003, p.1)
◈“…joyless material possessions […] resulting in comfort but not pleasure” (as cited in Nicolao et al., 2009, p.189)
Material:
• Tangible
• Last a couple of days
•Take up physical space (Nicolao et al., 2009, p.189)
Experiential: • Intangible
• Last for a lifetime
• Provide knowledge (Nicolao et al., 2009, p.189)
• Can not be acquired if not available (Boven & Gilovich, 2005, p. 1201)
Some material possessions can be perceived as experiences (Boven, 2005, p. 133-134)
Material possessions with sentimental value can provide more happiness (Boven & Gilovich, 2003, p. 1201)
“… the hedonic superiority of experiential over material purchases is multiply determined.”
(Boven,2005,p.137)
Material • Instant pleasure (as cited in Nicolao et al., 2009, p. 190)
• Social ills
(Boven, 2005, p.133)
• Guilty feelings (Richins, 2012, p.3)
Experiential
• Lasting pleasure (as cited in Nicolao et al., 2009, p. 196)
• Social relationships
• Less disadvantageous comparison (Boven, 2005, p.137)
“ “Materialists believe
that acquiring things
will make them
happier and they tend
to act on this belief by
buying more”
(Watson, 2003, p.724)
Product-evoked emotions in 3 phases of the purchase process
Greater emotional intensity for high-materialists during the purchase process
Negative emotions fear envy anxiety discontent
prepurchase process
actual purchase process
postpurchase process
Positive emotions joy excitement happiness
(Richins, 2012, p.5)
(Richins, 2012, p.14)
Fluctuation of Emotions Across the Purchase Process
High-materialism consumers ◈ Prepurchase phase: hedonic elevation
◈ Postpurchase phase: hedonic decline
Low-materialism consumers Positive emotions
◈ flat
◈ slightly upward
(Richins, 2012, p. 12)
Relation between product’s cost and consumers’ positive emotions
Low-materialists: remain unaffected by the cost of the product
High-materialists: more intense hedonic elevation for expensive products
Contradiction in the source of emotional fulfillment
◈ High-materialists derive happiness from products
◈ Low-materialists derive emotional fulfillment from interpersonal relationships and spirituality
(Richins, 2012, p.06)
(Myers, 2000, p. 57)
Adaptation to new acquisitions
positive feelings associated with product acquisition:
not durable and fade quickly -in a matter of few weeks.
Why? ◈ adaptation to new acquisitions is inevitable (Dunn et al., 2011, p.116-117).
Consequence: Want to acquire more goods, so they can recapture the positive feelings they had experienced upon purchase
“positive disconfirmation of expectations … result in high satisfaction”
Meets expectations Exceeds expectations Lower than expected
(Sirgy, 1998, p. 236)
.. dissatisfaction is greater when our standard of living expectations is a set goal affected by social comparisons
(Sirgy, 1998, p.250)
A competing motivational system
A materialistic person does not stop earning money
Optional Distinctiveness Theory (Brewer, 1991, 478)
◈ Make money to belong to a group ◈ Make more money to differentiate myself
(Ahuvia, 2008, p. 502).
“ Value Conflict
“[M]aterialism can be viewed as the value a consumer places on the acquisition and possession of material objects” (Boroughs & Rindfleisch, 2002, p. 349).
Materialistic Values
Prioritize individualism Depreciate group well-being
Community Values
Prioritize group well-being Depreciate individualism
(Solomon, 2013, p. 170)
Depression Neuroticism
(Borough & Rindfleisch, 2002, p. 365).
Materialistic Values
Community Values
Value Conflict
INNER CONFLICT
Works Cited
Ahuvia, A. (2008). If money doesn’t make us happy, why do we act as if It does? Journal of Economic Psychology, 29, 491-507. Belk, R., W. (1985). Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world. Journal of Consumer Research, 12, p 265-280. Belk, R., W. (1984). Three scales to measure constructs related to materialism: Reliability, validity, and relationships to measures of happiness. Advances in Consumer Research, 11, 291-297. http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/6260/volumes/v11/NA-11 Belk, R., W. (1983). Wordly possessions: Issues and criticisms. Advances in Consumer Research, 10,514-519. Bover, V. L, & Gilovich, T. (2003). To do or to have? That is the question. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 1193-1202. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.6.1193 Boven, V.L. (2005). Experientialism, materialism, and the persuit of happiness. Review of General Psychology 9, 132-142. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.132
Brewer, M.B. (1991). The social self: On being the same and different at the same time. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 475-482. Burroughs, J.E. (2002). Materialism and well-being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 348-370. doi:10.1086/344429 Dunn, E., W. et al. (2011). If money doesn't make you happy, then you probably aren't spending it right. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21, 115–125. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2011.02.002Fournier, S., & Fournier, S. & Richins, M. (1991). Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 403-414. Myers, D., G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. The American Psychologist, 55, 56-67. doi:edsgcl.63492305 Nicolao, L., Irwin, J. R., & Goodman, K, J. (2009). Happiness for sale: Do experiential purchases make consumers happier that material purchases?. Journal of Consumer Research, 36, 188-198. doi:10.1086/597049
Richins, M. L. (2013).When wanting is better than having: Materialism, transformation
expectations, and product-evoked emotions in the purchase process. Journal of
Consumer Research, 40, 1-18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/669256
Richins, M., L. (1994). Special possessions and the expression of material values.
Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 522-533.Sirgy, M.J. (1998). Materialism and quality
of life. Social Indicators Research, 43, 227-260. doi:10.1023/A:1006820429653
Schoeck, H. (19660. Envy: A theory of social behavior. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
World.
Solomon, M.R. (2013). Consumer behavior: Buying, having and being (10th ed.).
Essex, UK: Pearson Education Limited.
Watson, J., J. (2003). The relationship of materialism to spending tendencies, saving,
and debt. Journal of Economic Psychology, 24, 723–739.
doi:10.1016/j.joep.2003.06.001