Children, Values and
Consumer Culture
Tim Kasser, Ph.D.
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Political Discourse
• “…the American people have got to go
about their business. We cannot let the
terrorists achieve the objective of
frightening our nation to the point where we
don’t conduct business, where people don’t
shop” (reported in The New York Times,
October 12, 2001)
Materialism’s allure
• The percentage of incoming, U.S., first-year
college students reporting different values
to be “very important” or “essential”:
American Freshman survey
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
19
66
19
68
19
70
19
72
19
74
19
76
19
78
19
80
19
82
19
84
19
86
19
88
19
90
19
92
19
94
19
96
19
98
20
00
20
02
20
04
20
06
0%
Helping ot hers who are in dif f icult y
Dev eloping a meaningf ul philosophy of lif e
Being v ery well of f f inancially
Messages
• Can purchase happiness
• Important to work and consume
• Life is meaningful and people are
successful to the extent they have money,
possessions, and the right image
Stated goals of a
Montessori Education
• Feel self-confident & a sense of inner
freedom
• Develop curiosity, love of learning, &
persistence
• Learn responsibility, cooperation, honesty,
kindness & a sense of common humanity
• Foster respect for the environment and
contribute to the community and planet.
Values & Goals
• Guiding principles in life
• Affect people’s attitudes towards particular
objects and policies
• Orient people to engage in particular
behaviors
• Many different types of values and goals
exist
• Organized in systems
Values & Goals
• Some values are compatible, others are in
conflict
• Data can be represented with circumplex
models
– Compatible values are next to each other
Self-Direction
Stimulation
Universalism
Benevolence
Hedonism
Tradition
Conformity
Achievement
Power
Security
Self-Direction
Stimulation
Universalism
Benevolence
Hedonism
Tradition
Conformity
Achievement
Power
Security
Values
Schwartz (1992)
• Self-direction values
– Creativity, Freedom, Curious, Self-respect
• Self-transcendent values
– Helpful, Responsible, Mature love, Social
justice, Equality, A world of beauty, Protecting
the environment
Self-transcendence
Spirituality
Community
Conformity
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Popularity
Image
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Financial
succes s
Phys ical health
Safety
Hedonis m
Physical self
Self-transcendence
Spirituality
Community
Conformity
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Popularity
Image
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Financial
succes s
Phys ical health
Safety
Hedonis m
Physical self
Goals
Grouzet et al. (2005); Kasser & Ryan (1996)
• Intrinsic
- “I will feel free.”
- “I will feel good about my abilities.”
- “I will choose what I do, instead of being pushed along
by life.”
- “I will express my love for special people.”
- “I will help the world become a better place.”
Values & Goals
• Some values are compatible, others are in
conflict
• Data can be represented with circumplex
models
– Compatible values are next to each other
Values & Goals
• Some values are compatible, others are in
conflict
• Data can be represented with circumplex
models
– Compatible values are next to each other
– Conflicting values are on opposite sides
Self-Direction
Stimulation
Universalism
Benevolence
Hedonism
Tradition
Conformity
Achievement
Power
Security
Values
Schwartz (1992)
• Self-enhancement values
– Social power, wealth, authority, successful,
influential
Self-transcendence
Spirituality
Community
Conformity
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Popularity
Image
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Financial
succes s
Phys ical health
Safety
Hedonis m
Physical self
Goals
Grouzet et al. (2005); Kasser & Ryan (1996)
• Extrinsic
– “I will have enough money to buy everything I want.”
– “I will achieve the ‘look’ I've been after.”
– “I will be admired by many people.”
Stated goals of a
Montessori Education
• Feel self-confident & a sense of inner
freedom
• Develop curiosity, love of learning, &
persistence
• Learn responsibility, cooperation, honesty,
kindness & a sense of common humanity
• Foster respect for the environment and
contribute to the community and planet.
Well-being Correlates
Measures of Well-being
Kasser & Ryan (1993, 1996); Sheldon & Kasser (1995, 1998)
• Distress:
–
–
–
–
Anxiety
Depression
Physical Symptoms
Unpleasant emotions
• Happiness
–
–
–
–
Self-actualization
Vitality
Life Satisfaction
Pleasant Emotions
Child Risk Behaviors
Child Risk Behaviors
• Conduct disorder
– Cohen & Cohen (1996); Kasser & Ryan (1993)
• Smoking and drinking
– Kasser & Ryan (2001); Williams et al. (2000)
Educational Outcomes
Educational Outcomes
• Academic Achievement &
Mastery vs. Performance Orientation
– Ku, Banerjee, & Dittmar (in press)
• Academic Achievement & Test Anxiety
– Mouratidis & Vansteenkiste (2011)
Social Concern
Social Attitudes
• Empathy
– Sheldon & Kasser (1995)
• Social dominance orientation
– Duriez et al. (2007)
• Racial & Ethnic Prejudice
– Duriez et al. (2007); Roets et al. (2006)
Social Behavior
• Cooperative vs. competitive behavior
– Sheldon et al. (2000)
• Pro-social behavior
– Sheldon & Kasser (1995); McHoskey (1999)
• Helping behavior
– Vohs et al. (2006)
Environmental Concern
Eco-Attitudes
• Attitudes towards the environment
– Good (2007); Saunders & Munro (2000)
• Concern about effects of environmental damage
on other people, animals, and future generations
– Schultz et al. (2005)
Eco-Behaviors
• Frequency of riding bikes, recycling, reuse, etc.
– Gatersleben et al (2008); Kasser (2005); Richins &
Dawson (1992)
• Size of Ecological Footprint
– 400 N Americans – transportation, housing, food
– Brown & Kasser (2005)
Suggestions for
Montessori Educators
•
•
•
•
Interpersonal Style
Framing and Priming
Nature
Marketing
Suggestions for
Montessori Educators
•
•
•
•
Interpersonal Style
Framing and Priming
Nature
Marketing
Interpersonal Style
• Montessori suggests that “when adults
provide clear limits but set children free
within those boundaries, and sensitively
respond to children’s needs…. children
show high levels of … desirable
characteristics” (Lillard, 2005, pgs. 32-33)
Interpersonal Style
• Children orient towards Intrinsic (and away
from Extrinsic) values when provided with
a parental environment that is warm,
democratic, stable, involved, & nurturing
– Cohen & Cohen (1996); Flouri (2004);
Kasser et al., (1995); Rindfleisch et al., (2002);
Williams et al., (2000)
Interpersonal Style
Sheldon & Kasser (2008)
• Imagine person who likes you and
– tends to be “very accepting and non-evaluative
of you” OR
– “seems to accept you only to the extent that you
live up to certain standards of performance”
• Shift towards Intrinsic and away from
Extrinsic values if imagine accepting person
Interpersonal Style –
Suggestions for schools
• Keep it up Montessori educators!!!
Suggestions for
Montessori Educators
•
•
•
•
Interpersonal Style
Framing and Priming
Nature
Marketing
Framing and Priming
Maio et al. (2009)
• Cardiff students given pre-test measure of SE, ST,
and other values
• Then either
– Told that their peers highly valued 4 of the
Self-Transcendent aims
– Told that their peers highly valued 4 of the
Self-Enhancement aims
– Memorized value-irrelevant words (control)
• Then given post-test value measure with new SE,
ST, and other values
Self-Direction
Stimulation
Universalism
Benevolence
Hedonism
Tradition
Conformity
Achievement
Power
Security
Change in ST values
Maio et al. (2009)
3
2
1
0
ST prime
-1
-2
-3
Control
SE prime
Change in ST values
Maio et al. (2009)
Change in SE values
Maio et al. (2009)
Change in SE values
Maio et al. (2009)
Framing and Priming
Vansteenkiste et al. (2004)
• Belgian education students
• Asked to read a text on recycling framed as:
– Helping the community (intrinsic)
– Saving money (extrinsic)
Framing and Priming
Vansteenkiste et al. (2004)
• Compared to those given Extrinsic frames, those
given Intrinsic frames:
– Learned material more deeply
– Were more likely to visit library to learn more
– Were more likely to go on later trip to recycling plant
Framing & Priming–
Suggestions for schools
• Beware very subtle ways that Extrinsic
values may be encouraged
• Work instead to frame activities and
assignments around Intrinsic values
Suggestions for
Montessori Educators
•
•
•
•
Interpersonal Style
Framing and Priming
Nature
Marketing
Nature
Weinstein et al. (2009)
• Conducted 4 studies exposing people to
photos of natural or human-made scenes
• Measured feelings of immersion in scene
• Then assessed importance of Extrinsic vs.
Intrinsic Aspirations
Extrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Extrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Nature –
Suggestions for schools
• Develop more lessons involving exposure to
nature, either in or out of the class
• Make sure immersion is high
Suggestions for
Montessori Educators
•
•
•
•
Interpersonal Style
Framing and Priming
Nature
Marketing
Marketing
• Children who watch more TV have higher
consumer values, lower well-being, and worse
environmental attitudes
– Cheung & Chan (1996); Good (2007); Nairn, Ormrod,
& Bottomley (2007); Schor (2004)
• Children in schools with Channel One have
stronger consumer orientation
– Brand & Greenberg (1994)
American Freshman survey
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
19
66
19
68
19
70
19
72
19
74
19
76
19
78
19
80
19
82
19
84
19
86
19
88
19
90
19
92
19
94
19
96
19
98
20
00
20
02
20
04
20
06
0%
Helping ot hers who are in dif f icult y
Dev eloping a meaningf ul philosophy of lif e
Being v ery well of f f inancially
Marketing
Twenge & Kasser (in press)
• Changes in Materialism levels of HS
seniors over time are predicted by the % of
U.S. GNP from advertising
– Both for concurrent spending and spending
when child was 13
• Result holds after controlling for other
societal-level factors (e.g., GNP per capita,
divorce rates, etc.)
Marketing –
Suggestions for schools
• Educate parents about AAP guidelines and
how to raise screen-free children
– no screen time < 2 years
– no TV in child’s bedroom
• Intervene with adolescents and parents to
shift focus from “spending” to “sharing and
saving”
– Kasser et al., (2011)
Marketing Suggestions for Policy
• Remove ads from schools and public places
• Revoke tax subsidy on advertising, and use
revenue to promote intrinsic values
• End advertising to children
Summary
• Consumer culture’s values may undermine
the goals of a Montessori education
• Many Montessori practices already support
Intrinsic values, but educators could also
– Beware of Extrinsic frames
– Bring students into nature more often
– Confront marketing and consumer culture
Thanks!
If you want a copy of this slideshow or other
writings of mine, e-mail me at:
tkasser@knox.edu