Glasgow: Well-being, materialism
and the values of consumer
capitalism
Monday 12 December 2011
Parish Halls, Glasgow
Well-being, Materialism &
the Values of Consumer Capitalism:
A View from the Psychological
Literature
Tim Kasser, Ph.D.
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Materialism’s allure
• The percentage of incoming American
First-year college students reporting it is
“very important” or “essential” to be:
100%
American Freshman survey
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
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)
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
• Is this true?
Measuring Materialism
• Values strategy (e.g., Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996)
• Rate many goals, guiding principles, (e.g., family,
spirituality, fun, etc.)
• Sample materialistic items
•
•
•
•
You will have a job that pays well
You will have many expensive possessions
You will achieve the “look” you’ve been after
You will be admired by many people
• Examine relative importance of goals
• All of us are somewhat materialistic
Measuring Materialism
• Survey methods (e.g., Belk, 1985, Richins
& Dawson, 1992)
• Rate agreement with statements
• Sample Items
– My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t
have.
– I like to own things that impress people.
– I like a lot of luxury in my life.
– I would rather buy something I need than borrow it from
someone else.
Well-being
Diminished Happiness
Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996, 2001; Sheldon & Kasser, 1995, 1998, 2001
• Higher:
–
–
–
–
–
Anxiety
Depression
Physical Symptoms
Unpleasant emotions
Drug & Alcohol Use
• Lower
–
–
–
–
Self-actualization
Vitality
Life Satisfaction
Pleasant Emotions
Found in many samples
• Types of people
– Middle & High School
students
– College Students
– Adults
– Business People
• Countries
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Australia
Denmark
Germany
Hungary
India
Russia
Singapore
S. Korea
United Kingdom
Found across time
Twenge et al. (2010)
• Over 63,000 college students who
completed the MMPI between 1930s and
2007
• General increases in most scales
Figure 3: MMPI Psy chopathic Dev iation (Pd) scale scores of college students, 1938-2007
70
T-score
65
60
55
50
45
40
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
Year
1980
1990
2000
2010
Figure 4: MMPI Hypomania (Ma) scale scores of college students, 1938-2007
75
70
T-score
65
60
55
50
45
40
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
Year
1980
1990
2000
2010
Found across time
Twenge et al. (2010)
• Twenge tested 3 models to explain increase
– Economic cycles (unemployment rate)
– Response styles
– Increase in materialistic values
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
Found across time
Twenge et al. (2010)
• Best fitting model was materialistic values
Hysteria
Psychopath.
Deviation
Psychasthenia
Hypomania
Hypochondr.
Materialism
.38**
.38**
.28**
.51**
.55**
Unemploy
-.09
-.01
.15
.03
.07
Found across nations
Kasser (2011)
• UNICEF (2007) ranked the well-being of youth in 21
wealthy nations
• Based on 40 indicators such as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
% of children in poverty
% of children immunized
Literacy rates
Family structure & Peer relationships
Drug Use
Life satisfaction & Happiness
Found across nations
Kasser (2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Found across nations
Kasser (2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark (3)
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Italy
Netherlands (1)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden (2)
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States
Found across nations
Kasser (2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark (3)
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary (19)
Ireland
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Italy
Netherlands (1)
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden (2)
Switzerland
United Kingdom (21)
United States (20)
Found across nations
Kasser (2011)
• Value data based on multiple samples of
adults, teachers, and undergraduates
– Materialistic values for money, power, and
status
– Non-materialistic values for helpfulness,
equality, and social justice
– Schwartz (2007)
Ill-Being
Materialistic vs. Non-materialistic Values
Two-fold Strategy
Materialism
Two-fold Strategy
Causes
Materialism
Two-fold Strategy
Causes
Materialism
Two-fold Strategy
Causes
Materialism
Healthy
Values
Two-fold Strategy
Causes
Materialism
Healthy
Values
Causes - Social Modeling
(Kasser et al. 2004)
• Higher if parents & peers care
– Banerjee & Dittmar (2008); Kasser et al. (1995)
• Higher if ingest more media
– Nairn et al. (2007); Schor (2004)
• Higher if live in neo-liberal, de-regulated,
highly free-market capitalist nation
– Kasser (2007, 2011); Schwartz (2007)
Healthy Values
Grouzet, Kasser et al. (2005)
• Assessed aspirations in 11 domains
– e.g., Spirituality, Hedonism, Affiliation, Health,
etc.
• >1800 College students in 15 nations
• Circular Stochastic Modeling
– Adjacent goals are consistent
– Opposing goals are conflictual
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
Self-transcendence
Spirituality
Community
Conformity
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
Popularity
Image
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Financial
succes s
Phys ical health
Safety
Hedonis m
Physical self
Intrinsic Values
Kasser & Ryan (1996)
• Self-acceptance
“I will follow my interests and curiosity where
they take me.”
• Affiliation
“I will express my love for special people.”
• Community Feeling
“I will help the world become a better place.”
Psychological Benefits
•
•
•
•
•
•
More happiness
More life satisfaction
Higher vitality
Less depression
Less anxiety
Fewer physical
symptoms
Two-fold Strategy
Causes
Materialism
Healthy
Values
Avenues for Change in a City
• City Planning
• Protection from Advertising
• City-indices of Progress
City Planning
City Planning
City Planning
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 Materialistic
vs. Intrinsic Aspirations
Materialistic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Materialistic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic Aspirations
Weinstein et al. (2009)
City Planning
• Are land and city finances devoted to
shopping areas or to parks and green
spaces?
Protection from Advertising
Protection from Advertising
Protection from Advertising
• Numerous studies show associations
between advertising and materialism
– Nairn et al. (2007); Schor (2004)
• Mere activation of money-related ideas
suppresses intrinsic values
– Maio et al. (2009); Vohs et al. (2006)
• Lo SES parents in UK feel extra pressure to
provide children with brands
– UNICEF (2011)
Protection from Advertising
• Provide new mothers with information
about dangers of screen-time for infants
• Remove advertising outdoors and in public
spaces
• Revoke tax subsidy on adverts
• End advertising to children
City Indices of Progress
• Currently GNP-based indices are dominant
• Alternative indicators include metrics of
intrinsic values in computation
• Examples:
–
–
–
–
Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness
nef’s Happy Planet Index
Oxfam’s Humankind Index
Genuine Progress Indicator
GDP vs. GPI
GDP vs. GPI
City Indicators - Directions
• Adopt Alternative Indicators
– Seattle, WA City Council unanimously adopted
a 10-domain, well-being based approach
– Eau Claire WI and Vancouver, BC also
• Models idea that intrinsic values are more
important than just materialistic values
• Provides information for developing new
policies
Summary
• Materialistic values undermine well-being
• Can promote well-being in cities by
– diminishing materialistic models
– encouraging intrinsic values
• Multiple avenues for change
Thanks!
• If you are interested in obtaining this
powerpoint or other writings of mine, email me at tkasser@knox.edu