glasgow: well-being, materialism and the values of consumer capitalism monday 12 december 2011...
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Glasgow: Well-being, materialism and the values of consumer
capitalism
Monday 12 December 2011Parish 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:
American Freshman survey
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
Helping others who are in difficulty Being very well off financiallyDeveloping a meaningful philosophy of life
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 HappinessKasser & 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 timeTwenge et al. (2010)
• Over 63,000 college students who completed the MMPI between 1930s and 2007
• General increases in most scales
Figure 3: MMPI Psychopathic Deviation (Pd) scale scores of college students, 1938-2007
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
T-s
co
re
Figure 4: MMPI Hypomania (Ma) scale scores of college students, 1938-2007
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year
T-s
co
re
Found across timeTwenge et al. (2010)
• Twenge tested 3 models to explain increase– Economic cycles (unemployment rate)– Response styles– Increase in materialistic values
American Freshman survey
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
Helping others who are in difficulty Being very well off financiallyDeveloping a meaningful philosophy of life
Found across timeTwenge et al. (2010)
• Best fitting model was materialistic values
Hysteria Psychopath. Deviation
Psych-asthenia
Hypo-mania
Hypo-chondr.
Materialism .38** .38** .28** .51** .55**
Unemploy -.09 -.01 .15 .03 .07
Found across nationsKasser (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 nationsKasser (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 nationsKasser (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 nationsKasser (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 nationsKasser (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
MaterialismCauses
Two-fold Strategy
MaterialismCauses
Two-fold Strategy
MaterialismCauses HealthyValues
Two-fold Strategy
Material-ism
Causes HealthyValues
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 ValuesGrouzet, 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
Physical self
Extrinsic Intrinsic
Spirituality
Community
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Physical health
SafetyHedonism
Financialsuccess
Image
Popularity
Conformity
Self-transcendence
Physical self
Extrinsic Intrinsic
Spirituality
Community
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Physical health
SafetyHedonism
Financialsuccess
Image
Popularity
Conformity
Self-transcendence
Physical self
Extrinsic Intrinsic
Spirituality
Community
Affiliation
Self-acceptance
Physical health
SafetyHedonism
Financialsuccess
Image
Popularity
Conformity
Intrinsic ValuesKasser & 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
Material-ism
Causes HealthyValues
Avenues for Change in a City
• City Planning
• Protection from Advertising
• City-indices of Progress
City Planning
City Planning
City PlanningWeinstein 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 AspirationsWeinstein et al. (2009)
Materialistic AspirationsWeinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic AspirationsWeinstein et al. (2009)
Intrinsic AspirationsWeinstein 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, e-mail me at [email protected]