11 - Consumption & Happiness

Question 1

What is materialism?

Answer 1

The importance a consumer attaches to worldly posessions

Question 2

What are higher levels of materialism associated with?

Answer 2

Higher levels of compulsive buying

Lower levels of psychological adjustment and social functioning

Higher levels of unhappiness

Question 3

What are experiential purchases?

Answer 3

Those made with the intention of acquiring a life experience

Question 4

In the To Do or To Have Study, what did they find?

Answer 4

Study 1: Uni students described the most recent purchase they made for > $100. Experiential or material. Results; ppt reported experiential made them happier.

Study 2: Community sample (large national phone survey), think about an experiential and material purchase they made during lifetime and report which made them happier. Results; 57% said experiential happier, 34% material made them happier

Effect held, but weaker among low SES

Question 5

What did the To Do or To Have study conclude?

Answer 5

Happiness from consumption depends on what people buy and consume

Consumers should invest more in consumption experiences.

Government need to take experiences seriously

Question 6

Why do experiential purchases make us happier?

Answer 6

Compared to material, they are;

• more effective at promoting social relations and connections
• More likely to be incorporated into the self-concept
• Less likely to trigger social comparisons
• Less likely to be appraised in monetary terms

Question 7

What are some unanswered questions in experiential and material purchases?

Answer 7

Different aspects of happiness; from pleasure (hedonia) vs. from meaning (eudaimonia)

Effects of; reduced consumption (temporarily consuming less) and under-consumption