L8 Happiness Consumption

Question 1

Define Materialism

Answer 1

Materialism “the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions” (Belk, 1984, p. 291)

Question 2

Materialism is associated with what?

Answer 2

◦ higher levels of compulsive buying (1/12 Australians) (Dittmar, 2005)
◦ lower levels of psychological adjustment and social functioning
- higher levels of unhappiness

Correlational Data (e.g. materialism associated with low SES early in life)

Question 3

What is a measure of materialism?

Answer 3

•Material values scale (Richards & Dawson, 1992)

◦ e.g., “My life would be better if I owned certain things I didn’t have”

Question 4

To do or to have? (van Boven & Gilovich, 2003) Study 1

Answer 4

Described and evaluated the most recent purchase they had made for more than $100
◦ experiential or material purchase
• Results: Participants reported that experiential purchases made than happier than material purchases, money better spent

Question 5

Van Boven & Gilovich (2003): Study 2

Answer 5

Community sample (large national phone survey)
Were asked to:
◦ think about an experiential and a material purchase they had made during their lifetime
◦ report which purchase makes them happier (could choose “unsure”)
Results:
◦ 57% said that the experiential purchase made them happier than the material purchase
◦ 34% said material purchase made them happier
◦ The “experiential advantage” effect held across different demographic groups.

Within age, SES etc this held. They concluded that happiness from consumption does depend on what people buy and consume.

Concluded • Consumers should invest more in consumption experiences as opposed to material possessions
• Government should take experiences seriously (have public spaces etc.)

Question 6

Why do experiential purchases make us happier than material purchases?

Answer 6

Compared to material purchases, experiential purchases are:
◦ more effective at promoting social relations and connections (Gilovich et al., 2015)
◦ more likely to be incorporated into the self-concept (Carter & Gilovich, 2012)
• When told to write life stories including purchases, 42% included experiential, vs 22% material
◦ less likely to trigger social comparisons (e.g., Carter & Gilovich, 2010)
◦ less likely to be appraised in monetary terms (Mann & Gilovich, 2014, cited in Gilovich et al., 2015) Once we fixate on costs, we tend to be less happy about things.

Question 7

Could social class moderate the experiential advantage effect?

Answer 7

Yes
1◦ higher social class: greater focus on internal states (e.g., Kraus et al., 2012)
- greater happiness from experiential purchases (because they focus more on the self and self-concept)
◦ lower social class: greater concern about the wise use of resources (Fernbach et al., 2015)
- greater happiness from material purchases

2 In van Boven and Gilovich (2003; Study 2), the experiential advantage was weaker among lower income groups

3 Meta-analysis of studies with college students as participants (Lee et al., in press):
o greater experiential advantage among higher social class (used proxy indicators of social class
- whether the college student came from private institutions vs public)

Question 8

The role of social class (Lee et al., in press)

Study 1

Answer 8

◦ US community sample N= 209 adult U.S
◦ Comparative survey (within-subjects design) similar to van Boven & Gilovich, 2003; Study 2)
◦ Asked participants to rate their social class using the MacArthur Scale (ladder image) which is a Subjective, self-reported measure of social class.
The significant experiential advantage was correlated with higher social class but only those who scored 7 out of 10 in social class reached significance.
The material advantage was only significant for those scoring 4 and below on the McArthur Scale of Social Class.

Question 9

The role of social class (Lee et al., in press) Study 3:

Answer 9

A total of 402 adult U.S.
◦ Manipulated resource availability resource abundance vs. resource deprivation: imagine their monthly income had increased or decreased by 50%
wrote for 3 min about how they would budget
then imagined that 6 months had passed since new income
◦ Asked participants to report comparative purchase happiness
“recall an experiential and a material purchase” report which would make them happier (1: definitely the material purchase, 4: About the same, 7: Definitely the experiential purchase)
◦ Results:
Resource availability moderated the experiential advantage
- Abundance: Sig experiential advantage effect
- Deprivation: No sig experiential advantage effect (non-sig trend in the opposite direction)
- It was a flat line, no material advantage either.

Question 10

Consider whether it is possible to classify all purchases as either material or experiential

Answer 10

Material purchases and experiential purchases are a false dichotomy (Schmitt et al., 2015)
◦ how would you classify a guitar, book, phone?
Experiential products: products that afford a life experience
◦ Produces the same positive effects as experiences (Gueverra & Howell, 2015)

Question 11

Discuss possible future directions for research on consumption and happiness

Answer 11

◦ happiness from pleasure (hedonia) vs. from meaning (eudaimonia)
◦ momentary happiness vs. “afterglow”

Effects of:
◦ reduced consumption (e.g., temporarily consuming less)
◦ underconsumption (i.e., thrift)

Question 12

The role of social class (Lee et al., in press)

Study 2 from reading

Answer 12

• participants rated their happiness after recalling either an experiential or a material purchase
  A total of 500 U.S.
  Each participant was randomly assigned to recall either an experiential or a material discretionary purchase. “When you think about this purchase, how happy does it make you?” “Generally, how concerned are you about managing your finances?”

Lower-class participants reported

• higher levels of materialism,
• lower levels of experiential buying tendency and
• lower levels of subjective happiness
• stronger beliefs that material purchases bring happiness than did higher-class participants,

and higher-class participants reported
- greater proclivity to purchase experiences to gain happiness. 
Despite the significant interaction, the simple slopes that measured lower class Material vs Experiential and the higher class material vs experiential did not attain conventional significance levels in Study 2

Question 13

Conclusions Lee et al 2018

Answer 13

1 We argue that social class influences purchase happiness because resource abundance focuses people on internal states and goals, such as self-development, self-expression, and the pursuit of uniqueness

2 Whereas resource deprivation orients people toward resource management and spending money wisely.

3 The pursuit of material goods should not be overlooked as a route to happiness for those who currently possess very little.