Lecture 20 - The dark side of the American dream

Question 1

Tim Kasser

Answer 1

Values and the impact in a consumerist culture
Leader in a movement… Take back your life (simplicity movement)… focus less on tv and social media
What really contributes to having a meaningful life
Lived his life true to his theory

Question 2

The American Dream

Answer 2

 The ideal that every US citizen should have
an equal opportunity to achieve success and
prosperity through hard work, determination,
and initiative.
 The ideal that every US citizen should have
an equal opportunity to achieve success and
prosperity through hard work, determination,
and initiative.
 Urban Dictionary offers 2:
– to sue someone for something incredibly stupid and live off the money.
– to otherwise make a lot of money for not a lot of effort, and spend the rest
of your life being rich and getting plastic surgery.
In a sentence? “ Johnny was biking in the park, and he ran into a tree.
He sued the council and got 10 mil. He’s living the American Dream. “

Question 3

Prof’s Summer Vacations and the Amish

Answer 3

Prof’s vacations
Landcaster, Pennsylvania
Holiday at Intercourse (amish town)

 Description of Amish
Society
 Core Values of “The
Simple Life”
– Community & family
– Humility!!! Not pride and narcissism
– The religious life

Not going to school
Established school until 16… but amish could be in charge of those schools

Amish don’t buy into the American dream (wealth, appearance, attractiveness…)

Question 4

On the Cultural Origins of Depression

Answer 4

 “Depression holds a pivotal
position in understanding
what is wrong with society.
While sadness, unhappiness,
and grief are inevitable, this is
not true of depression… Its
origins are closely linked to
the quality of core social
roles.”
 George Brown, 2002

First depression episode at younger age

Question 5

Kasser’s Exploration of the Values
Underlying the American Dream

Answer 5

 Kasser & Ryan (1993)
 Lower well-being is associated with having
extrinsic goals focused on rewards, praise, &
competition relatively central to one’s
personality in comparison to intrinsic goals
that are congruent with inherent growth
tendencies

The Starlet
Chance to win money
15 wannabe actresses
Sense of entitlement and superiority and vanity
Looked like popular actresses
Clever show (Marylin Monroe, Witney Houston… both killed themselves)… teach lesson about their dream of being a starlet… taking American dream too far
Most modest one won

Question 6

Kasser’s Framework (2002)

Answer 6

 2 broad classes of aspirations distinguished
on basis of content.
 Extrinsic aspirations depend on contingent
reaction of others and are typically engaged
in as a means to an end.
 Intrinsic aspirations are expressive of natural
growth tendencies and are likely to satisfy
basic psychological needs.

 Intrinsic
– Close relationships
– Community
Involvement
– Personal Growth
 Extrinsic
– Money (rewards?)
– Fame (competition?)
– Appealing Image
(praise?)

Focus on extrinsic values is increasing
What researchers focus on is the difference with a relative balance between intrinsic and extrinsic

Kasser’s findings are universal

 Nearly half of young
adults say they are
‘obsessed’ with being
rich, and financial
consequences may
ensue
 Fox News Headline Jan 24,
2024
 Financial experts described how social media
, among other factors, has contributed to
feelings of discontentment among some
young adults.

Question 7

Kasser & Ryan 1993 Study 1

Answer 7

 Community adults aged 18-79 completed
surveys of aspirations and well-being
– Self-actualization
– Vitality
– Depression
– Physical Symptoms

used interview ratings
of well-being.

Americans, Koreans, Germans

Basically intrinsic goals correlated positively with well-being

 144 studies from all
continents except A—
 52% from North
America
 Mean effect size of
extrinsic aspirations
with distress , r = .20.

So findings are universal

Question 8

Prof’s story

Answer 8

Prof’s desire to wear cool popular sneakers

Women wearing uncomfortable, damaging high heels for the look…. Extrinsic

Question 9

Moderating Factors:

Answer 9

 Motivation behind aspirations
 Attainability
 Living your values

 Gender and Culture do not seem to moderate impact
of extrinsic values on WB

Having a mix of intrinsic and extrinsic can balance it

More towards intrinsic, the healthier outcomes

Even if wanting a lot of money, can be intrinsic. Ex: immigrant parents wanting to make money for their kids

Can achieve extrinsic goals! But doesn’t mean good well-being

Cost regardless of the culture

Question 10

Does it matter whether you achieve your
aspirations? Niemic, Ryan & Deci 2009

Answer 10

 200 Young Adults
contacted 1 year after
graduation.
 Assessed Aspirations,
Well Being.
 Follow-Up at 1 year to
assess attainment of
aspirations, need
satisfaction, and
changes in well being

idk the details of the conclusions but i think it’s basically that the ones with more intrinsic aspirations had higher well-being

Question 11

Expressing aspirations in behavior

Answer 11

 Sheldon & Krieger 2014;
 Walking the talk: Value importance, value enactment, and WB

Significant behavior/importance gap between actually acting on values and just talking
-especially true for intrinsic values
Value enactement (doing) predicted well-being better than value importance

Question 12

Return to Amish example

Answer 12

Yes, less depression

 Caution: “Traditional cultures do not
necessarily get things right where mental
health is concerned” (Brown, 2002)
 Parenting practices: Spanking among Amish
 Childhood marriages

Question 13

What Kasser recommends:

Answer 13

 We cannot altogether abandon an interest in $,
status, & appearance – these things do have
currency in modern life. (Example of anti-conformity)
 We should instead make sure that our focus on
these aspirations is moderate and outweighed by
intrinsic aspirations. (Relative balance is key).
 We should become aware of societal, social, and
personal factors that drive us toward materialistic
values – discuss Facebook.
-Facebook and Instagram set unrealistic standards