Many psychologists think that materialists are unhappy because these people neglect their real psychological needs:. When people do not have their needs well-satisfied, they report lower levels of well-being and happiness, as well as more distress. Check out the whole interview at the APA's website.
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all.
Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. A psychologist explains why materialism is making you unhappy. Share this story Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share All sharing options Share All sharing options for: A psychologist explains why materialism is making you unhappy.
Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. I have all these bags with things in them, and yet I'm so unfulfilled. Shutterstock Materialists lead unhappier lives — and are worse to the people around them. Here are the best bits. Materialists are sad, terrible people: We know from research that materialism tends to be associated with treating others in more competitive, manipulative and selfish ways, as well as with being less empathetic There is a shadow in these photos — photos of a young man wearing all four of his Rolex watches , a youth posing in front of his helicopter , endless pictures of cars, yachts, shoes, mansions, swimming pools and spoilt white boys throwing gangster poses in private jets — of something worse: something that, after you have seen a few dozen, becomes disorienting, even distressing.
The pictures are, of course, intended to incite envy. They reek instead of desperation. The young men and women seem lost in their designer clothes, dwarfed and dehumanised by their possessions, as if ownership has gone into reverse.
A girl's head barely emerges from the haul of Chanel, Dior and Hermes shopping bags she has piled on her vast bed. It's captioned "shoppy shoppy" and " goldrush", but a photograph whose purpose is to illustrate plenty seems instead to depict a void.
She's alone with her bags and her image in the mirror, in a scene that seems saturated with despair. Perhaps I'm projecting my prejudices. But an impressive body of psychological research seems to support these feelings. It suggests that materialism, a trait that can afflict both rich and poor, and which the researchers define as " a value system that is preoccupied with possessions and the social image they project ", is both socially destructive and self-destructive.
It smashes the happiness and peace of mind of those who succumb to it. It's associated with anxiety, depression and broken relationships. There has long been a correlation observed between materialism, a lack of empathy and engagement with others, and unhappiness. But research conducted over the past few years seems to show causation. For example, a series of studies published in the journal Motivation and Emotion in July showed that as people become more materialistic, their wellbeing good relationships, autonomy, sense of purpose and the rest diminishes.
As they become less materialistic, it rises. In one study, the researchers tested a group of year-olds, then re-tested them 12 years later.
They were asked to rank the importance of different goals — jobs, money and status on one side, and self-acceptance, fellow feeling and belonging on the other. They were then given a standard diagnostic test to identify mental health problems. Western societies tend to pass on values that are abstract and spiritual such as kindness, equality and social justice. Unsurprisingly, many businesses have been quick to jump onto this bandwagon.
Tear-jerking commercials from Thailand reminding people to buy insurance to protect loved ones, Christmas adverts reminding viewers to be kind to one another are just two examples. The key is to promote these programmes in ways that materialists can engage with — through a public display of consumption that communicates social identity. Materialism undoubtedly has an ugly face but it is here to stay.
Rather than focusing efforts to diminish it, individual consumers, businesses and policymakers should focus on using it for promoting collective interests that benefit wider society.
Festival of Social Science — Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. The Choose Love pop-up store in London set up to help refugees. Contributors Bodo B. Shopping Altruism Consumerism materialism Black Friday.
0コメント