Introduction extended abstract

Relatively many studies in the field of Economics and Economic Psychology have addressed the relationships between materialism, subjective well-being, and economic variables, such as income, welfare level, and socio-economic class. These studies generally assume that people’s well-being is determined to a great extent by the economic welfare state of a country, a household, or an individual. According to Self-determination Theory (SDT)[1], however, subjective well-being is achieved by fulfilling basic human social-developing needs, like the need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. SDT focuses on self-authored or intrinsic motivation resulting from these social needs. Intrinsic motivation is described as an individual’s “...inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise one’s capacities, to explore, and to learn.” According to SDT, social-contextual conditions, like a supportive social environment, foster this motivation to satisfy these needs. The opposite of intrinsic motivation is extrinsic motivation, or the performance of an activity in order to attain some separable outcome, rather than doing an activity for the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation reflect differing degrees to which the value and regulation of different behaviors has been internalized and integrated into a value structure, contributing to a sense of self. This value structure can most parsimoniously be described as consisting of extrinsic or materialistic values, such as financial success, fame, and physical appearance, compared to intrinsic values, such as growth, community contribution, and affiliation.

In the present study, I examined the relationships between an extrinsic materialistic value orientation (materialism), relatedness needs, and subjective well-being. Relatedness involves the ‘desire to feel connected to others’, that is to feel close with others. Although social psychology theorists have long acknowledged that relatedness needs are important predictors of subjective well-being through intrinsic motivation, few attempts have been made to examine the interplay between these needs, an extrinsic value orientation, and subjective well-being. Consistent with SDT, the major contention of this study was that subjective well-being is achieved through the satisfaction of relatedness needs in a supportive social environment that allows an individual to develop high levels of self-authored motivation. Moreover, I hypothesized that the lack of such an environment and unfulfilled psychological needs will increase extrinsic, materialistic values, and decrease subjective well-being. The present study addressed this issue by exploring the relationships between gender, educational level, need to belong, social provisions, family resources, materialism, and subjective well-being.

Method

A quota sample was drawn from the Dutch population of individuals born between 1980 and 1990. This narrow population was defined to control for age and cohort effects reported in the well-being literature. Respondents providing the data in this study were 206 Dutch (43% males and 57% females) young adults. My sample ranged in age from 18 years to 29 years (M = 23.27 years, SD = 2.61 years). A total of 71 undergraduate students from Tilburg University collected the data in this study in exchange for credit toward a course requirement. The participants filled out a paper-and-pencil questionnaire containing the well-known commonly used Need to Belong scale, the Social Provisions Scale, the Family Resources Scale, the Materialism Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. Data were subsequently analyzed by means of regression analyses and canonical correlation analysis. The Materialism Scale by Richins and Dawson [2] consisted of three belief domains of materialism: a) defining success: the extent to which one uses possessions as indicators of success and achievement in life, b) acquisition centrality: the extent to which one places possession (acquisition) at the center of one’s life, and c) pursuit of happiness: the belief that possessions are essential to satisfaction and well-being in life. In this study, pursuit of happiness was treated as an outcome variable of the other two belief domains of materialism, and an antecedent of life satisfaction.

Results

Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop a model for predicting the pursuit of happiness through material goods from the respondent’s gender, level of education (7 levels), need to belong, social provision, success beliefs, and acquisition-centrality beliefs. The six predictor model was able to account for 25% of the variance in pursuit of happiness: F(7, 196) = 10.88, p < .001. Social provisions (? = -.16), family resources (? = -.14), success beliefs (? = .37), and acquisition centrality (? = .17) had significant partial effects (p < .05) in the full model. A second model was constructed for predicting life satisfaction by means of gender, level of education, need to belong, social provisions, family resources, and pursuit of happiness through goods. This model significantly explained 30% (F(6, 197) = 15,41; p < .01) of the variance in life satisfaction. The significant predictors (p < .05) in the model were level of education (? = .12), social provisions (? = .32), family resources (? = .21), and the pursuit of happiness through possessions (? = -.26).

To further explore the relationships between relatedness needs, materialism, and life satisfaction, an exploratory canonical correlation analysis was conducted to examine the model with pursuit of happiness through goods and life satisfaction as the dependents and the remaining variables as the independents. Tests of dimensionality for the canonical correlation analysis indicated that both canonical dimensions were statistically significant at the .001 level. Dimension 1 had a canonical correlation of .53 between the sets of variables, while for dimension 2 the canonical correlation was .49. For the satisfaction variables, the first canonical dimension was influenced most strongly by the pursuit of happiness through possessions (.85; standardized canonical coefficients between brackets), followed by life satisfaction (-.30). For the independent variables, the first dimension was comprised of social provisions (-.47), family resources (-.35), defining success (.57), and acquisition centrality (.30). Life satisfaction (1.03) most strongly influenced the second dimension, followed by the pursuit of happiness through goods (.66). For the second dimension level of education (.33), social provisions (.59), family resources (.30), and the use of material possessions as indicators of success and achievement in life (.60) were the dominating independents (see Figures 1 and 2).

The results of both regression models were fully supported by the first canonical dimension in the canonical correlation analysis and in line with expectations: sufficient family resources and social provisions are elementary for achieving life satisfaction and a lack of these resources increases the pursuit of happiness through the possessions of goods. However, the second canonical dimension revealed that the use of material possessions as indicators of success and achievement in life was also positively related to the pursuit of happiness through possessions and life satisfaction. Boundary conditions were a higher level of education, sufficient family resources, and a considerable amount of social provisions. Theoretical and methodological implications of these results for scholars and practitioners in happiness research will be discussed.

References

[1]   Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1995). Human autonomy: The basis for true self-esteem. In M. Kemis (Ed.), Efficacy, agency, and self-esteem (pp. 31-49). New York: Plenum.

[2]   Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19, 303-316.