Material /

Economic Self
• A discussion of the potential relationships
between materialism and several economic
variables, including use of money, work
motivation, giving and materialism

all the physical elements that reflects who a

person is such as body, clothes, money,
family, and anything we have
 Material
Self
It refers to tangible
objects, people, or
places that carry the
designation my or
mine.
 Material Self
The material self refers to tangible objects,
people, or places that carry the designation
my or mine. Two subclasses of the material
self can be distinguished:
 Material Self

• bodily self and the extracorporeal (beyond

the body) self. Rosenberg (1979) has
referred to the extracorporeal self as the
extended self.
 Material Self
• The bodily self – the parts of
our body

• Extracorporeal – any material

possessions which extends our
body.
 Material Self

The bodily component of the material

self requires little explanation. A
person speaks of my arms or my legs.
These entities are clearly an intimate
part of who we are. But our sense of
self is not limited to our bodies.
 Material Self

It includes other people (my children), pets

(my dog), possessions (my car), places (my
home town), and the products of our labors
(my painting). It is not the physical entities
themselves, however, that comprise the
material self.
Material Self
The things we own is an
extension of ourselves.
Possessions are the
extended versions of
oneself
We use them to signal to
ourselves, and others,
who we want to be and
where we want to
belong.
 Social Self
The social nature of the
self, the emphasis is on
the self-esteem, along
with self-centrality, self-
complexity, social
interest, identification,
power, openness and
majority identification.
 Social Self
The relational self includes
all of the individuals we
regard as “ours,” such as
our parents, siblings,
romantic partners, close
friends, and colleagues
(Andersen & Chen, 2002;
Chen, Boucher, & Tapias,
2006).
Relational self
• First, people spontaneously
mention others when describing
themselves, and include
photographs of their family, loved
ones, and friends when asked to
prepare photographs that reveal
something about “who you are”
• (Aron, Aron, Tudor, & Nelson, 1991;
Dollinger & Clancy Dollinger,
2003).
Bodily component Self
• James called the
second category
of the empirical
self the social
self. The social
self refers to how
we are regarded
and recognized
by others.
Bodily component Self
• Building on James’s
analysis, modern
researchers have
proposed that we
also possess a
relational self, the
self defined in terms
of specific
interpersonal
relationships.
 However, putting
too much of one's
life on the things you
own may have
negative effects for
ones identity--
materialism.
Materialism - having a self-
concept that is based on
what one possesses either
intrinsically (abilities, skills,
physical appearance) or
extrinsically (clothes, social
environment) Kashdan &
Breen, 2007
Childhood & Adolescence ...
The idea that we can own something, is
one that children grasp by the age of
two. And by six, they exhibit the
‘endowment effect’, placing extra value
on an object simply by virtue of it being,
or having been, theirs.
Childhood & Adolescence ...

Through adolescence, possessions

increasingly reflect who people are,
or at least how they would like to
see themselves.
Adulthood ...

our things embody our sense of self-

adulthood and identity still further,
becoming external receptacles for
our memories, relationships and
travels.
 Economic Self

• Economic self-sufficiency is the ability of

individuals and families to maintain sufficient
income to consistently meet their basic
needs
• – including food, housing, utilities, health
care, transportation, taxes, dependent care,
and clothing
Maslow Hierarchy of needs
 Material possessions
• Signify aspects of one's sense of self and
identity
• One's sense of self and identity is influential
on how an individual chooses to purchase his
or her wants and he or she makes economic
decisions that will address his or her personal
and social needs.
 What is Consumer Psychology

It is the study of why people buy things.

Psychologists try to find the underlying
cognitive processes that explain consumers'
choices and how they respond to the
influence of marketing, as well as the
external stimuli that convince people to
purchase certain items.
 Theories of Consumer Behavior
1. Behaviorism - people's actions
are driven by external stimuli. We
become convinced to do things
because of some outside
influence.
 Theories of Consumer Behavior

2. Cognitive Approach - suggests

that our behaviors are caused
mostly by our own mental
processing.
FACTORS IN PURCHASING ITEMS
AND SERVICES
FACTORS
1. Financial
constraints
2. Availability of
items and
services
3. Influence of
family and friends
 NEEDS VS. WANTS

• Needs is important for

survival

• Wants is synonymous
with luxuries
 Utility and significance
• In the process of acquiring material goods,
people generally consider two things:

1. UTILITY as how things serve its practical

purpose and
2. SIGNIFICANCE concerning the meaning
assigned to the object.