Lesson 2: To Buy or Not to Buy? That Is The Question! PDF

Lesson 2: To Buy or Not to Buy? That Is the Question! Lesson Obiectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. explain the association of self and possessions; 2. identify the role of consumer culture to self and identity; and 3. appraise one's self based on the description of mat...

Lesson 2: To Buy or Not to Buy? That Is the Question! Lesson Obiectives At the end of this lesson, you should be able to: 1. explain the association of self and possessions; 2. identify the role of consumer culture to self and identity; and 3. appraise one's self based on the description of material self. William James, in his 1890 work The Principles of Psychology, explored the concept of the self through its various components, including the material self. According to James, the material self encompasses our body, clothes, immediate family, and home, each deeply affecting our sense of identity due to our investment in them. 1. Body: The core of the material self, as we are directly attached to our bodies and invest in their well- being. Issues with our body significantly impact us, and some individuals, like celebrities, even insure specific body parts. 2. Clothes: James, influenced by Herman Lotze's "Philosophy of Dress," viewed clothing as a key aspect of the material self. Clothes affect our attitudes and behavior and serve as a form of self-expression. 3. Immediate Family: Our family members are integral to our material self. Their successes, failures, and well-being deeply affect us, reflecting our emotional investment in them. 4. Home: Home represents an extension of the self, where personal experiences are embedded in its spaces and objects, making it a significant part of our identity. Overall, our possessions, including body parts, clothing, family, and home, become extensions of our self as we invest emotional and personal value in them. James described the self as "the sum total of all what he CAN call his," meaning that our possessions are an integral part of our identity. We Are What We Are Russel Belk (1988) posits that "we regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We are what we have and what we possess." This idea suggests that our self-identity is closely tied to our material possessions. From infancy, we begin to distinguish ourselves from our environment and others by valuing our possessions. As we age, the significance of material possessions may decrease, but they often gain more value when linked to personal happiness, significant life events, or people. Items like a cherished chair, vehicle, or book can become lasting symbols of the person they belonged to, reflecting our self-concept, past, and future.