The Material Self PDF

The material self Material self? - pertains to the objects, places, or even people which have the label “mine”. - Includes all possessions - Body, clothes, family, home etc. Two subclasses of the material self BODILY SELF - Intimate part of who we are...

The material self Material self? - pertains to the objects, places, or even people which have the label “mine”. - Includes all possessions - Body, clothes, family, home etc. Two subclasses of the material self BODILY SELF - Intimate part of who we are - “my arms”, “my legs” EXTRACORPEAL - Beyond the body - Other people, pets, possessions, places, products of labors materialism - putting so much value on making a lot of money and having many possessions. - according to researchers, the more people watch TV, as well as the more they use social media, the more materialistic their values are. - Materialism is associated with: a. low level of wellbeing b. less prosocial interpersonal behavior c. more ecologically destructive behavior d. worse academic outcomes “That's our entire economic system: buy things. Everybody buy. It doesn't matter what you buy. Just buy. It doesn't matter if you don't have money. Just buy. Our entire civilization now rests on the assumption that, no matter what else happens, we will all continue to buy lots and lots of things. Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. And then buy a little more. Don't create, or produce, or discover -- just buy. Never save, never invest, never cut back -- just buy. Buy what you don't need with money you don't have... Buy like you breathe, only more frequently.” Factors that influence consumer decision: 1. Situational – buying task; market offering 2. Personal- age, economic situation, personality 3. Psychological- motivation, attitudes, beliefs 4. Social- culture, social class, family, reference group. Persuasion techniques 1. Foot-in-the-door 2. Door in the face Can money change people? Money can powerfully influence our thoughts and actions in ways that we are often not aware of, no matter what our economic circumstances are (Greogoire, 2014) Cash can have a serious bearing on one’s belief regarding the way a person views himself/herself. Evidences ⮚ Social and Business Value 2 motivations for completing a task (Heyman & Ariely, 2004) a. Social value– part of a social duty 🡪 more happy to help out b. Business value– money is offered ⮚ Self-sufficiency and Service - money conscious individuals are more self-sufficient ⮚ Self view - the amount one earns have an effect on how he/she views both himself/herself and others ** class essentialism 🡪 differences between classes are based upon identity and genetics rather than circumstance. Evidences ⮚ Ethics Self-interest maximization 🡪 those who have the most money or occupy higher classes are more likely to take a “what’s in it for me?” attitude. (Piff, 2012) ⮚ Addiction Behavioral or process addiction 🡪 compulsive behavior not motivated by dependency on an addictive substance but rather by a process that leads to a seemingly positive outcome. Can money make you happy? Hedonic adaptation an adaptation-level phenomenon, which is a term that describes how humans become insensitive to new stimuli, and quickly readjust to an emotional baseline. Therefore, the stimulus needed to create an emotion— like happiness or excitement—needs to be more intense than the last stimulus in order for someone to feel its effects.  Roles of consumer culture on our sense of self and identity Possessions and the extended self Unintentional loss of possessions/nonvoluntary- loss/lessening of self ** when people lose things/people that are considered to be an extension of the self, they feel the loss as a threat to their self-identity.  SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED Self ⮚ Collections (“I shop, therefore I am “) - Humans collect assemble of non-necessities for distinction and self- definition - Gifts, unintended acquisitions - A “security blanket”  SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED self ⮚ Pets as Extended Self - Pets – representative of self - Pets are instrumental to self identity that they are often useful as transition objects for children or surrogate children for adults - Pets – therapeutic  SPECIAL CASES OF EXTENDED SALE ⮚ Body Parts - Cathexis – investment of energy in ideas, persons, or things - When a body part is more cathected, there is greater use of grooming products to care for this body part - Loss of certain body parts – tantamount to loss of self-identity cycle of work and spend - work more to buy more - the level of consumption is set mainly by ` people’s choices about how much to work, and therefore how much to earn. ** consumption – major form of reward Alienation Labor in capitalist societies is often imposed and non- voluntary, hence why most employees avoid it like the plague when outside work premises. Thus, work becomes completely separate from the individual as it contains little to no need-satisfying value. Therefore, this leads to worker apathy and alienation from one’s labor. “Material possessions tell something of the personality and social values of those who own them.”