Materialistic People Are Less Happy
In the article Materialistic People Are Less Happy Than Everyone Else: Science by Rebecca Hiscott, the current day problem of materialism is discussed. A recent study conducted by researchers at San Francisco State University, suggests that many people believe that a person will be happier spending their paycheck on a trip to Hawaii rather than on another pair of Nikes. In reality though, people who value materialistic pursuits and prefer buying material goods over experiences aren’t any happier when they make "experiential" purchases like trips to Hawaii, but they are not happier after a materialistic purchase either.
Over the course of three experiments, San Francisco State researchers classified a group of several hundred adults according to personality types. Their personalities ranged from less materialistic to more materialistic. Approximately one third of the group were materialistic personalities. Each person was asked to rate a material or experiential purchase according to questions such as, “how much has this purchase contributed to your overall life happiness?” The more-materialistic participants got less happiness from experiential purchases, because such purchases did not fit with their personality and values. The researchers assumed that these participants would at least get a slight boost in happiness from material purchases, which better suit their values, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, material buyers weren’t any happier with their material purchases than with their experiential ones.
People who display materialistic values tend to be seen by others as having negative personality traits like narcissism and shallowness. In fact, according to a personality scale known as the Experiential Buying Tendency Scale , materialistic personality types do exhibit increased neuroticism, poorer interpersonal relationships and less empathy than non-materialists. For materialists, it's an odd situation because they will not be content whether they buy an item or not. While material purchases might make them feel happier, they cannot fully enjoy their material spoils because they feel judged. In contrast, an experiential purchase can’t make a materialist any happier, because they are trying to impress others, and it does not meet their psychological needs. All it takes for materialists to fix this is for them to just be themselves and create happiness rather than pursue happiness through materialistic items and experiential purchases. If materialists make more genuine purchases, rather than trying to impress others, they will be happier.
Hiscott was able to prove that money cannot buy happiness, and the only way for a materialist to truly be happy is for them to create their own happiness. Materialists live their lives pursuing happiness by constantly purchasing items in which they hope will bring them some sort of happiness, rather than simply being content with what they have and create happiness out of it. Despite being a materialist or not, it is important to remember that when it comes to buying happiness, creating happiness is much less expensive and more effective than pursuing happiness.
Over the course of three experiments, San Francisco State researchers classified a group of several hundred adults according to personality types. Their personalities ranged from less materialistic to more materialistic. Approximately one third of the group were materialistic personalities. Each person was asked to rate a material or experiential purchase according to questions such as, “how much has this purchase contributed to your overall life happiness?” The more-materialistic participants got less happiness from experiential purchases, because such purchases did not fit with their personality and values. The researchers assumed that these participants would at least get a slight boost in happiness from material purchases, which better suit their values, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, material buyers weren’t any happier with their material purchases than with their experiential ones.
People who display materialistic values tend to be seen by others as having negative personality traits like narcissism and shallowness. In fact, according to a personality scale known as the Experiential Buying Tendency Scale , materialistic personality types do exhibit increased neuroticism, poorer interpersonal relationships and less empathy than non-materialists. For materialists, it's an odd situation because they will not be content whether they buy an item or not. While material purchases might make them feel happier, they cannot fully enjoy their material spoils because they feel judged. In contrast, an experiential purchase can’t make a materialist any happier, because they are trying to impress others, and it does not meet their psychological needs. All it takes for materialists to fix this is for them to just be themselves and create happiness rather than pursue happiness through materialistic items and experiential purchases. If materialists make more genuine purchases, rather than trying to impress others, they will be happier.
Hiscott was able to prove that money cannot buy happiness, and the only way for a materialist to truly be happy is for them to create their own happiness. Materialists live their lives pursuing happiness by constantly purchasing items in which they hope will bring them some sort of happiness, rather than simply being content with what they have and create happiness out of it. Despite being a materialist or not, it is important to remember that when it comes to buying happiness, creating happiness is much less expensive and more effective than pursuing happiness.