Scientists Find that Low Self-Esteem & Materialism Goes Hand in Hand

[Tuesday Afternoon]

“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.”

~From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

A Galaxy classic...with a recession going full force, we thought this feature might help ease the pain.

Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem. The also found that as self esteem increases, materialism decreases. The study primarily focused on how this relationship affects children and adolescents. Lan Nguyen Chaplin (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Deborah Roedder John (University of Minnesota) found that even a simple gesture to raise self-esteem dramatically decreased materialism, which provides a way to cope with insecurity.

"By the time children reach early adolescence, and experience a decline in self-esteem, the stage is set for the use of material possessions as a coping strategy for feelings of low self-worth," they write in the study, which will appear in the Journal of Consumer Research.

The paradox that findings such as these bring up, is that consumerism is good for the economy but bad for the individual. In the short run, it’s good for the economy when young people believe they need to buy an entirely new wardrobe every year, for example. But the hidden cost is much higher than the dollar amount. There are costs in happiness when people believe that their value is extrinsic. There are also environmental costs associated with widespread materialism.

In the book “Happiness: Lessons From a New Science”, Richard Layard exposes a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most of us want more income so we can consume more. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe and Japan.


more at link:
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2009/01/scientists-find.html

[LynzM]

1. This seems entirely plausible to me.

I've heard/read many times about 3rd-world people who are thrilled to share the joy of their celebrations, their friends, their families. Yes, subsistance life is fucking hard, I'm not arguing that. But it doesn't necessarily seem to cause unhappiness, in and of itself. And yet so many 1st-world people are miserable, working for the weekend, slaving away to have more and more stuff... competing over looks and goods and possessions. Bleh.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. ~

:hug: :hi:

[DarkTirade]

2. I've always had a high opinion of myself.

Maybe that's why the only stuff I want is stuff that I can actually use, rather than stuff to show off. :P

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. ~

;) :thumbsup:

[DarkTirade]

10. Honestly, whenever the subject of 'what would you do if you won the lottery' came up

my response is never "I'd buy XXXX", it's "I'd start XXXX business".

But then again, maybe that just means that I tie my self-worth more to what I do rather than what I own. :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. I am pretty action oriented myself.

Business Owner....check. Always have several ideas going, Just lack the funds. :toast:

[flying rabbit]

28. I would travel the world

experience is more important than possessions.

[elleng]

49. Ditto

.

[BlueIris]

5. Yep.

Very sad.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. Interesting thing ---

I found this while googling something else concerning "Mob Mentality"

Kind of goes together...

[BlueIris]

13. Hah!

Oh, the things you find when you Google...

[Tuesday Afternoon]

20. ah-ha ... found further down in the comments section:

Natasha said...
Materialism, like other trends in society, is driven by mob mentality. It;s not buying things that hurts our self-esteem, it's our lack of judgment to see the value and the real need for the things we are buying. We only buy some things because we are told to, or we see everyone else buy them too, and we want to conform. People with low self-esteem want to conform more, so they are more likely to buy more useless stuff.

The statement about fist world rate or alcoholics ect...is that compared percentage of population in the first world vs economically underdeveloped worlds, or the actual number(percentage) increases within each population ?...how is that statistic measured?

Sheep mentality must not be confused with a desire for comfort. It's just a lack of understanding of value and need. Those things could only be learned...otherwise follow the herd. (Who knows better than a marketer as to what I need)

Do we need convenience to be happy? No, but convenience can make us happier. Just think about it. Commuting to work for 1.5 hrs vs 20 minutes....how much would your quality of life improve just by that change? You just saw the value of convenience...no need.

I guess I am just trying to understand what materialism really is because I didn't grow up in that environment and many things that I didn't have when I grew up might seem like a luxury. However, would you say the same thing of dental floss, or a purse vs a plastic bag to keep your belongings...Do you really need those things?

Plastic water bottles is not a issue, it's lack of understanding of what you need to be happy and what others tell you you need to be happy

[TZ]

6. Yeah that Bill Gates guy clearly thinks little of himself...

:sarcasm: and while I realize this is a satire piece may I once again point out that correlation does not equal causation?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. Dar-ling

feel free to point at whatever you please. It is, after all, Your Finger.

[Rambis]

7. Reminds me of this

And I don't need any of this! I don't need this stuff, (he pushes all of the letters off the desk), and I don't need you. I don't need anything except this (he picks up an ashtray) and that's it and that's the only thing I need, is this. I don't need this or this. Just this ashtray. And this paddle game (picks it up), the ashtray and the paddle game and that's all I need. And this remote control. The ashtray, the paddle game and the remote control, and that's all I need. And these matches. The ashtray, and these matches, and the remote control and the paddle ball. And this lamp. The ashtray, this paddle game and the remote control and the lamp and that's all I need. And that's all I need too. I don't need one other thing, not one - (sees something) I need this! The paddle game, and the chair, and the remote control, and the matches, for sure. Well what are you looking at? What do you think I am, some kind of a jerk or something? And this! And that's all I need. The ashtray, the remote control, the paddle game, this magazine and the chair. And I don't need one other thing except my dog. (Shithead, the dog, growls) Well I don't need my dog.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

17. Yeah

like that.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. i expect that people will confuse materialism with ambition. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

12. Right on time ...

One can see it happening already on this thread. Reading comprehensions skills and all that jazz ;)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. People who are brought up with no core values are extremely liable to

depression, because their whole sense of self-worth is based on keeping up with whatever is fashionable. However, the commercial interests change what is fashionable every couple of months, so the status chaser is perennially insecure.

The year that I was 27, I lived in Japan in a one-room apartment with no central heating. Yet it was one of the happiest and most memorable years of my life. I had interesting places to see and interesting people to associate with.

Years later, I was earning good money, living in a spacious apartment in what was widely regarded as "a charming little town," and I was miserable. Absolutely miserable, because I was bored with small town life and didn't like a lot of the people I was working with. I actually thought nostalgically of graduate school, where I sometimes ran out of food a couple of days before my next fellowship check came and where I lived in some pretty ramshackle places. But I never had so many enriching experiences at such intensity.

Another really peak experience was volunteering in Mississippi after Katrina. There were 150 of us sleeping on cots in a school gym and eating government surplus food, but the work was so absorbing and fulfilling that we all noted that we hadn't even thought about our own personal problems.

So here's my theory of satisfaction: As long as you have your basic food, clothing, and shelter needs met, your happiness depends more on having interesting experiences with congenial people and being useful to society than on having Stuff (even though I confess to being fond of certain kinds of Stuff).

[Tuesday Afternoon]

18. It is more in the doing than in the having...

I would agree. :pals:

[DarkTirade]

39. Most of my regrets in life involve wishing I'd done things I missed the opportunity to do the first

time around. :)

[PassingFair]

60. That only works if you aren't raising children.

"So here's my theory of satisfaction: As long as you have your basic food, clothing, and shelter needs met, your happiness depends more on having interesting experiences with congenial people and being useful to society than on having Stuff (even though I confess to being fond of certain kinds of Stuff)."



I don't need much for myself, but I
want my kids to get through college
without putting themselves in debt
for a big chunk of their adult lives.

They also want clothes and food
on a regular basis.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. Absolutely! I would accept that as a given.

[Captain Hilts]

19. Absolutely! Rich folks and senior officers aren't afraid to drive crappy cars. nt

[Gormy Cuss]

21. I'm going shopping.

Who's with me?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

23. If it makes you happy...then by all means

Go Shopping.

[NJmaverick]

22. I would think this is true, in terms of those that are brand conscious

Those that feel the need to buy certain brands to impress others.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

24. I think it goes to Quality over Quantity and the obsession some

people have with keeping up with The Jones.

[RagAss]

25. They needed scientists for this?

I knew this when I was 12.

[BarenakedLady]

26. I dunno

Maybe I'm an exception to the rule. I'm not very self assured, but I also don't really care about material shit.

:shrug:

[elshiva]

27. You go around naked. So of course, you don't care.

[BarenakedLady]

29. Good point.

:D

[elshiva]

31. Everyone can see your huge hole.

[Inchworm]

44. You owe me

a moniter cleaning!

:spray:

:*

[elshiva]

47. Doctor, You have HUGE...

Heart. ;) :hug: :*

[fizzgig]

30. same here

i am anti-stuff at this point in my life

[BarenakedLady]

33. Stuff isn't all that important.

IMO.

:hi:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

32. Honey...

You parade around here totally naked! How much more self assured can one be? ;) :D :hi:

[BarenakedLady]

34. Heh

True that.

I hope my RL persona catches up with my online one. :D

[Tuesday Afternoon]

35. Honestly, I think you and fizgig

might be confusing humility with low self-esteem. I could be wrong, but I think one can be humble and self assured. The fact that you two are Not materialistic is a determining factor.

[DarkTirade]

40. That might make for an interesting day at work...

:P

[BarenakedLady]

42. Frightening, even.

But I'd still wear the apron to keep some modesty. :D

[DarkTirade]

43. That, and to follow dress code.

:P

[MedleyMisty]

36. Huh

I have come to the realization lately that compared to most people, I have damn good self-esteem.

I also don't give a shit about material crap - I have like three shirts and two pairs of pants that I wear to work, jeans and a gray shirt for going out, a 1994 model car, and we bought a 50 year old two bedroom one bath house last year.

True, we do have mountains of books and more computers than people and my family and my in-laws are both using our castoff computers.

I remember before we got married my husband and I agreed that we didn't give a damn about money past shelter and food and clothing and, most necessary of all, books. And that we'd both be okay working at McDonald's our whole lives if it made us happy.

Well, turns out that Arby's made me completely fucking miserable, but I've got a pretty cool job now even it only pays a dollar more than Arby's did. And my husband works at the library, surrounded by books all day long. And we're pretty damn happy.

When I told a co-worker about taking the SAT in 7th grade and going to TIP, she said "Then what are you doing working here?" As if being born with some good genes and to good parents who provided the best environment they could for those good genes to manifest themselves meant that I had to become a good little corporate cog and do even more than my fair share as a person born in the US to help kill the planet. Fuck that shit. I chose life.

[madeline_con]

37. Maybe that's happening to me.

I'm about to get my Bachelor's in ExEd/ElementaryEd. I'm nearly fifty, and have always hoarded junk and I I shop a lot, but have slowed down lately. I feel like I don't need to. Wow. This is wierd.

[Juche]

38. I think the death of community is partly why happiness has gone down in wealthy countries

Now that we have enough wealth that people can take care of themselves there is no sense of community. I'd guess (this is a guess) that that is also why we tend to put romantic relationships on such a huge pedastal, because we are compensating for that lack of community.

A person can now live in a town and have only a few aquaintances and no direct family, and its not considered abnormal. Considering that we are social creatures I'm sure no amount of material goods could compensate for that.

I have read that a good way to boost happiness is gratitude. Write a letter to someone who did something good for you, or write 5 good things that happened during the day before you go to bed.

[mitchum]

41. That is the purpose of advertising...to exploit existing anxieties and to create new ones

[Tuesday Afternoon]

50. To play on human emotions...and they do it so well. n/t

[Mike 03]

45. Makes complete sense to me.

This is such an old lesson, yet we (including myself) continue to fail to learn it.

Buddha taught it.
Jesus taught it.
Samuel Johnson eloquently and explicitly taught it, over and over again, from personal experience.

I'm sure there are dozens of philosophers who said the same thing.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

52. Yes, simple really.

:hi:

[elleng]

46. Thanks for this (I guess.)

Reminded me that my daughter (24, studying for MS in occupational therapy, good student, attractive, talented, and causing emotional problems for me) told me recently that she's got low self esteem. Have to think about it a lot.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

51. ~

:hug:

[LeftyFingerPop]

48. This makes perfect sense to me. n/t

[Vidar]

53. Makes sense to me.

[undeterred]

54. Is that why people need cars that are more than functional

and really expensive electronics?

[Odin2005]

55. Thinking stuff gives one happiness goes against everything neuroscience knows about happiness.

once you become habituated to a certain level of material well-being your brain goes to treating as normal. and thus when one is told by society that material wealth is happiness the result is a pathological desire of more, more, and constantly more.

The Buddhists were on to something when they said that unhealthy attachments to things like material goods leads to suffering.

[realisticphish]

56. Sounds fully plausible, BUT

"Researchers have found that low self-esteem and materialism are not just a correlation, but also a causal relationship where low self esteem increases materialism, and materialism can also create low self-esteem."

This is nitpicky, but I have never, EVER seen a psych study that declared causation. It's just too hard to isolate variables when you're dealing with human behavior. The most I've ever seen is the acknowledgement of a very strong correlation, illustrating a potential causal link. And that's as definitive as it gets, in my experience.

That may just be the blog, and not the study :shrug:

I'd also like to actually see the study, just out of curiosity, to see the methodology, and whether they go so far as to declare causation.

And that was your science geek nitpick of the evening ;)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

57. I could be wrong but, these might be helpful --

if you are truly curious:

Links:
http://www.csom.umn.edu/Page6393.aspx
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/resolve?id=doi:10.1086/518546&erFrom=-9123002968287570526Guest
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/publications/books/2005/Happiness.htm
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/10/15/want-to-save-the-environment-buy-less-stuff/

[realisticphish]

58. ok

they talk about "evidence for a causal link." I feel better about it :)

[Tuesday Afternoon]

59. feelings?

how droll, dar-ling ;)

[La Lioness Priyanka]

61. i have seen correlational studies where they do discover a causal relationship

if they are able to isolate directionality