Midterm Lesson 3

THE MATERIAL/ECONOMIC SELF

I Shop therefore, I am
When you shop, have, and possess something, does it define who you are? What do your possessions
mean? A key to understanding what possessions mean is recognizing that, knowingly or unknowingly,
intentionally or unintentionally, we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves (Belk, 1988).

What do our possessions mean?

― Treating our possessions as extensions of ourselves is not a new phenomenon. Defining ourselves by
our possessions can contribute to feelings of well – being, as well as feelings of emptiness and
vulnerability. Overreliance on possessions for self-definition may be manifested in how we shop, how we
care for the things we acquire, and to what extent we cling to our possessions rather than discard them.
Materialism has been defined as “the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions.” At the
highest levels of materialism, such possessions assume a central place in a person's life and are believed
to provide the greatest sources of satisfaction. To the highly materialistic person, purchases of consumer
goods offer the potential for magical transformation of self.

― The particular possessions we see as most a part of ourselves show a close relationship to the objects
we see as most magical, and include perfume, jewelry, clothing, foods, homes, vehicles, pets, religious
icons, drugs, gifts, heirlooms, antiques, photographs, souvenirs, and collections. Such objects act as
reminders and confirmers of our identity, and that this identity may often reside more in these objects
than it does in the individual. Besides magical efficacy, control has been suggested to be the critical
determinant of feelings of possession. That is, the more we believe we possess or are possessed by an
object, the more a part of self it becomes. Where men tend to value possessions for self-focused and
instrumental reasons, women tend to emphasize expressive and other-oriented reasons for feeling
attachment to possessions.

― As we age the possessions we cite as "special" tend increasingly to be those that symbolize other people
(e.g., gifts from people, photographs of people). This suggests an age-related widening of the boundaries
of self. It may also suggest that possessions are regarded not only as a part of self, but also as an
instrument for the "development" of our sense of self.

― We make things a part of self by creating or altering them. A psychological explanation suggests that we
invest "psychic energy" in an object to which we have directed our labor, time, and attention. This energy
and its products are regarded as a part of self because they have grown or emerged from the self.
Purchasing objects offers another means to invest self (in this case more symbolically) in possessions.
Objects in our possession can literally extend self, as when a tool or weapon allows us to do things of
which we would otherwise be incapable. Possessions can also symbolically extend self, as when a
uniform or trophy allows us to convince ourselves (and perhaps others) that we can be a different person
from that person without the uniform or trophy.

― Emphasis on material possessions tends to decrease with age, but remains high throughout life as we
seek to express ourselves through possessions and use them to seek happiness, to remind ourselves of
experiences, accomplishments, and some other people in our lives, and even to create a sense of life
 after death. Our accumulation of possessions provides a sense of past and tells us who we are, where
we have come from, and perhaps where we are going.

― Some studies show that:

 A study of 8- to 30-year-olds found that this generation was more likely than its parents and
grandparents to cite as favorite possessions those that either reflect skills in use (e.g., athletic
equipment) or that the possessor can manipulate or control (e.g., music instruments, stereo,
pets).
 During preretirement adulthood, emphasis shifts from defining oneself by what one does to
defining self through what one has.
 40- to 50-year-olds were the most likely of all age groups to cite social power and status as
reasons to own personal possessions.

Why do we buy?
1. Biological: there are reward pathways in the brain that fuel our urge to buy
2. Psychological:
― In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, there are needs that we need to satisfy. We spend to
satisfy or fulfill these needs.

― Conditioning (through advertisements/commercials/rewards/marketing strategies)

 Marketing professionals take physical factors such as a store’s design and layout into
account when they are designing their facilities. Presumably, the longer you wander
around a facility, the more you will spend. Grocery stores frequently place bread and
milk products on the opposite ends of the stores because people often need both types
of products. To buy both, they have to walk around an entire store, which of course, is
loaded with other items they might see and purchase.

 Consumers are bombarded with messages on television, radio, magazines, the Internet,
and even bathroom walls. The average consumer is exposed to about three thousand
advertisements per day (Lasn, 1999). Consumers are surfing the Internet, watching
television, and checking their cell phones for text messages simultaneously. Some, but
 not all, information makes it into our brains. Selecting information we see or hear (e.g.,
television shows or magazines) is called selective exposure.

 Have you ever read or thought about something and then started noticing ads and
information about it popping up everywhere? Many people are more perceptive to
advertisements for products they need. Selective attention is the process of filtering
out information based on how relevant it is to you. It’s been described as a “suit of armor”
that helps you filter out information you don’t need. At other times, people forget
information, even if it’s quite relevant to them, which is called selective retention. Often
the information contradicts the person’s belief. A longtime chain smoker who forgets
much of the information communicated during an antismoking commercial is an
example. To be sure their advertising messages get through to you and you remember
them, companies use repetition. How tired of iPhone commercials were you before they
tapered off? How often do you see the same commercial aired during a single television
show?

 Another potential problem that advertisers (or your friends) may experience is selective
distortion or misinterpretation of the intended message. Promotions for weight loss
products show models that look slim and trim after using their products, and consumers
may believe they will look like the model if they use the product. They misinterpret other
factors such as how the model looked before or how long it will take to achieve the
results. Similarly, have you ever told someone a story about a friend and that person
told another person who told someone else? By the time the story gets back to you, it is
completely different. The same thing can happen with many types of messages.