MATERIALISM
ff. reasons (Gregoire, 2017)
Materialism material possession is all that
matters most. Success, happiness and the
essence of individual existence are gauged by
material prosperity which one has gained in a
lifetime.
Reasons for Materialism- Consumerism
1. Material possession provides a feeling of
security.
2. Wealth gives them a sense of well-being, this
material wealth provides them w/ happiness.
3. Material wealth boosts their self-esteem and
self-confidence as they believe that they
possess those assets that not everybody has.
4. Cherished wealth provides an individual w/
more friends and relationship thru greater
interaction
Self is the primary object of one’s journey
through life.
3 Factors of Self-gifts
1. Materialism is often associated w/ self-
centeredness. Self-centeredness means
prioritizing the self while showing evident lack of
empathy on the plight of others.
2. Materialists define success according to how
much wealth and property was amassed. Define
success in terms of the quality and amount of
one’s acquired wealth.
3. Materialist believe that happiness results from
the relationship between buying and
consumption. Self-gift can be a source of
intense happiness among materialist.
Consumer Behavior is a consequence of
varied factors that brings about materialism
-“you are what you have”
-Material possession have become an
extension of our selves, it has become a way of
expressing ourselves and our identity.
Extended Self (Russell Belk,1988) our material
possessions are largely a reflection of our
identities.
Materialism makes people unhappy for the
1. Consumer culture may be harming individual
well-being. Those who pursue more wealth and
greater material possessions are less satisfied
as they experienced less positive emotions.
2. Materialistic values are linked to Type-A
behavior. Those who are highly ambitious are
highly competitive and materialistic. 2008 study
published in the Journal of Pacific Rim
Psychology, Type-A qualities include the
motivation to acquire much wealth and material
possessions and are highly aggressive as well.
3. Money really can’t buy you happiness. Money
is not exactly what brings about the
dissatisfaction and the unhappiness but the
extreme desire to earn more.
4. Materialism could ruin your relationship.
Materialistic values result to low-quality
relationship and disconnectedness.
5. Consumer culture may breed narcissistic
personalities. Narcissists are highly arrogant as
they are deeply concerned w/ inadequacy
(insufficient to sustain life)
6. Consumerism is fueled by insecurity.
Marketing revealed that those are extreme
doubtful of their self-worth are highly insecure
as they have tendency to become more
materialistic.
SPIRITUAL SELF
Belief in supernatural beings is one of the
basic characteristics of religion.
Supernatural Being is a being that is better and
more powerful than any creature in the natural
world
Religiousness was measured by the frequency
of deciding moral actions for religious reasons
and the overall importance of religion in
everyday life.
Rituals is a religious or solemn ceremony the person’s participation in the prescribed
consisting of a series of actions performed rituals and practices (Santrock, 2014)
according to a prescribed order
Spirituality involves experiencing something
-formalized behaviors that is aside from beyond oneself in a transcendent manner and
everyday life that allow communities to explore living in a way that benefits others and society.
their religious and/or cultural worlds through
-could also be related to sacred, the term sacred
action.
may signify a person, an object, a principle, or a
-refers to the “spoken word” used in a ritual concept that transcend the self.
convey meaning and value, to evoke an image
-the sacred can include a divine being or a
thru the use of metaphor or elicit commitment or
divine object that is set apart and considered as
loyalty to a cause, set of beliefs, community, or
holy or beyond the ordinary.
person/s.
Spiritual Identity is the persistent sense of self
-inevitable components of culture for they reflect
that addresses ultimate questions about the
the full diversity of the human experience
nature, purpose, and meaning of life,
Functions of Ritual (Van Gennup, 1929)
-a “high level of spirituality leads to a higher level
a. A symbolic expression of actual social of self-efficacy.”
relations, status, or roles, of individuals in
Logotherapy (Victor Frank, 1905-1997) logos
society.
is a Greek word which stands for meaning
b. a transcendent, numinous (spiritual) reality
-aims to search for the meaning of his existence
that shows the ultimate values of a community
-assist and guide the client in finding meaning to
c. a set of behaviours and beliefs that are
his life.
symbolic of social, psychological, or numinous
realities (non-rational function) 3 Basic Principles of Discovering Meaning in
Life
Ceremony refers to movements or gestures
expressing feelings or beliefs beyond the 1. Meaning in life in logptherapy, man should
limitations of speech. It can be elaborate or see existence as experiencing life’s ups and
simple, formal or intimate downs. This principle emphasizes that in spite
of the person’s wealth, status or gender, he
-refers to the strict observance of formalities or
should discover meaning in life events and
etiquette.
circumstances.
Religion (Santrock, 2014) is an organized set of
2. Will to meaning the meaning that one
beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols that
attaches to experience is not obvious. Since the
increases an individual’s connection to a sacred
meaning varies from person to person and
or transcendent other (God, higher power,
situation to situation, it is quite challenging to
ultimate truth)
discover what the experience means to be
-William James (1902-1958) defined personal fulfilled.
religion as “the feelings, acts, and experiences
3. Freedom to will people are given freedom to
of individual men in their solitude, so far as they
make life choices which includes how they
apprehend themselves to stand in relation to
respond to life events.
whatever they may consider divine.”
Morality this is principle concerning how
Religiousness is the degree by which one is
individuals distinguished what is right from what
affiliated with an organized religion in terms of
is wrong.
-Morality comes from the Latin word “moralitas” -Construct of Self/Self-concept, the self is
which denotes manner, character, and proper constantly evolving it incorporates the self-
behavior. image into one whole self.
-It is the differentiation of intentions, decisions -Accdg. To Sarte “man first of all exists,
and actions between those that are improper, encounters himself, surges up in the world and
the disjunction between right and wrong. defines himself afterwards.”
Values is the worth that we assign to things that -Sarte reject deterministic excuses and claims
we possess. An abstraction that is manifested in that people must take responsibility for their
our actions. May be an influence of our family, behavior .
our peers, our school, church etc.
Values
*loyalty- faithfulness
*sincerity- truthfulness
*kindness- benevolence and gentleness
*compassion- humane, sympathetic
*courage- brave
Personal Values provide an internal reference
for what is good, beneficial, important, useful
Value Judgement is a judgement of a specific
values as either right or wrong based on one’s a
particular set of standards or value system
-refers to an individual’s opinion is formed to a
degree by their belief system, and the cultures
to which they belong that the best use of our
capacity for making choices is to freely choose
to live a fully human life
Existential Humanism and the Self
-a principle of focusing on the human subject
struggling for self-knowledge and self-
responsibility. It is stated that the best use of our
capacity for making choices is to freely choose
to live a fully human life, rooted in a personal
search for values, rather than an external code.
-Jean-Paul Sarte classified existentialism under
humanism bec. It expresses the power of
human beings to make freely willed choices,
independent from the influence of religion or
society.