Understanding the Self

Module 6

The Material Self

Chapter 6

The Material Self

Introduction
The kind of products we are inclined to purchase and the part of us that wants those
products during a sale or shopping spree has a connection with who we are. What we want to have
and what we possess is related to our self. For instance, Belk stated that “we regard our possessions
as parts of our selves. We are what we have and what we possess.”
Our wanting to have and possess has a connection with another aspect of the self which is
the material self. This module discusses the direct link between our possessions and self-identity.

Specific Objectives
At the end of the module, the students should be able to:
● explain the association of self and possessions;
● identify the role of consumer culture to self and identity; and
● appraise one’s self based on the self-description of material self.

Duration
Chapter 6: The Material Self 3 hours
(2 hours discussion; 1 hour assessment)

Lesson Proper

The Material Self

A Harvard psychologist in the late nineteenth century, William James, asserts that the self
is composed of four constituents namely material self, social self, spiritual self, and pure ego
(Green, 1997; cited in Alata et al., 2018). The material self is primarily about our bodies, clothes,
immediate family, and home. We are deeply affected by these things because we have put much
investment of our self to them. Such possessions are viewed as extensions of an individual’s
identity.
Body
Clothes
Immediate family
Home

Material Self Investment Diagram

The innermost part of our material self is our body. Intentionally, we are investing in our
body. We are directly attached to this commodity that we cannot live without it. We strive hard to
make sure that this body functions well and good. Any ailment or disorder directly affects us. We
do have certain preferential or intimate closeness to certain body parts which because of its value
to us.
 Next to our body are the clothes we use. Influenced by the “Philosophy of Dress” by
Herman Lotze, James believed that clothing is an essential part of the material self. The fabric and
style we wear bring sensations to the body which directly affect our attitudes and behavior. Thus,
clothes are placed in the second hierarchy of material self. Clothing is a form of self-expression.
We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self (Watson, 2014; cited in Alata et al., 2018).
Third in the hierarchy is our immediate family. Our parents and siblings hold another great
important part of our self. What they do or become affects us. When an immediate family member
dies, part of our self-dies too. When their lives are in success, we feel their victories as if we are
the one holding the trophy. In their failures, we are put to shame or guilt. When they are in
disadvantage situation, there is an urgent urge to help like a voluntary instinct of saving one’s self
from danger. We place huge investment in our immediate family when we see them as the nearest
replica of our self.
The fourth component of the material self is our home. Home is where our heart is. It is
the earliest nest of our selfhood. Our experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on
particular parts and things in our home. There was an old cliché about room: “if only walls can
speak.” The home thus is an extension of self, because in it, we can directly connect our self.
Therefore, it is not just the physical entities that comprise the material self but our
psychological ownership of them as well (Sheibe, 1985). A person may have a favorite chair he/she
likes to sit in but the chair itself is not part of the self. Instead, it is the sense of appropriation
represented by the phrase “my favorite chair.”
Having investment of self to things, made us attached to those things. The more investment
of self-given to a particular thing, the more we identify ourselves to it. We also tend to collect and
possess properties. The collections in different degree of investment of self, becomes part of the
self. As James (1890) described self: “a man’s self is the sum total of all what he can call his.”
Possessions then become a part or an extension of the self. They are not simply valued for what
they provide but they are also prized because they become part of us.

We Are What We Have

A good deal of research supports James’ intuitions regarding the close connection between
possessions and the self (see Belk, 1988). People spontaneously mention their possessions when
asked to describe themselves (Gordon, 1968). People also amass possessions. Young children, for
example, are avid collectors. They have bottle-cap collections, rock collections, shell collections,
and so forth. These collections are not simply treasured for their material value (which is often
negligible); instead, they represent important aspects of self. The tendency to treat possessions as
part of the self continues throughout life, perhaps explaining why so many people have difficulty
discarding old clothes or possessions that have long outlived their usefulness.
There seem to be several reasons for this. First, possessions serve a symbolic function;
they help people themselves. The clothes we wear, the cars we drive, and the way we adorn our
homes and offices signal to ourselves (and others) who we think we are and how we wish to be
regarded. People may be particularly apt to acquire and exhibit such signs and symbols when their
identities are tenuously held or threatened (Wicklund & Gollwitzer, 1982). A recent Ph.D., for
example, may prominently display his/her diploma to convince him/herself (and others) that he/she
is the erudite scholar he/she aspires to be. These functions support Sartre’s (1943) claim that people
accumulate possessions to enlarge their sense of self.
Possessions also extend the self in time. Most people take steps to ensure that their letters,
photographs, possessions, and mementos are distributed to others at the time of their death.
Although some of this distribution reflects a desire to allow others to enjoy the utilitarian value of
these artifacts, this dispersal also has a symbolic function: People seek immortality by passing
their possessions on to the next generation (Unruh, 1983, cited in Belk, 1988). People’s emotional
responses to their possessions also attest to their importance to the self. A person who loses a
wallet often feels greater anguish over a lost photograph than over any money that is missing.
Similarly, many car owners react with extreme anger (and sometimes rage) when their cars are
damaged, even when the damage is only slight in physical terms. Finally, many people who lose
possessions in a natural disaster go through a grieving process similar to the process people go
through when they lose a person they love (McLeod, 1984, cited in Belk, 1988).
Further evidence that possessions become part of the extended self comes from a series of
investigations on the “mere ownership effect” Beggan (1992). In an initial study, participants
were shown a variety of inexpensive objects (e.g., a key ring, plastic comb, playing cards). They
were then given one object and told it was theirs to keep. Later, participants evaluated their object
more favorably than the objects they did not receive. A follow-up investigation found that this
tendency was especially pronounced after participants had previously failed at an unrelated test.
These findings suggest that once possessions become part of the self, people imbue them with
value and use them to promote feelings of self-worth (see also, Kahneman, Knetch, & Thaler,
1990).
Russel Belk (1988) posits that “…we regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We are
what we have and what we possess.” The identification of the self to things started in our infancy
stage when we make a distinction among self and environment and others who may desire our
possessions.
As we grow older, putting importance to material possession decreases. However, material
possession gains higher value in our lifetime if we use material possession to find happiness, and
associate these things with significant events, accomplishments, and people in our lives. There are
even times, when material possession of a person that is closely identified to the person, gains
acknowledgement with high regard even if the person already passed away. For example, the chair
in the dining room in which the person is always seated will be the constant reminder of the person
who used to sit there. The possessions that we dearly have tell something about who we are, our
self-concept, our past, and even our future.

References/Additional Resources/Readings

Alata, E. J. P., Caslib Jr., B. N., Serafica, J. P. J., and Pawilen, R. A. (2018). Understanding
the Self. 1st ed. Rex Printing Company, Inc. ISBN: 978-971-23-8670-1.

Brown, J. (2014). The self. Psychology Press.

https://faculty.washington.edu/jdb/452/452_chapter_02.pdf