VI-THE MATERIAL SELF

PREPARED BY: MS. LIEZEL P. MOISES MA, RPM, RPSY

P S YC H OLOGY D E PA RT ME NT
Materialism

▪ Entails the importance of physical objects.

▪It is also a belief that everything is made of
matter and energy, with less emphasis in
non-physical objects like souls, spirits, or
supernatural gods. Unlike spiritual entities,
material things do not last eternally.
William James (1842-1910) selfhood can be
broken in different fragments.

Physical body – central constituent unit;

includes the relatives and material possessions
COMPONENTS OF THE MATERIAL SELF

• BODY
• THE CLOTHES

People who an individual has relationships with such as one’s:

• Immediate Family
• Extended Family
• Close Friends

Apart from clothes, the material component of the self can

includes one’s:
• HOUSE
• CAR
• PETS
 Pop up question # 1:

Have you ever experienced loosing at least one

material possession? How do you cope with it?
YAH OR NAH?
You buy a new dress and now you have to get shoes and earrings to match.

You buy a plane ticket to Batanes and soon buy a new camera and outfits that
will fit the place for your aura aura picture taking ahaha

With your parents?

Buy a new couch and suddenly you're questioning the layout of your entire living
room. Those chairs? That coffee table? That rug? They all gotta go.
Renovate your home and soon have the urge to buy new things that will fit the
theme of the house.
The famous French philosopher Denis Diderot lived nearly his
entire life in poverty, but that all changed in 1765.
Diderot was 52 years old and his daughter was about to be
married, but he could not afford to provide a dowry. Despite
his lack of wealth, Diderot’s name was well-known because he
was the co-founder and writer of Encyclopédie, one of the
most comprehensive encyclopedias of the time.

When Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia, heard of

Diderot’s financial troubles she offered to buy his library from
him for £1000 GBP, which is approximately $50,000 USD in
2015 dollars. Suddenly, Diderot had money to spare.
Shortly after this lucky sale, Diderot acquired a new scarlet
robe. That's when everything went wrong.
Diderot’s scarlet robe was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that he
immediately noticed how out of place it seemed when surrounded
by the rest of his common possessions. In his words, there was “no
more coordination, no more unity, no more beauty” between his
robe and the rest of his items. The philosopher soon felt the urge
to buy some new things to match the beauty of his robe.
He replaced his old rug with a new one from Damascus. He
decorated his home with beautiful sculptures and a better kitchen
table. He bought a new mirror to place above the mantle and his
“straw chair was relegated to the antechamber by a leather chair.”

These reactive purchases have become known as the Diderot

Effect.
Suggests that one innocent purchase can
unexpectedly spiral into an endless cycle of
complementary consumption: the kind
which preys on one’s yearning for a
cohesive identity.

We end up buying things that our previous

selves never needed to feel happy or
fulfilled.
 ARE WE
WHAT WE OWN?
Are you still the same person,
without your possessions?
 Social Interaction

Acquisition of Insecurity
Material Possessions Low Self-Esteem

Work Hard
Aim for Success
NEIGHBORHOOD
PARENTS
PEERS
MEDIA
ECONOMY
However, the desire for material
possessions also have negative
effects on one’s sense of self and
identity.

MATERIALISM is defined as a want

towards acquiring and spending on
earthly needs and material desires
(Durvasula & Lyonski, 2010).
Thus, when a person is about to make a purchase, he or she
should ask himself or herself a very important question:

DO I REALLY NEED THIS?

COMPULSIVE BUYING DISORDER
which is characterized by an
obsession with shopping and buying
behaviors that can cause adverse
consequences. (e.g., debts).
DISSATISFACTION
UNHAPPINESS
DEPRESSION
 What drives people to
prioritize materialistic values?
INSECURITY
Most consumers behavior in this modern era
are affected on what they are being exposed
with especially in media.

CONSUMERISM an economic and social

concept which refers to the acquisition and
purchases of product and services.
Consumerism and Materialism
view of the Self can be viewed
positively and negatively.

For instance, people tend to be

happier and more motivated when
their wants and needs are met.
On the other hand, it encourages
people to buy products and
services that they do not really
need or afford.
END-THANK YOU