L ES SO N 8 :

E M A TE R I A L /
TH
O NO M IC S EL F
EC (G r o u p 1)
in g t h e S e lf -Final term
Understad

h Or t iz , E ll a Lim
h a r c Ic a ll a , Keit
in es , H e iros Nini, M
. J a v
Jane Justin N
 Learning Outcomes ...
Presentation Party Principles

Shaping the way we see ourselves

The role of consumer culture on our sense of self

and identity

Understading the Self -Final term (Group 1)

 THE MATERIAL SELF

"Money can't buy

HAPPINESS"
"Money m ak es th e
world go r ou nd "

THE MATERIAL SELF

 ACTIVITY

“SHOPPING”
Choose 5 objects to put

inside your grocery bag. You

can choose anything that

you can identify with.

THE MATERIAL SELF
 The Refers to tangible
Ma te r ia l/ objects, people, or

Eco n o m ic places that carry

the designation
S elf my or mine.

UNPACKING THE SELF: LESSON 8 (GROUP 1)

 Materialism
The im p or t a nc e of
consume r a tt a ch es to
worldly p os se s sio ns
James William. 1890
"The self and its selves"

SELF is compromised of all what

we CAN call OURS,
when these things prosper,
happiness is elicited and when
they dwindle, we feel "cast down"
CATEGORIES OF This consists of intimate/
MATERIAL SELF personal categories that are
clearly associated with our
identities and to which we
could easily confer ownership.

Capitalism and
consumerism

Conspicuous consumption
and the joyless economy
l y S e l f
Bodi
 CATEGORIES OF
expresses our psychological
ownership of particular things,
objects, places, and even people.
 MATERIAL SELF
Material possessions as emotional
investments
Materialism as an expansion of
one’s sense of self
The mere ownership effect
When material possessions are
imbued with value, we accumulate
and use them to elevate self-
worth
Impression Management Extended
Materialism and symbolism Self
 COMPOSITION OF MATERIAL SELF
SELF-CONCEPT
The ways in which we look at ourselves affect how we materially
express that self.
BODY IMAGE
How we look at and value our bodies and we look like determines
the brands and things that we buy and items, that make us happy.

SELF-ESTEEM
The level of value we give ourselves also has an effect in the
material things we buy.
ROLE PERFORMANCE
The roles we play and the demands o these roles also determine
Back to Agenda
our sense o materiality
 Factors Affecting
Material Possessions

UTILITY - concerned with

01
WANTS - these refers 03
to the luxuries how serve a practical
purpose
NEEDS - these are the SIGNIFICANT - concerned
02 important things for 04 with the meaning
survival assigned to the object
 MATERIAL SELF
PRESENTATION AND IDENTITY
 John Heskett
Design combines ‘need’ and ‘desire’ in the form of
a practical object that can also reflect the user’s
identity and aspirations through its form and
decoration. There is a significance and function
behind everyday things.
Roland Barthes (1915-1980)
the relationship that people have with objects, and
in particular looked at objects as sign or things
which could be decoded to convey message
beyond their practical value.
Semiology - the study of objects as signs
SIGN - anything that convey message. In Semiotic
Analysis, objects function as signifiers in the
production ofmeaning.
SEMIOTIC - is the study of signs. Examine how
words, photographs, images, and objects can
work as a language to communicate a range
of ideas and feelings.

A sign has two elements:

SIGNIFIER – physical form
SIGNIFIED – the mental concept
 Theory of Meaning of Material
Possessions (Dittmar, 1992, 2004)

- suggests that material goods can fulfill a range of

instrumental, social, symbolic, and affective functions
Instrumental functions
Social symbolic functions
Categorical Functions
Self-expressive functions
The purchase and use of material goods - depends on
its specific function
 01 Influence

ON S O F
U NC TI 02
F O NS
Power

SS ES SI
PO 03 Sympathy

04 Social status
Possessions can go
beyond their
05 Emotions
functional value.
 ECONOMIC SELF
PRESENTATION AND IDENTITY
ECONOMICS
- defined as “the study of things that a person is
lacking, of how people make use of the things that
they have, and of making the right decisions”

Economic Self-Sufficiency
-the ability of individuals and families to consistently
meet their needs with minimal or nonfinancial
assistance or subsidies from private or public
organizations.
Economic Consciousness
io n a n d p r o f e s s io n a li z a t io n o f
-the result of s o c ia li za t
ir e s a p a rt ic ula r s ig n if ic a n c e in
the subject th a t a c q u
human affairs

Economic Identity
eno
g n
ictahla t
p r
heesnuolt
m s fr om
-a ps y c ho lo
n (i d e nt if ic a t ion a n d
social categorizatio
differentiation)
ROLE OF CONSUMER CULTURE
ON THE SENSE OF SELF AND
IDENTITY
 Consumer Identity
of co n s u m pt io n t h at de sc r ib e s
-the pa tt er n
a consumer

Consumer Culture
o p le m a y n o lo n g e r
-developed because pe
e r v ic e s b e ca u s e o f
consume goods and s
itsfu n ct io n a l s a t is fac t io n
io n h a s b e c o m e m o r e m e a n in g - b a s e d
- co n s u m p t
s ar e n o w b e in g u s e d b y
-brands and product
e x p r e s s t h e ir id e n t ity
many consumers to
Consumerism
- is the preoccupation with and the
inclination towards the buying
of consumer goods

Behavioral Finance
- a new field that combines behavioral
and cognitive psychological theory with
conventional economics and finance to
provide explanations for why people make
irrational financial decisions- If a person fails to
choose, then that person chooses to fail.
Possessions as Symbolic Expressions
of Identity
(Symbolic Communication Model)
They are symbols and extensions of the personal and
social aspects of identity/personhood. Possession
help people define themselves. Enhance one’s image
and develop a positive sense of self.

It can be a reassurance that one is the person one’s

wishes to be. Goods and possessions are used to fill
in or to compensate for the person lacks.
"Can possessions really buy
happiness and stability?"
 Individual Activity
Reason Answer

Why did you choose these objects?

What are the connections of these objects

to your self?

If you will be asked to let go of these objects

and retain one, which object would you
choose and why?
Thank you for
listening!
Here's to achieving all our goals and dreams,
however big or small they may be!
Resource
Page
UNDERSTANDING THE SELF Unpacking the Self,
01 University of Santo Tomas, Dept. of Psychology.
idoc.pub_unit-2-unpacking-the-selfpdf.pdf

LESSON 3: THE MATERIAL ORECONOMIC SELFMATERIAL SELF PRESENTATION AND

IDENTITY https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/pamantasan-ng-lungsod-ng-
02 maynila/anatomy-and-physiology/written-report-lesson-3-the-material-or-economic-
self/6339827
Chapter II. Unit 3 THE MATERIAL AND ECONOMIC SELF Objectives
03 https://www.academia.edu/43986594/Chapter_II_Unit_3_THE_MATERIAL_AND_ECON
OMIC_SELF_Objectives

04 Section 3: The Material/Economic Self

https://utsged101portfolio.wordpress.com/section-3-the-material-economic-self/

The Material/Economic Self

05 https://www.scribd.com/document/461936973/The-Material-Economic-Self