Module Outcomes

At the end of the unit, the learners must have:

1. explored the different aspects of self
and identity;
2. demonstrated critical, reflective thought
in integrating the various aspects of self
and identity;
3. identified the different forces and
institutions that impact the development
of various aspects of self and identity;

Rationale

Everyone has their wants and needs in this world.

Each of us value some material possessions based on
our personality and upbringing in our family. Some may
value their wealth but for some being with their family
and love ones are enough as long as they are together
even in the midst of the pandemic. Thus, this module
will explore the concepts of consumer culture and
materialism and its impact of the self and identity.

65
Lesson 1 I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM: I HAVE, THEREFORE I AM?

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, the learners must have:
1. identified the role of consumer culture to self and identity;
2. explained the association of self and possessions; and
3. appraised the self-based on the description of material
self.

Introduction
The world is full of people who wants to purchase their wants and needs in
stores or through online, be it a new a gadget needed for online learning of the
children, a new set of wardrobe for the family, or the food stuff good for the next
two weeks due to the numerous lockdowns and community quarantines we are
having at this time of the pandemic. You could see a lot of sales promotion in
different stores that suggests that you can have a big discount in buying such
items. Product advertisements in television, radio, print media, and on the
Internet give an idea on what to buy for your personal satisfaction.
You know, deep in your heart, that you want to purchase and possess
those products because you only not need them but they are also very important
to you. This behavior indicates your personality and also connected with you as
an individual. Whatever you want to purchase and giving importance to what you
already possess is related to yourself.

Activity 1
When you hear the word, “Shopping”, what comes to your mind? Why?
Please think of items you want to purchase at this time of the pandemic, list down
10 important items that you want to purchase while doing your shopping. Please
kindly write your answers in the following table.

Activity 6.1: Shopping List

I want to buy…
1 6
2 7
3 8
4 9
5 10

66
Processing Questions:

1. How did you feel about the Shopping List activity?

2. Which among items you listed above you like the most? Why?

3. If you were given the chance to have one among the list at this time,
Which would you choose? Why?

4. What affects my purchase behavior? Why?

2. What makes an ad effective or ineffective that influences my purchase

behavior?

Acquire

MATERIAL SELF

A. Understanding the Self

In 1890, the American philosopher and Harvard psychologist, William
James (1842 – 1910), emphasized in his book entitled, The Principles of
Psychology that understanding the self can be explained through the three (3)
various components such as:
1. the constituents of the self;
2. the feelings and emotions they arouse, like self-feelings; and
3. the actions to which they prompt, like self-seeking and self-
preservation

67
 According to James (1890, in Alata, et. al.,
2018), the constituents of the self are comprised of
the:
1. Material self 3. Spiritual self
2. Social self 4. Pure ego

James (1890 in Alata, et. al., 2018; Corpuz, et.

al., 2019), the material self is composed of the
following components:
1. body 3. Immediate family
William James 2. clothes 4. Home
www.biography.com/scholar
/william-james

You are significantly affected by these components because you have invested
a lot of effort, time, and money to them. James (1890 in Corpuz, et.al., 2019) people
invest themselves in their material possessions, thus feeling deeply connected to
them. The more people invest themselves in their possessions, the more attached
they become. The Material Self Investment Diagram (Alata, et.al., 2018) is shown
below for you to better understand this concept of the material self.

Components: SELF

1. Body
2. Clothes
3. Immediate Family
4. Home

Material Self Investment Diagram

(Alata, et.al., 2018)

B. Components of the Material Self

1. Body - This is the innermost part of your material self (James, 1890).
 You are purchasing things that gives personal
satisfaction so you are investing in your body.
You really try to make sure that your body
functions well. If you get sick because of any
illness, this greatly affects you since you really
care for your body. You also have a favorite
part of your body that you consider as your
Body Project, 2018
most important asset because of its https://www.youtube.co
significance to yourself. m/watch?v=gm7inZnhp
As)

68
2. Clothes - This is an essential part of the material self
(James, 1890 in Alata, et. al., 2018)

 Cecelia A. Watson (2004) published an

article, The Sartorial Self: William James’s
Philosophy of Dress, in the History of
Psychology and emphasized that William
James placed great importance on
clothing as reflected in his writings, in his
letters, and in his own fashion style.
Watson, C. A., 2019
www.ceceliawatson.com/bio-
 James was influenced by the views of the
German philosopher, physician, and
psychologist, (Rudolf) Hermann Lotze
(1817– 1881) who wrote an article
entitled, Microcosmus: An Essay
Concerning Man and His Relation to the
World and was translated from German to
English by Hamilton & Jones (1885). This
essay pointed out that whatever clothing
you put on your body becomes a part of Lotze, R. H.
your self and the “look” created by the https://careersinpsycholog
apparel blends into the person’s personality. y.org/the-emergence-of-
fashion-psychology/-

 Clothing is a form of self-expression so you choose what you

want to wear that reflect your self (Watson, 2014 in Alata et.al.,
2018).

https://www.inc.com/ lly- https://www.zapposclothing.com

reynolds/research-shows-that-
the-clothes-you-wear.html

69
 3. Immediate Family - This includes your parents and siblings as well
as your future husband, wife, or your children.
 Whatever they have done or
achieved, affects you. When
one member of your
immediate family dies, a part
of your self is gone, too.
When they are successful,
you celebrate with them.
But when they fail and feel
ashamed, you also feel
down and you console them
in their sorrows. When they www.cicnews.com/2014/01/story-filipino-
immigration.canada013193.html#gs.bnxdu
get offended, you readily
9
stood in their place to fight with
them. You invest a lot in your
immediate family for you see
them as the nearest imitation
of your self.

4. Home - It is known to be the earliest nest of your selfhood (Alata, et. al.,
2018).
 Your home serves as a
witness of all your
experiences for every part
of your home reminds you
of the warmest feelings of
affection. If you have visitors
who criticize your home
negatively, like the
arrangements of your
things, you tend to assert
your preference for it is your
home in the first place and www.pinterest.ph/pin/39568351723750231
not theirs to judge. Thus,
your home is like an extension
of your self since you are
attached to all the memories it
represents. Filipino Home, 2020

William James (1890), referred to the self as “a man’s self is the sum total
of all what he CAN call his.” Your possessions then, become part or the
extension of yourself (Alata, et. al., 2018). Thus, investing of yourself to certain
valuable things usually makes you attached to these things. The more
investment you give to a particular item, the more you tend to identify yourself to

70
it. There is also a tendency for you to want to possess some properties or collect
memorabilia. These properties and collections in various degree of investment,
eventually becomes a part of yourself.

C. We Are What We Have and Possess

Russell W. Belk (1988) defined possessions as
the things we call ours and James (1890) was saying
that we are the sum of our possessions (in Belk,
1988). He also stated that we regard our possessions
as parts of our selves. He also emphasized that
possessions are central to our sense of self (Belk,
2010).
Yi Fu Tuan (1980), an American-Chinese Rusell W. Belk, 2015
geographer, claimed that “our fragile sense of self needs https://thescienceofowners
hip.org/facesvoices/feature
support, and this we get by having and possessing d/russell-w-belk/)
things because, to a large degree, we are what we have
and possess." (in Belk, 1988). This is probably true
because when people get older, they tend to give so
much importance to their material possessions, hold
onto them, until they are ready to pass them to the next
generation. In turn, the younger generation would
remember their elders because of the material
possessions they have inherited from them. These
possessions were valuable during their lifetime and
closely identified with them especially if they are gone
from this world. Thus, these things are associated with Yi-Fu Tuan, 2013
them especially during important events being https://geography.wisc.edu
celebrated in their honor like their birthdays and death /madgeognews/2013/05/03
/ belonging-to-this-place-a-
anniversaries.
conversation-with-yi-fu-
D. Examples of Material Possessions are the: tuan/

1. expensive heirlooms that are passed to the eldest daughters of the

immediate family;
2. favorite chairs in the living room where the elders spent a lot of their
time waiting for the grandchildren to go home from school;
3. well-kept library full of books and expensive paintings preserved
through decades of maintaining order and cleanliness;
4. priceless silverware in the kitchen that no one seemed to touch after
the owner died; or
5. beloved old-fashioned valuable gadget kept in the attic.

If this is the case, then, maybe Belk was right in agreeing with some
distinguished researchers that the most basic and powerful fact of consumer
behaviour suggests that we are what we have (Van Esterick, 1986; Feirstein, 1986;
Rosenbaum, 1972; in Belk, 1988).

71
Lesson 2 THE NATURE OF MATERIALISM

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, the learners must have:
1. described the materialist concepts;
2. determined the causes of materialism;
3. identified the impact of materialism and consumerism on
the “self”; and
4. appreciated unique ways to attain happiness.

Introduction
At this point of time of the
pandemic, people seem to be thinking of
material things that can be useful to their
way of living, especially nowadays that
many people lost their jobs due to the
stoppage of the operations of some
industries. This means that resources
became scarce for those people who just
manage to buy their needs with their
meager income or minimum wages
received from their companies. This leads https://philippines.fnst.org/content/econo
to poverty for some people and loss of mic-fallout-covid-19-philippines
income for those who used to have stable
jobs in the private sector. Thus, you may know of some people who started to
sell, barter, or pawn some of their material possessions from clothes, shoes,
furniture, appliances, jewelry, and even their precious plants in the garden in
order to buy their primary needs at home like food for the family. You may know
a family member, a relative, a neighbor, or a friend who is currently experiencing
this situation, or even your own family is in this situation.
People tried their best to meet the ends meet in their time of need
especially during this crucial time. However, if this is the case, how can people
become successful, happy, and contented if their source of income is already
gone? How can they attain happiness in the midst of this pandemic if almost all
their material possessions are gone?

In order to better understand this situation more, we will tackle the nature
of materialism, determine its causes, identify its impact on the self, and discuss
on how you can attain happiness even in the midst of the pandemic. Are you
ready to learn new things? Of course, you are! So here goes! But please make
sure that you read all the information written in this lecture for you to answer the
activities. Good luck!

72
 Acquire

THE NATURE OF MATERIALISM

A. Materialism and Consumerism

As you immersed yourself in learning the

materialist concepts in this lesson, you should
first know the definitions of materialism and
consumerism. of these two important concepts.
We will be using these two important concepts as
we discuss the nature of materialism. Various
philosophers, psychologists, and researchers
gave their own versions but the following
definitions are easily understandable.
https://www.123rf.com/photo_17198374_
abstract-word-cloud-for-materialism-with-
1. Materialism related-tags-and-terms.html

 In philosophy, materialism is a philosophical system which

regards matter as the only reality in the world, which undertakes
to explain every event in the universe as resulting from the
conditions and activity of matter, and which thus denies the
existence of God and the soul (Gutberlet, 1911).

 In psychology, materialism is referred as the belief that nothing

exists apart from the material world that is the physical matter
like the brain (McLeod, 2018). Materialist psychologists
generally agree that consciousness (or most people referred
this as “the mind”) is the function of the brain.

2. Consumerism

 Chappelow (2019) described

consumerism as the idea that
increasing consumption of
goods and services purchased
in the market is always a
desirable goal and that a
person's wellbeing and
happiness depends
fundamentally on obtaining
consumer goods and material
possessions. https://www.thefashionenterprise.com/mag
azine/why-consumerism-in-fashion-is-the-
death-of-creativity-and-sustainability/
 In common use, Chappelow
(2019) added that

73
 consumerism refers to a tendency of people living in a
capitalist economy to engage in a lifestyle of excessive
materialism that revolves around reflexive, wasteful, or
conspicuous overconsumption.

 In this sense, consumerism is widely understood to contribute

to the destruction of traditional values and ways of life,
exploitation of consumers by big business, environmental
degradation, and negative psychological effects.

What do you think of the definitions above? Which of them made you think
of your material self? Why? Why not?

Materialism implies that everything found in the universe is matter which is

the substance of nature. This proposes that material possession is the most
important for a person in this world. The essence of your existence, your
happiness and success are marked by material wealth which you may achieve in
your lifetime (Magalona, et. al., 2018). Material possessions refer to objects of
instinctive preferences that may or may not be related with a person’s most
practical interests in life (Corpuz, Estoque, & Tabotabo, 2019).

As of this time of the pandemic, most people place high regard for their
material wealth and think that their material possessions are very valuable.
These possessions may help them if their cash on hand will be not be enough to
sustain the family’s needs. Now, as students, if you don’t have savings or
allowance given by your parents, it would be difficult for you to survive in this
cruel world. The quest of happiness is usually connected with what you can
purchase, how fast you can adapt to the changes in technology, as well as how
well you can keep up with the existing state of affairs in the community.

As I pointed out before, when resources become scarce, experts in the

field of economy and environment would continue to remind the need to focus on
your needs and not on your wants and desires. However, as human nature
dictates, you are blinded by the growing consumerism and commercialism in our
surroundings (Magalona, et. al., 2018).

Your self-esteem and self-worth have been largely determined by the way
you accumulate your wealth. This behavior is even reinforced by the social media
as you post your daily activities on your outfit for the day, to purchase new pairs
of shoes, and having a great time while travelling.

74
B. Causes of Materialism

Material possessions usually have some

consequences on you, as a person, either it is in
the emotional, personal, or mental aspects of
your life. You are driven to obtain more and
accumulate more gadgets, jewelry, money,
vehicles, and the like even though you have more
than enough (Magalona, et. al., 2018).

Now as you want for more material https://study.com/academy/lesson/

possessions, consumerism tends to happen materialism-material-culture-
definitions-examples.html
because of the following reasons:

1. It is asserted that your wealth gives you a sense of contentment as you

say that this material possessions provides you with pleasure;
2. It is asserted that material possessions boost your self-esteem and
self-confidence as you believe that you possess those assets that not
all everybody possess;
3. It is asserted that material possessions can provide you with feelings of
security as your affluence provide you with tangible assets; and
4. It is asserted that your valued assets give you more friends and
relationships by means of more interaction with people.

C. Impact of Materialism

Gregoire (2017 in Magalona, et. al., 2018) stressed

that materialism makes you unhappy because of the
following reasons:

1. Consumer culture may be harming the

person’s well-being.
https://www.njlifehacks.com/
 The young adults who are born in this materialism-happiness/
period of wealth are less happy and are
exposed to various threat of depression and mental disorder as
their welfare is negatively influenced by consumerism. It was
assumed that those who want more affluence and greater
material possessions are less satisfied as they experience less
positive emotions.

75
2. Materialistic values are connected to Type-A behavior.
 People who are highly ambitious are highly competitive and
materialistic and these traits are known to be of that of a person
with a Type-A personality.
 In a study done in 2008 and published in the Journal of Pacific
Rim Psychology, the results supported the revelations that
Type-A qualities include the inspiration to obtain much wealth
and material possessions are and highly aggressive as well.

3. Money really can’t buy you happiness.

 The results of some studies showed
that rich people are highly
susceptible to depression. There is
no direct correlation between overall
well-being, happiness, and wealth.
But what matters is that basic needs
are satisfied. In other researches, it
was also shown that money does
not really bring about dissatisfaction https://wildezine.com/2715/opin
and unhappiness but the extreme ion/the-problem-with-
want to earn more money.

4. Materialism can damage your relationships.

 The results in a study done with 1,700 couples published in the
Journal of Couple & Marriage Therapy showed that those
partners who are materialistic showed lower marital quality
compared to those who are less materialistic. It was revealed
that materialistic values results to low quality relationships and
disconnectedness. And since this kind of people are less pro-
social and emphatic about others, they are less happy and
contented with life as well as with their relationships. Indeed,
money cannot buy us happiness.

5. Consumer cultures may breed narcissistic personalities.

 Consumer culture highly contributes to the development of
Narcissistic behaviour and personalities. Narcissists are highly
arrogant as they are deeply concerned with inadequacy. They
work a lot for power and prestige to cover up their perceived
emptiness and low self-worth. All these sentiments demand
validation from others through praises, compliments, and
approval.

76
 6. Consumerism is powered by insecurity.
 People who are extremely doubtful of their self-worth are highly
insecure and have the tendency to be more materialistic
according to the results of a research study published in the
Psychology and Marketing journal in 2002.
 Consumerism capitalizes on this insecurity so their products and
services will sold and be highly demanded. This could be
represented by advertisements emphasizing that “white is
beautiful’ and spread the through social networking sites. In
effect, those who are insecure about their complexion would
seek for products and services that will alter their natural skin
color.
 Consumerism has created and offered every product that will
address every dissatisfaction and insecurity. It promoted to self-
and social improvement, according to Stephanie Kaza of the
University of Vermont.

D. The Search for Happiness

Magalona, et. al. (2018) emphasized that

materialism affects both the wealthy and poor it is
something that has to be remedied before it
damages the individual. You and I, and every
person nowadays have a tendency to focus more on
our “social image.” How well people look up to you
and follow you in your social media accounts
becomes a very important part of your daily lives on
social media.
https://www.preda.org/2017/the
It seems that people wanted so much -search-for-
affirmation and appreciation which encourages them
to post online all the things they have been doing, objects that they have
obtained, or goals that they have achieved.

Now, the question is, how can you be happy for what and who the way you
are?

My answer to that is very simple, “Think positively and never mind

negativities.” That’s my mantra for the longest time to counter negative thoughts
and emotions that attacks me every time I feel bad, lonely, or worthless.

77
 The following are possible ways I can suggest you can do to appreciate
your own individuality, be happy, and contented with it.

1. Concentrate on your strengths and not on your weaknesses.

2. Enhance your self-esteem and by engaging in meaningful activities.
3. Be thankful to those who appreciates and compliments you.
4. Communicate and interact with people around you.
5. Appreciate the beauty of life and the nature around you.
6. Let go of things that are not significantly needed.
7. Share your blessings to others no matter how simple it is, it’s the thought
that counts.
8. Stop showing on social media about what you have and others do not.
9. Develop a mantra to counter the negativities entering your thoughts.
10. Focus at the present and what you can do to help others.

Activity 2

Activity 6.2: Film Analysis

A. Get a copy of the movie entitled, “The Pursuit of

Happyness” (2006) played by the actors Will
Smith and Jaden Smith. You can download and
watch this movie from this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUgWltfjPkk

or from this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wtqjQ1X2wU

78
B. Write a 200 to 300-word reflection paper about the message conveyed by the
movie. Make your own title and please give emphasis on the things you have
learned from our lesson.

79
80
81
82