Personal Relative Deprivation Boosts Materialism

Abstract

Five studies investigated the relationship between personal relative deprivation and materialism. Study 1 was a cross-sectional survey that revealed a positive association between trait relative deprivation and materialism. In Studies 2a and 2b, we found that relative deprivation, as induced by unjust government policies in an imaginary scenario, increased individuals’ preferences for making more profit than others. Individuals may experience relative deprivation due to unjust treatment or other factors. Study 3 manifested that sense of relative deprivation, resulting from either being treated unjustly or not, gave rise to materialistic desires. In Study 4, we found that relative deprivation influenced materialistic aspirations, above and beyond negative outcomes. Moreover, the impact of relative deprivation could be generalized to aspirations for fame.