Endorsement Of Materialistic Values Research Articles

Mzansi Magic

Mzansi Magic

Has the COVID-19 pandemic made us more materialistic? The effect of COVID-19 and lockdown restrictions on the endorsement of materialism.

The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to an increase in the factors that typically facilitate the endorsement of materialistic values (e.g., higher media consumption, stress and anxiety, loneliness, death anxiety, and lower moods). In this paper, we examine how contextual changes affecting the antecedents of materialism influence its advocacy with a mixed‐method approach. First, a correlational study (Study 1) suggests that increases in media consumption and stress and anxiety during the pandemic predicted current levels of materialism, however, these effects were limited. Second, contrary to our expectations, a longitudinal study (Study 2) shows that people's focus on money decreased during the pandemic. Last, a social media content analysis (Study 3) reveals a downward trend in users’ online discourses about consumption‐related behaviors, but an upward trend in brands promoting spending as a way to attain well‐being. The observed effects could fuel deeper societal change in the labor market and in consumer behavior, and have further implications for individual and societal well‐being in a post‐pandemic world. We recommend future interventions aimed at diminishing materialistic attitudes to examine the effects of decreasing media consumption and to explore how other factors introduced by the pandemic (e.g., a health or well‐being focus) might moderate its advocacy.

Parental conflicts and materialism in adolescents: Emotional insecurity as a mediator

IntroductionThis longitudinal study investigated whether and how parental conflicts contributed to adolescents' endorsement of materialistic values. MethodTwo hundred and fourteen Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong (102 boys; mean age = 16.52 years) completed a set of questionnaires including materialism, emotional insecurity, parental conflict behaviour, and perceptions of parents (warmth, autonomy, and involvement). ResultsConsistent with the psychological insecurity hypothesis and the emotional security theory, emotional insecurity mediated the connection between parental conflict behaviour and adolescents' materialism. Adolescents who had their parents dealing with their conflicts in destructive ways reported higher levels of emotional insecurity, which was in turn associated with higher levels of materialism. By contrast, adolescents who had their parents dealing with their conflicts constructively reported lower levels of emotional insecurity, which was linked to lower levels of materialism. ConclusionParental conflict behaviour contributes to adolescents' materialism through its influence on emotional insecurity.

Development of materialistic values among children and adolescents

Purpose – Materialism among the younger generation has become a hot topic among parents, educators, marketers and policy makers, especially in Macao, a city where the influx of tourists and the expanding gaming facilities bring the potential threat of materialism and the erosion of traditional family values. This study aims to develop a model using age, sex, social comparison of consumption with friends, attention to advertising, and self‐esteem to predict young people's materialistic values.Design/methodology/approach – A probability sampling of 667 elementary and secondary school students aged 8 to 17 in Macao was conducted.Findings – Results show that social comparison of consumption with friends was the most important factor in predicting respondents' endorsement of materialistic values, followed by self‐esteem.Research limitations/implications – All the constructs are measured by self‐reporting. Some respondents may give socially desirable answers.Practical implications – Parents and educators should...

Are materialistic teenagers less motivated to learn? Cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence from the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Is materialism systematically related to teenagers' learning motivation as well as actual learning outcomes? The reported research tested a theoretical model of associations among materialism, achievement goals, and exam performance among teenagers. Study 1 tested the theoretical model in 4 groups of teenagers drawn from 2 different educational stages (Year 9 and Year 12) and two societies of different cultural heritage (United Kingdom and Hong Kong). Results supported the model that materialism was associated with lower intrinsic mastery goals, and higher extrinsic performance goals in all of the 4 groups. More important, 1-year longitudinal data from Hong Kong (Study 2) showed that a materialistic value orientation at an earlier time point explained decreases in mastery goals and increases in performance goals a year later. Furthermore, earlier endorsement of materialistic values also predicted later deterioration of school performance. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

Consumerism and Well-Being in India and the UK: Identity Projection and Emotion Regulation as Underlying Psychological Processes

A growing body of evidence shows that a materialistic value orientation is linked to lower well-being (Dittmar 2008; Kasser & Kanner, 2004), but we know little about factors that influence this association, or linked behavioural tendencies, particularly in developing countries, such as India. Extending our previous research (Dittmar 2005a, b; Dittmar et al. 2007), we develop a model in which endorsement of materialistic values is linked to buying motives focused on identity projection and emotion regulation, which, in turn, are linked to lower well-being and dysfunctional consumer behaviour. We tested these hypothesised associations in surveys with 236 younger and older adults in India and the UK, and found that they were consistent with our model, showing few country or generational differences. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed, as well as directions for future research.

I want it and I want it now: Using a temporal discounting paradigm to examine predictors of consumer impulsivity

This paper proposes a new model of consumer impulsivity, using type of good, a person's endorsement of materialistic values, and identity deficits as predictors. Traditional decision making and psychological accounts see impulsive behaviour as a general overweighing of short-term gratification (I want that dress now) relative to longer-term concerns, irrespective of consumer good. Our proposal is that consumers' impulsivity (a) differs according to type of good and (b) is linked systematically to a combination of materialistic values and high identity deficits. Beginning with Study 1, three experiments, using a temporal discounting paradigm, show consistently that discount rates are higher for goods that are seen as highly expressive of identity (e.g., clothes) than goods not expressive of identity (e.g., basic body care products). For materialistic consumers, identity deficits predict discount rates for identity-expressive goods (Study 2), and discount rates change for materialistic individuals when their identity deficits are made salient (Study 3). These findings support a conceptualization of consumer impulsivity as identity-seeking behaviour.

Children's materialism in urban ond rural china

: This study examined Chinese urban and rural children's endorsement of materialistic values, and investigated the influences of media exposure, cognitive development and demographics on this orientation. Altogether, 569 questionnaires were collected (254 from an urban area and 315 from a rural area) from children aged from 6 to 14. The results showed that children in mainland China held lukewarm attitudes to materialistic values and that urban children were more materialistic than rural children. Of all forms of media exposure, video game engagement was the most significant predictor of materialism. The influences of children's understanding of advertising, cognitive development and gender were also explored.

Determinants for materialism among adolescents in Singapore

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of marketing communication factors (specifically advertising viewing and responses to marketing promotions) as well as social influence factors (specifically influences from peers and media celebrities) on adolescents' endorsement of materialistic values in Singapore. As the Asian culture is said to be collective when compared with the Western culture, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 190 high school students’ aged 13 to 18 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.FindingsThe paper finds imitation of media celebrities and perceived peer influence were positive predictors of materialistic consumption values while marketing communication factors were not significant predictors.Research limitations/implicationsThe data in the paper came from a convenience sample of one high school and may not be representative of adolescents in Singapore.Practical implicationsThe paper found that in fact advertising regulation may not impact adolescent levels of materialism to the degree previously assumed. Visual literacy courses may be a better strategy of reducing the level of materialism through discouraging the desire to imitate media celebrities. In turn, this training and heightened awareness could potentially help to diminish some of the negative peer influences in relation to materialism. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions can be influenced by their social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications, while simultaneously providing them with the tools to critically assess the images they view.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights about the complex patterns of how consumption values develop in an Asian society. It is also a pioneer work on the study of the influence of media celebrities on materialistic value orientations.

Social comparison, imitation of celebrity models and materialism among Chinese youth

Materialism is an important issue, especially among young people, and especially in a Chinese context. Based on a theoretical model of the endorsement of materialistic values among Chinese youth, the objectives were to examine the influence of interpersonal communication on social comparison, and the influence of advertising viewing on imitation of celebrity models. In turn, the study examined how both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models contribute to young people’s endorsement of materialistic values. A mall intercept survey of 631 young people aged 15–24 in Hong Kong revealed that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence had strong positive relationships to engagement in social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements had a strong positive relationship to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social

Living in a celebrity‐mediated social world: the Chinese experience

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of peers and media celebrities on young people's endorsement of materialistic values in China. As the Chinese culture is said to be collective, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 299 university students in Beijing aged 18 to 24 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.FindingsThe paper finds that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence were positively related to social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements was positively related to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models were positive predictors of materialism.Research limitations/implicationsThe city selected for this study is highly advanced in terms of economical and advertising development when compared with most other Chinese cities.Practical implicationsAs the paper argues that materialism is a negative value orientation, the current study sheds light on de‐marketing to young consumers. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions are influenced by the social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications. Discouraging upward social comparison and imitation of idols is expected to discourage the endorsement of materialistic values.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights about the complex patterns of youth attitudes in a former socialist society migrating to a capitalist society. It is a pioneer work on the study of influence of celebrities on materialistic value orientations.

When a Better Self is Only a Button Click Away: Associations Between Materialistic Values, Emotional and Identity–Related Buying Motives, and Compulsive Buying Tendency Online

Compulsive buying of consumer goods increasingly occurs in conventional shops and stores, but has also started to emerge when people buy online. Extending previous research (e.g., Dittmar, 2005a, b), a model of vulnerability factors is proposed whereby the endorsement of materialistic values predicts individuals' seeking to enhance their emotions and identity when they buy goods, which, in turn, predicts tendencies toward compulsive buying. This model is tested with respect to the Internet, a fast-growing alternative to conventional buying. A preliminary survey (n = 110) confirmed emotional enhancement and identity gains (in addition to economic concerns and efficiency) as distinct online buying dimensions. The findings of the main survey (n = 126) provided good initial support for the proposed model, showing that materialistic individuals who seek to enhance their emotions and identity when buying goods online reported the strongest tendencies toward compulsive buying on the Internet. Implications for intervention are discussed.

MATERIALISM AND SOCIAL COMPARISON AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Materialism and social comparison are important issues, especially in a Chinese context, and especially amongst adolescents. In this paper a theoretical model of the endorsement of materialistic values and social comparison by adolescents was proposed and tested. A survey of secondary school students in Hong Kong revealed normative peer influence and peer communication were positive predictors of social comparison with friends. In addition, motivation for advertisement viewing was a positive predictor of social comparison with media figures. Social comparison with friends and with media figures were both positive predictors of materialism. The implications are discussed, with recommendations for further research.

Materialism among adolescents in urban China

Looks at attitudes of Chinese adolescents to materialism, including the effect of age on materialism and the influence of family and peers. Outlines the values of Chinese culture: thrift, respect for parents, group orientation, social harmony, good manners, face, and academic achievement; these values could impact both positively and negatively on endorsement of materialistic values. Points out that parental expectations of their children’s material success have increased since the one child per family policy. Finds that older adolescents were more materialistic than younger ones, that more materialistic adolescents tended to communicate more with their peers and less with their parents, and that television (which now reaches 92 per cent of households) has no effect because the Chinese government’s strict rules about TV programmes’ content requires them to reflect traditional values.

Compulsive buying – a growing concern? An examination of gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as predictors

Compulsive buying is an understudied, but growing, dysfunctional consumer behaviour with harmful psychological and financial consequences. Clinical perspectives treat it as a psychiatric disorder, whereas recent proposals emphasize the increasing endorsement of materialistic values as a cause of uncontrolled buying (e.g. Dittmar, 2004b; Kasser & Kanner, 2004). The present research aims to improve understanding of compulsive buying through examining gender, age, and endorsement of materialistic values as key predictors in three UK questionnaire studies, which sampled individuals who had contacted a self-help organization and residentially matched 'controls' (N = 330), consumer panelists from a multinational corporation (N = 250), and 16- to 18-year-old adolescents (N = 195). The results confirmed previously documented gender differences, and showed that younger people are more prone to compulsive buying. The central findings were that materialistic value endorsement emerged as the strongest predictor of individuals' compulsive buying, and that it significantly mediated the observed age differences.

A New Look at “Compulsive Buying”: Self–Discrepancies and Materialistic Values as Predictors of Compulsive Buying Tendency

Compulsive buying is a widespread dysfunctional consumer behavior that is still not well understood, and existing clinical conceptualizations view it as a manifestation of other underlying psychiatric disorders. This article intends to improve understanding through developing and testing a new perspective on compulsive buying as identity–seeking behavior that is driven jointly by self–discrepancies and endorsement of materialistic values. It presents three studies—a qualitative exploration using shopping diaries, and two quantitative surveys—which provide convergent evidence that compulsive buying is characterized by the motivation to move closer to an “ideal self” through material goods. For women, who constitute the great majority of compulsive buyers, there was good support for the two–factor model in both middle and young adulthood. For young men, materialistic values, but not self–discrepancies, were a significant predictor. Conceptual and treatment implications are discussed.