Economic Materialism - Materialism and Happiness

Materialism and Happiness

However, an increase in material wealth and goods in America has actually had little to no effect on the well-being and happiness of its people. Skitovsky called this a "joyless economy" in which people endlessly pursue comforts to the detriments of pleasures.

Using two measures of subjective well-being, one study found that materialism was negatively related to happiness, meaning that people who tended to be more materialistic were also less happy. When people derive a lot of pleasure from buying things and believe that acquiring material possessions are important life goals, they tend to have lower life satisfaction scores. Materialism also positively correlates with more serious psychological issues such as depression, narcissism and paranoia. Ironically, a person's pursuit of happiness through the "American Dream" will make them unhappier.

However, the relationship between materialism and happiness is more complex. The direction of the relationship can go both ways. Individual materialism can cause diminished well-being or lower levels of well-being can cause people to be more materialistic in an effort to get external gratification.

Instead, research shows that purchases made with the intention of acquiring life experiences such as going on a family vacation make people happier than purchases made to acquire material possessions such as a car. Even just thinking about experiential purchases makes people happier than thinking about material ones.