Research Paper Marketing
The Relationship between Social Connectedness and MaterialismExamining Self-Esteem as a Mediator
By
Niki Gerards (S2712881)
Supervisor Mr. Y. Joye
University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business
TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ... 3 INTRODUCTION………....5 LITERATURE REVIEW ... 6 MATERIALISM ... 6 SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS ... 8 SELF-ESTEEM ... 9 METHODOLOGY ... 12
PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN ... 12
MEASURES AND PROCEDURE ... 13
DATA ANALYSES ... 15
RESULTS ... 16
HYPOTHESES ... 16
ADDITIONAL RESULTS ... 17
GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ... 19
BRIEF SUMMARY ... 19
IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS ... 19
ABSTRACT
In today's' society, adolescent's materialistic values are an expressed concern. A number of studies have been conducted to investigate the relationship between materialism and well-being but fewer have been focused on resolving this issue.
There is no doubt that human beings require some material necessities and comfort in order to feel secure and stay alive. But when people turn to material possessions in order to substitute them for unsatisfied psychological needs, for instance to overcome self doubt, asserting power over others or self-presentation this form of materialism can have detrimental effects. The researcher examines social connectedness as a potential key element in lowering late adolescent's materialistic values, with self-esteem as a proposed mediator.
Results from this research indicate that there is no significant relationship between social connectedness and materialism, nor is self-esteem a suitable mediator. Meanwhile, significant evidence confirms that connectedness has the power to enhance self-esteem which in turn are associated with happiness. This study also illustrates that there is significant prove that late adolescents (age 17 to 21) tend to be more materialistic than older late adolescents (age 21 to 25).
This study implemented the 10-item Youth Materialism scale (YMS), the 20 item Revised Social Connectedness Scale (SCS-R), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) that consists of 10 items. A correlation study and a PROCESS Macro test to test the mediation were conducted.
Key words: materialism, social connectedness, self-esteem, late adolescence.
INTRODUCTION
“To be content with little is difficult; to be content with much, impossible.” ― Marie von
Ebner- Eschenbach, Aphorisms.
Materialistic values among today's adolescents have been an expressed concern around the world (Xinyuan et al., 2015). In modern society, people are focused on leading a lifestyle that does a rather poor job of satisfying their needs (Kasser, 2002). People tend to be less happy nor satisfied with their lives if they fulfill materialistic needs (Belk, 1985). It is a fact that a relatively strong focus on psychological need for possessions is associated with low well-being, even successfully pursuing materialistic ideals typically turn out to be unsatisfying (Kasser, 2002).
Schor (2004:13) states that, '' Adolescents today are the most brand- orientated, consumer-involved, and materialistic generation in history''. Regardless from basic needs, adolescents want to buy, they believe that specific possessions can support their self-worth, and receive praise by others. Why do some people experience such strong desires to satisfy these needs, and why can it be detrimental? Human beings crave closeness to a social world, engage in social relationships which in time result in social connectedness. In contrast, loneliness and the feeling of not belonging can have a detrimental effect on a individuals well-being (e.g. anxiety, depression, sense of self determination) and it is therefore important to feel socially connected and experience a sense of self- worth. Not all individuals experience negative consequences as a result. According to Xinyuan (2015:45) ''It is proposed that social cognitive factions may provide psychological shields against negative outcomes''.
Many studies have researched the relation between materialism and well-being, and conclude that they are negatively correlated (Burroughs et al., 2002; Kasser et al., 2014; Pandelaere, 2016). Only a few studies are dedicated to researching how materialistic values can be reduced and focus on the origin of the problem (Burroughs, et al., 2013).
I will examine materialistic values in a sample of late adolescents, and study whether a high(er) level of social connectedness is positively correlated with an adolescents' low(er) level of materialistic values. In additions, this study will consider self-esteem as an
The question is whether self-esteem represents a driving mechanism between social connectedness and materialism, meaning self-esteem could play a significant role in the reduction of materialistic values.
LITERATURE REVIEW
In the following section, the relationship between materialism and social connectedness will be further investigated. I will discuss literature on materialism, social connectedness and self-esteem separately and develop my hypotheses.
MATERIALISM
"To be worthwhile is to be wealthy, to consume, and to have the right image"- Arndt et al. (2004:210)
In the Oxford English Dictionary, materialism is defined as: “the devotion to material desires and needs: a way of opinion tendency and life, based entirely on material interest”. Belk (1985: 265) definition implies that materialism is: '' the importance associated with material possessions by the consumer’’. Richins and Dawson (1992: 304) refer to materialists as "People that place possessions and their acquisition as essential in order to gain satisfaction and well-being in life".
At the highest level of materialism, material possessions are central to an individual’s life and can lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Belk, 1984). Csikzentmihalyi and Rochberg- Halton (1978) were one of the first to point out that material possessions can have positive and negative influence on one’s life. Two forms of materialism were proposed based on the purposes of consumption. First of all, individuals can purchase goods that can “discover and extent personal values and development’’. This form of materialism is considered harmless by psychologists and consist of positive consequences such as, increasing incomes, higher
standard of living, and wealth through economical developments (Richins & Ruhmin, 1994) Materialism can improve people's lives, by making lives safer, convenient and enjoyable.
Nevertheless, the other form of materialism causes raising concern in modern society due to many negative outcomes. This form is harmful to personal well-being, interpersonal
Kasser (2002:52) suggests that people develop ideals by looking at the lives of their friends, neighbours, co-workers, and relatives, but also our culture plays a role. Thus, individuals can view material goods and money as a path to personal happiness and progress on the social ladder, which in turn can lead to strong materialistic values (Wackman, 1971). Ergen (2015: 513) states ''materialism is a result of high level of unsatisfied psychological needs, and when one or more of these needs are not met, insecurity arises and people turn to material assets in order to substitute them''. These materialistic values do not by itself lead to lower life
satisfaction. Instead, negative motives of overcoming self doubt, asserting power over others, and self-presentation, are the cause of lower life satisfaction (Srivastava, 2001).
Adolescence
Ku (2015: 233) suggests that "it is very likely that the negative link between materialism and life satisfaction among adults may exist among adolescents as well". A study by Kasser and Ryan (1993) clearly showed evidence that individuals with high materialistic values
experience lower well-being. This was found in late adolescents with a strong desire for financial success, image and popularity, instead of psychological needs for autonomy, and growth. Richins and Dawson (1992: 311) found that “the more people valued materialism, the less they valued warm relationships with others''. Adolescents might compensate by
attempting to pursue image- orientated goals, such as material possessions (Deci & Ryan, 1999). Because material possessions are often seen as powerful or successful by others, most adolescents might feel encouraged to make these value their own (Kasser, 2002). According to Kasser (2002: 53) “Materialistic individuals seem to have overly enlarged, and unrealistic ideas about wealth and possessions”. When individuals prioritize fulfilling materialistic goals, they value social activities less. Therefore, these individuals tend to feel more isolated and are likely to care more about money (Richards, 2014).
To conclude, materialism is in its own not necessarily detrimental, but psychological need for material possessions that are internally pressured and evolve out of poor need satisfaction are. This study will therefore indicate whether social connectedness might be a solution to
SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
According to Kasser (2002: 24), '' A need is not just something a person desires or wants, but it is something that is necessary to his or her survival, growth, and optimal functioning. Needs direct us to behave in ways that increase the likelihood that they will be satisfied”. The need for food, safety, and other basic needs must be satisfied first before individuals can love or feel that they belong in society (Maslow, 1985). Humans are naturally driven to get intimate and close with others, and put a lot of effort in seeking and securing such relationships, meaning the need for 'social connectedness'.
Social connectedness is defined by Lee and Robbins (1998: 338) as '' the subjective awareness of being in a close relationship with the social world'', these include a person's relationships with friends, family, strangers, acquaintances, peers, the community and society (Lee & Robbins, 1998). People with high social connectedness feel very close to other people, they see others as friends and can often easily identify with them (Lee et al. 2001). Identifying with one another can be explained by the fact that individuals construct relationship with people that have similar psychological goals, cognitive abilities, and social demands (Collins & Laursen, 2004). Human beings have an internal drive to have a minimum quantity of
interpersonal relationships that last long, are stable and positive.(Baumeister & Laury, 1995).
Adolescence
Social connectedness is something that develops early in an individual’s life, and continuous to change throughout their entire lifecycle (Lee et al. 2001). Specifically, during the
adolescence development phase social connectedness is particularly important, while adolescents are forced to change internally. These consist of keeping up with extended expectations, social requirements and demands in the 'working' world (Malaquias, 2015). Thus, adolescence is a critical period in social development (La Greca & Harrison, 2005).
Social connectedness is considered very important in shaping an individual's social reality and influencing his/her attitudes, behaviors, and values (Yoo et al., 2014), and this could influence the occurrence of psychological symptoms of lower well-being in adolescents (La Graca & Harrison, 2005). As a result, the young adults who lack the connectedness with others, particularly with peers, may experience difficulties with this transition which could effect his/her development in this stage.
The majority of people experience psychological benefits through specific patterns of social connectedness and experience no detrimental effects to their well-being (Richards, 2014). Meanwhile, people with low social connectedness are unable to manage their needs and feelings and are more likely to experience low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. These individuals, will experience the need to avoid or refuse to participate in social activities, as a result of a lower level of interpersonal trust (Malaquias et al. 2015). This weak sense of connectedness can work as a vicious circle in decreasing personal well-being. According to Richards (2014: 531), “it is evident that connectedness has the power to narrow the well-being gap that exist”. This leads to our first hypothesis, namely:
H1. Social connectedness has the power to lower an adolescent's materialistic values.
To conclude, basic needs of human beings can be satisfied through material well-being, these materialistic values are meant for a person to survive and are not necessarily bad. But material possessions can only satisfy to a reasonable level. People that experience strong materialistic values, and a desire to fulfill these needs for the purpose of enhancing their self-worth, or receiving external rewards and praise of others may experience lower well-being. The
enhancement of self-worth, self-esteem or control can be provided by alternative non-material means such as social connectedness (Richards, 2014).
SELF-ESTEEM
In this study self-esteem is examined as a mediator, it is predicted that social connectedness leads to a higher level op self-esteem which will strengthen a change in materialistic values. Self-esteem is based on people's evaluation of themselves, when people have high self-esteem they will evaluate themselves more positively, and feel good about themselves. These people often have a sense of self-worth and feel more valuable (Kasser, 2002). In contrast, low(er) self-esteem, makes them feel unworthy, unloved, and insufficient.
Many studies have been conducted to the role of self-esteem. Psychologist believe that when people realize their goals, their self-esteem and feelings worthy should increase (Kasser, 2002), and this could all be gained through social interactions (Richards, 2014). Lee and Robbins (1995: 233) suggest that “only if people have successfully maintained
companionship without any threat to self-esteem, he/she is able to feel comfortable and confident within a larger social context than parents or peers, and be socially connected”. Much research (Kasser, et al., 1995; Carbery, et al,. 1998; La Graca et al,. 2005) proves this by showing that parents and peers are considered important sources of emotional support and psychological well-being, which are seen as the origin of self-esteem in adolescents. Chaplin and John (2010: 176) support this by suggesting that “supportive parents and peers can boost adolescents' self-esteem, which decreases their need to embrace material goods as a way to develop positive self-perception”. This positive perspective, is viewing peer support as an important contributor to adolescent self-esteem, which diminishes materialistic tendencies. This leads to the second hypothesis, namely:
H2. Social connectedness has a positive effect on an adolescent's self-esteem.
It is known that self-esteem is negatively correlated with materialism. People with strong material values were often raised in no nurturing environment, were basic needs for security and safety are poorly satisfied (Kasser et al., 1995). Because such environments result in people experience low self-esteem, it is not a surprise that materialistic values can be associated with low self-esteem (Kasser, 2002) this supports my assumption that increasing self-esteem might indeed be an effective way to indirectly reduce strong materialistic values. This leads to a third hypothesis, namely:
Self-esteem represents a driving mechanism between social connectedness and materialism, meaning that self-esteem could play a significant role in the reduction of materialistic values. Hereby, I formulated the fourth hypotheses as:
H4. Self-esteem mediates the relationship between social connectedness and a late adolescent's materialistic values.
FIGURE 1
Conceptual model: The relationship between social connectedness and materialistic values.
METHODOLOGY
My goal in this present research was to test three hypotheses. First, I examined materialistic values in a sample of late adolescents, and tested whether high social connectedness is positively correlated with a change in adolescents' materialistic levels. Second, I looked for preliminary evidence that self-esteem mediates the relationship between social connectedness and late adolescent materialism. In addition I looked at the effect of both elements separately, as to whether social connectedness can boost self-esteem and how self-esteem in turn can have an effect on lowering materialistic values.
PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN
An online research was conducted, with the use of a questionnaire, data was collected.
Late adolescents were set as the target group; respondents ranged between the age of 17 to 25. Of the sample N=70, just over half the sample was female (n= 39; 55.7%), and just under half was male (n=31; 44.3%). The age distribution of the late adolescents is shown in Fig 2. half of the respondents were aged 17- to 20(n = 31; 44.3%), and half were aged 21-to 25 (n=39; 55.7%).
FIGURE 2
Age distribution of late adolescents.
study was preformed to measure variables from the same group of subjects, and tried to determine if there is a relationship. Followed by a Macro PROCESS test (Hayes & Preacher, 2014), used to test the effect of the mediator self-esteem. This test reflects a cause and effect in which X, (the IV, social connectedness), affects Y (DV, materialism) indirectly through mediator variable M (mediator, self-esteem).
MEASURES AND PROCEDURE
Participants were presented with a brief description of the study before the actual survey began. The questionnaire consisted of 3 parts: First, respondents were asked to complete demographic questions. Followed by the Subjective Satisfaction Scale, better known as the General Happiness Scale by Lyubomirsky & Lepper (1999), a 4-item measurement scale designed to measure their subjective happiness. Each item is completed by choosing one of 7 options that finish a given sentence fragment. For example, ‘'In general, I consider myself: ''In this case respondents can choose an answer in between'' Not a very happy person'' to '' a very happy person'‘.
The main part of the questionnaire consists of statements from three different measurement scales the Youth Materialistic Scale, Social Connectedness Scale-Revised (SCS-R), and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) (see Appendix A). The participants could respond to these statements by choosing their answer consistent with the 7- level Likert scale, ranging from 1.(Disagree Completely) to 7.(Agree Completely). The respondents were guided through the questionnaire posed to them and finally thanked for their participation.
Materialism
To measure materialism, Goldberg et al.'s (2003) Youth Materialism Scale (YMS) was
implemented, a scale specifically developed for adolescents. Respondents were asked to agree or disagree with 10 statements that reflect materialistic values, such as ''when you grow up, the more money you have, the happier you will be''. The questions reflected statements of materialistic values. A higher average score indicates a greater level of materialistic values. Reliability analyses were conducted for each rating scale. These analyses indicated acceptable levels of reliability for describing internal consistency. If we look at all the scales separately, the Youth Materialism Scale was estimated at Cronbach Alpha .721 and therefore
Social connectedness
Social connectedness was measured with Lee et al.'s (2001) the Revised Social
Connectedness Scale. The SCS-R is a 20 item scale that measures social connectedness as a psychological sense of belonging. Sample items include ''I feel close to people'' or ''I am able to connect with other people''. Higher scores indicate greater level of social connectedness and belongingness. The SCS-R scale had an "Excellent" internal consistency with a Cronbach Alpha score of .903, which is considered exceptional high.
Self-esteem
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (Princeton University Press, 1965) was used to measure respondents’ self-esteem. The RSES is a 10-item scale that is used to assess feelings of self-worth. Statements included ''I take a positive attitude towards myself''' or ''I feel I do have much to be proud of ''. The higher the score, the higher the self-reported self-esteem. The RSES Alpha score of .638, which is considered "Questionable" but because it is above .60, the rule of thumb still accepts this level of reliability.
Mediation effect
To measure the effect of the mediator self-esteem I have conducted a Macro PROCESS test (Hayes & Preacher, 2014). This test reflects a cause and effect in which X, (independent variable, social connectedness), affects Y (dependent variable, materialism) indirectly through mediator variable M (mediator, self-esteem). Figure 3. gives an illustration of this effect.
FIGURE 3
Mediating effect of the variables X, Y, and M.
DATA ANALYSES
In order to test the stated hypotheses, responses were compiled together and analyzed by using the correlation test. This specific test indicated whether there is indeed a linear correlation between (a) social connectedness and adolescent's materialistic values
(Hypotheses 1), (b) social connectedness and self-esteem (Hypotheses 2), and (c) self-esteem and adolescent's materialistic values (Hypotheses 3). To check for the mediating effect of self-esteem a statistical mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS Macro test
RESULTS
I will discuss the most relevant findings gathered from the descriptive statistics of the correlation and the PROCESS Macro test here for each hypotheses separately.
HYPOTHESES
H1. Social connectedness has the power to lower a late adolescent's materialistic values. Results from a correlation test indicate a very weak and non-significant linear relationship between social connectedness and materialism (r = -.45; p = .71). This hypothesis can thus be rejected.
H2. Social connectedness has a positive effect on late adolescent's self-esteem.
Social Connectedness and self-esteem under late adolescents are significant and positively correlated (r= .574; p<.001). It can thus be said that respondents whom consider themselves socially connected also score high self-reported self-esteem. Statistical results from this study do support my assumption that social connectedness can boost self-esteem.
H3. Late adolescent's self-esteem has a positive effect on reducing materialistic values. Results from a correlation test indicate a weak linear relationship between self-esteem and materialism in late adolescents (r= -.141; p= .246). This negatively correlation does indicate that in this study late adolescents with a higher level of self-reported self-esteem seem to have low(er) materialistic values. But due to non significant statistic the third hypotheses should be rejected.
H4. Self-esteem mediates the relationship between social connectedness and a late adolescent's materialistic values
More critical to my first hypothesis, I found that this relationship is not mediated by (late adolescents') self-esteem. Results from the PROCES Macro Test indicate that self-esteem does not mediate the relationship between social connectedness and late adolescents' materialism. Therefore, hypotheses 4 should be rejected.
for the indirect effect of social connectedness on materialism, through self-esteem did include 0 (-.3565 to .1046). Self-esteem thus does not mediate the relationship between social
connectedness and materialism.
There is no significant relationship between social connectedness and materialism, path "X" to "Y"' gives a p value of .71. The next path, on the other hand, indicates that social
connectedness does have an effect on boosting adolescents' self-esteem, while path between "X" and "M" does show a significance level of p<.01. Furthermore, the final path "M" to "Y" indicates that self-esteem does not have an effect on reducing materialistic values, illustrated with a p value of .48. Figure 4. presents an overview of these results.
FIGURE 4
The analyses of the mediating effect of self-esteem.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
I conducted an additional correlation test in which I included not only the YMC, SCS-R and RSES scale, but also the General Happiness Scale and the variable "Age". The most relevant findings are the following, a significant negative relationship between age and late
GENERAL DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Here I will discuss the most important findings, and implications and limitation of this study. Followed by future research ideas and a broad conclusion.
BRIEF SUMMARY
My study contributes to research on materialism while. prior research (Chaplin & John, 2010; Ahuvia & Wong, 2002) examined the relationship between the social influences of peers and family on adolescents and adolescents' materialistic values, but never has a correlation study been conducted investigating the relationship between social connectedness and late
adolescents' materialistic values. Especially, not one that proposes self-esteem as a mediator.
In this study no significant evidence was obtained for the relationship between social
connectedness and materialism in late adolescents. Meanwhile, empirical results do confirm that social connectedness is an important contributor to the growth of self-esteem in
adolescents' development. Thus, social connectedness has the ability to enhance self-esteem in late adolescence. Second, significant evidence illustrates a positive correlation between social connectedness and happiness. Respondents in this research are generally happier when they report being well socially connected.
Third, evident is that late adolescents' self-worth has an influence on happiness. A significant medium strength positive correlation between self-esteem and happiness has occurred. It follows that connectedness has the power to enhance self-esteem which in turn is associated with happiness. Finally, from this study I also found that there is significant evidence that the younger half of late adolescent segment tend to have more materialistic values than older late adolescents.
IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS.
performs well and presumably better than the YMS in terms of reliability and empirical usefulness. The MVS could have provided supporting evidence for my first hypothesis.
An other limitation of this study is the sample size of the respondents and its generalizability. The respondents where obtained by the snowballing technique, and thus not a sample that is generalizable to the population. My initial hypotheses could well be supported, if tested more extensive and with a different methodology. First of all, my study found significant evidence that social connectedness, self-esteem, and happiness are positively correlated. Secondly, studies by several other researchers have investigated these elements separately alongside materialism and gathered prove of its existence.
Research by Chaplin and John (2007: 190) states "a drop in self-esteem experienced by many children as they enter adolescence triggers a focus on material goods, primarily as a mean of self-enhancement. As self-esteem rebounds in late adolescence, the need for self-enhancement of any sort including the use of material goods, declines along with the decrease in
materialistic orientation". Richards (2016: 532) highlights "money makes a much larger contribution to happiness of the socially isolated than others, and conversely makes a much smaller contribution to the happiness of the socially integrated. Life satisfaction can be alternatively experienced through specific patterns of social connectedness". These two studies found significant evidence that support my assumptions. Thus it might be worth researching this studies conceptual model more extensively by applying a different
methodology for example by observing actual materialistic consumption and with a larger sample size. To explain how different social connectedness levels jointly influence adolescent self-esteem and materialism. In addition, conducting a second study with a different segment can also give a clear overview whether my non-significant findings are restricted to the segment late adolescents.
As for the managerial relevance, prior research has indicated that late adolescents that tend to have low self-worth and high expressed need for to generate praise of others, can find
adolescence. This phenomenon suggests that materialistic values are reduced as adolescents’ approach adulthood. Marketers should further investigate, while late adolescents have money available to independently spend. Targeting these (new) independent consumer can turn into long term brand loyalty.
FUTURE RESEARCH
I suggest three potential future research proposals. Evidence shows that young adolescence is an important phase of personal growth. I propose a longitudinal study that examines whether healthy social development in children can result in a visible reduction in adolescence materialism. Proposing self-esteem as a moderator, whereby (educational) supportive programs are developed to enhances the self-esteem of the non-control group in the study.
Second, researchers could also investigate whether well socially connected individuals are more likely to purchase experiential goods rather than material possessions. In other words, instead of consuming to gain self-worth, do well-connected individuals express a preference for experiences (with friends) over tangible goods? This could be interesting for marketers, managers could investigate ways of targeting groups for experiential purposes.
Third, my research provides a starting point for examine ways to generate a reduction in materialism levels. To fully examine ways of reducing materialism, more expansive research will be needed to find new possible driving mechanisms that could lead to a reduction in materialism, where social connectedness was insufficient. For instance, enhancing self-esteem, through experiential consumption can lead to a change in materialism.
CONCLUSION
Especially in adolescents, whom according to Schor (2004: 13) “are the most brand-oriented, consumer involved, and materialistic generation in history”.
I conducted a correlation study that highlights social connectedness as a potential instrument in reducing materialism. With the assumption that young adolescents that are well connected may express a reduced need for material possessions. A need for possession with the
underlying thought of gaining self-worth and praise of others. Self-esteem was proposed to mediate this relationship. Results from this study show no significant prove that social
connectedness can have an reducing effect on late adolescents' materialistic values, nor is self-esteem mediating this relationship. Meanwhile, evident is that late adolescents whom report to be well socially connected, feel a sense of self-worth and are relatively happier compared to their less connected peers. Also, this study gave substantial insights in a phenomenon that suggests that the children that enter the young adolescence phase are more materialistic than when adolescents’ approach adulthood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my supervisor Mr. Y. Joye of the Faculty Marketing at the University of Groningen. His guidance pointed me into the right direction, even though I had to change my entire proposal due to over-ambitious ideas and a leak of time. He supported me in my
choices and provided me with answers to my questions which lead me to complete this thesis.
I would also like to acknowledge the second reader of this thesis, and I am grateful that he/she will contribute to the completion of my Pre-MSc Marketing program, at the University of Groningen.
Thank you,
REFERENCES
ARTICLES
Arndt, J., Solomon, S., Kasser, T., & Sheldon, K. M. 2004. The urge to splurge: A terror management account of materialism and consumer behaviour. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 14 (3): 198-212.
Belk, R.W. 1985. Materialism: Traits aspects of living in the material world. Journal of
Consumers Research, 12: 265-280.
Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. 1995. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 3: 497-529. Burroughs, J. E., & Rindfleisch, A. 2002. Materialism and Well-Being: A conflicting values perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (3): 348-370.
Burroughs, J.E., Chaplin, L. N., Pandelaere, M., Norton, M. I., Ordabayeva, N., Gunz, A., & Dinauer, L. 2013. Using motivation theory to develop a transformative consumer research agenda for reducing materialism in society. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 32 (1): 18-31.
Carbery, J. & Buhrmester, D. 1998. Friendship and need fulfillment during three phases of young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationship, 15 (3): 393-409.
Chaplin, L. N., & John, D. R. 2010. Interpersonal influences on adolescent materialism: A new look at the role of parents and peers. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20: 176-184. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. 1999. A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards of intrinsic motivation. Pyschological Bulletin, 125 (6): 627-668. Dittmar, H. 2005 A new look at "compulsive buying": Self-discrepancies and materialistic values as predictors of compulsive buying tendency. Journal of Social and Clinical
Psychology, 24 (6): 832-859.
Ergen, A., Baykan, B.G., & Turan, S.G. (2015). Effect of materialism and environmental knowledge on environmental consciousness amongst highschool students: A case study in Istanbul province. International journal of human sciences, 12 (1): 511-526.
Fournier, S., & Richins, M. 1991. Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6 (6): 403-414.
Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. 1992. Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Development, 63: 103-115.
Hayes, A. F., & Preacher, K. J. 2014. Statistical mediation analysis with a multicategorical independent variable. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, 67: 451-470.
Johnson, W., & Krueger, R.F. 2006. How money buys happiness: Genetic and environmental processes linking finances and life satisfaction. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 90 (4): 680-691.
Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., & Zax, M. 1995. The relations of maternal and social environment to late adolescents' materialistic and prosocial values. Development Psychology, 31 (6): 907-914. Kasser, T., & Ryan. R. M. 1993. A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65 (2): 410-422.
Kasser, T. 1999. Intrinsic and extrinsic goals: their structure and relationship to well being in well-being in German and U.S. college students. Social Indicators Research, 50: 225-241. Kasser, T. 2009. Psychological need satisfactions, personal well-being, and ecological sustainability. Ecopsychology, 1 (4): 175-179.
Kasser, T., Rosenblum, K. L., Sameroff, A.J., Deci, E.L., Niemiec, C.P., Ryan, R.M.,
Arnadottir, O., Bond, R., Dittmar, H., Dungan, N., & Hawks, S. 2014. Changes in materialism, changes in psychological well-being: Evidence from three longitudinal studies and an
intervention experiment. Motiv Emot, 38: 1-22.
Kasser, T. 2016. Materialistic values and goals. Department of Psychology, 67: 489-514. Ku, L. 2015. Development of materialism in adolescence: the longitudinal role of life satisfaction among Chinese Youths. Soc Indic Res, 124: 231-247.
La Greca, A. M., & Harrison, H. M. 2005.Adolescent peer relations, friendships, and romantic relationships: Do they predict social anxiety and depression? Journal of Clinical Child and
Adolescent Psychology, 34 (1): 49-61.
Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. 1995. Measuring belongingness: The social connectedness and social assurance scales. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42 (2): 232-241.
Lee, R. M., & Robbins, S. B. 1998. The relationship between social connectedness and
Noguti, V., & Bokeyar, A. L. 2014. Who am I? The relationship between self-concept uncertainty and materialism. International Journal of Psychology, 49 (5): 323-333. Richards, L. 2016. For whom money matters less: social connectedness as a resilience resource in the UK. Soc Indic Res, 125: 509-539
Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. 1992.A consumer values orientation for Materialism and its measurement: Scale Development and Validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19: 303-316.
Richins, M.L. 1994. Special Possessions and the Expression of Material Values. Journal of
Consumer Research, 21 (3): 522-533.
Richins, M. L., & Rudmin, F. W. 1994. Materialism and economic psychology. Journal of
Economic Psychology, 15 (2): 217-231.
Srivastava, A., Locke, E. A., & Bartol, K. 2001. Money and subjective well-being: It's not the money, It's the motives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80 (6): 959-971. Thoits, P. A. 2011. Mechanism linking social ties and support to physical and mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 52 (2): 145-161
Van Boven, L. 2005. Experientialism, Materialism and the pursuit of happiness. Review of
General Psychology, 9 (2): 132-142.
Wackman, D., & Ward, S. 1971. Family and media influences on adolescent consumer learning. American Behaviour Scientist, 14: 415-427.
Xinyuan, F., Kou, Y., & Yang, Y. 2015. Materialistic values among Chinese adolescents: effects of parental rejection and self-esteem. Child Youth Care Forum, 44: 43-57. Yoo, G., Park, J.H., & Jun, H. J. 2014. Early maladaptive schemas as predictors of interpersonal orientation and peer connectedness in University students. Society for
Personality Research, 42 (8): 1377-1394.
BOOKS
APPENDIX A
Subjective Satisfaction Scale - General Happiness Scale by Lyubomirsky & Lepper (1999) 1. In general I consider myself:
not a very happy person 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a very happy person
2. Compared to most of my peers, I consider myself: less happy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 more happy
3.Some people are generally very happy. They enjoy life regardless of what is going on, getting the most out of everything. To what extent does this characterization describe you? not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a great deal
4.Some people are generally not very happy. Although they are not depressed, they never seem as happy as they might be. To what extend does this characterization describe you? not at all 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a great deal
Youth Materialism Scale (YMS) Goldberg et al. (2003)
1. I'd rather spend time buying things, than doing almost anything else. 2. I would be happier if I had more money to buy more things for myself. 3. I have fun just thinking of all the things I own.
4. I really enjoy going shopping. 5. I like to buy things my friends have.
6. When you grow up, the more money you have, the happier you are.
7. I'd rather not share my snacks with others if it means I'll have less for myself. 8. I would love to be able to buy things that cost lots of money.
9. I really like the kids that have very special games or clothes.
10. The only kind of job I want when I grow up is one that gets me a lot of money.
Social Connectedness Scale- Revised (SCS-R) Lee et al. (2001) 1. I feel distant from people.
4. I see myself as a loner.
5. I feel disconnected from the world around me. 6. I don't feel I participate with anyone or any group. 7. I feel close to people.
8. Even around people I know, I don't feel that I really belong. 9. I am able to relate to my peers.
10. I catch myself losing a sense of connectedness with society. 11. I am able to connect with other people.
12. I feel understood by the people I know. 13. I see people as friendly and approachable. 14. I fit in well in new situations.
15. I have little sense of togetherness with my peers. 16. My friends feel like family.
17. I find myself actively involve in people's lives.
18. Even among my friends, there is no sense of brother/ sisterhood. 19. I am in tune with the world.
20. I feel comfortable in the presence of strangers.
Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) (1965) 1. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself. 2. At times I think I am no good at all.
3. I feel that I have a number of good qualities. 4. I am able to do things as well as most other people. 5. I feel I do not have much to be proud of.
6. I certainly feel useless at times.
7. I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others. 8. I wish I could have more respect for myself.
