Lethal consumption: Death-denying materialism.

Solomon, Sheldon; Greenberg, Jeffrey L.; Pyszczynski, Thomas A.

doi:10.1037/10658-008

Cited by 37 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…It is also more reasonable to assume that motives engendered by personality bias people's beliefs about buying rather than If the sample had been drawn from a culture or subculture in which materialistic values were strongly condemned, it would be reasonable to predict a negative association between the motive to belong and materialism. But cultures that strongly and genuinely condemn materialistic lifestyles are probably hard to find (see Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004). the reverse (see McCrae & Costa, 1999, for insights about the relations between traits and beliefs).…”

Section: A Consideration Of the Model's Causal Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

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A Model of motivated cognition to account for the link between self‐monitoring and materialism

Rose

DeJesus

2007

Psychology and Marketing

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Drawing on previous theorizing about the development of materialistic values, a model of motivated cognition is proposed to account for the positive association between self-monitoring and materialism. The model suggests that self-monitoring is associated with individual differences in belonging motivation, that belonging motivation shapes people's beliefs about buying as a means of belonging within valued groups, and that buying-is-for-belonging beliefs shape the degree to which people value wealth and luxury. Results from two studies supported this model and suggested that the self-monitoring results are not better attributed to extraversion, social self-confidence, or shyness. The proposed model emphasizes that traits associated with a strong need to belong may predispose people toward materialism. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.To many people, it is perfectly obvious that much of the world has become increasingly preoccupied with wealth, shopping, and luxury. Particularly within the United States and nations influenced by American culture, the rise of materialism is so patent that many concerned social commentators have found it unnecessary to even document that it is rising. However, data on the rise of materialism in the United States are abundant. In 1987, the Roper polling organization asked a representative sample of Americans how much income the respondents and their families would need to fulfill all their dreams. The median answer given to this question in 1987 was $50,000. The median answer given to the same question in 1996 was $90,000 (cited in Schor, 1998, p. 15). Although a small part of this increase can be attributed to inflationary adjustment, this substantial increase over a period of only 9 years strongly points toward a change in America's financial aspirations. Evidence from representative surveys of college freshmen tells a similar story. Astin, Green, and Korn (1987) observed that the percentage of American first-year college students that reported that "being very well off financially" was a "very important" or "essential" life goal rose from 39% to 75% between 1970 (cited in Myers & Diener, 1995. As should be expected, many Americans are reaping the negative consequences of their materialistic values: The average credit card debt in American households rose from $2,250 in 1990 to almost $9,000 in 2002 (McGraw, 2003). 1 WHY MATERIALISM IS PROBLEMATICIn spite of this rising interest in wealth and luxury, existing evidence suggests that material acquisitions contribute very little to people's happiness, if they contribute at all. Reported correlations between household income and life satisfaction are typically small (i.e., less than 0.20; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999;Myers & Diener, 1995). But what is more important (given that many more people aspire to be wealthy than actually are) is that there is substantial evidence that materialistic values are negatively correlated with life satisfaction (see Rindfleisch, 2002, andKasser, 2002, for reviews). This negative correlation ...

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Section: A Consideration Of the Model's Causal Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…If the sample had been drawn from a culture or subculture in which materialistic values were strongly condemned, it would be reasonable to predict a negative association between the motive to belong and materialism. But cultures that strongly and genuinely condemn materialistic lifestyles are probably hard to find (seeSolomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004).…”

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confidence: 99%

A Model of motivated cognition to account for the link between self‐monitoring and materialism

Rose

DeJesus

2007

Psychology and Marketing

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“…However, recent research demonstrated positive associations between reflections on death and increased materialistic tendencies (e.g., Kasser & Kasser, 2001). Moreover, both theoretical accounts (Arndt et al, 2004; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004) and experimental research (e.g., Mandel & Heine, 1999) suggest that thoughts about death may heighten materialism and consequently increase products' appeal.…”

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confidence: 99%

Viewing Death on Television Increases the Appeal of Advertised Products

Dar‐Nimrod

2012

The Journal of Social Psychology

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References to death abound in many television programs accessible to most people. Terror Management Theory (TMT) postulates that existential anxiety, which death reminders activate, may reinforce materialistic tendencies. The current paper explores the effect of a death reminder in television shows on the desirability of advertised products. Consistent with TMT's predictions, in two studies participants show greater desire for products, which were advertised immediately following clips from programs that featured a death scene, compared with programs that did not. Cognitive accessibility of death predicted the appeal difference while changes in affect or interest in the show did not. The findings are discussed in light on affective and existential theories which make opposite predictions. Implications and future directions are considered.

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“…In symbolic immortality, one imagines leaving a legacy or imprint that endures after one dies (Lifton, 1979). Symbolic denial is achieved through imagining that one lives on through one’s works, through the accumulation of power and wealth (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004b), or through one’s children (Wisman & Goldenberg, 2005).…”

Section: Experiences That Either Trigger or Relieve Unconscious Deathmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ultimate Resistance

Firestone¹

2014

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

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Although resistance takes many forms, this article elucidates the primary source of resistance in psychotherapy as well as the fundamental resistance to leading a fulfilling life. The ultimate resistance to change, in both cases, originates in the anticipatory fear of arousing existential angst. To varying degrees, most individuals retreat from life and adopt defense mechanisms in an attempt to avoid reawakening suppressed feelings of terror and dread they experienced as children in early separation experiences, and, in particular, when they first learned about death. As clients dismantle their defenses during therapy and move toward increased individuation and self-fulfillment, these unconscious fears threaten to emerge into conscious awareness, and core resistances come into play. Certain events and circumstances, both positive and negative, arouse or intensify latent death anxiety, whereas other circumstances and defenses relieve it. There are numerous defenses that help ameliorate the core anxiety including the fantasy bond—an illusion of connection or fusion with another person, persons, groups, or causes—addictions, microsuicidal behavior, and literal and symbolic methods of denying one’s eventual demise. Although these defenses provide a measure of security and a sense of immortality, they adversely affect one’s psychological adjustment, emotional well-being, and interpersonal relationships.

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Lethal consumption: Death-denying materialism.

Cited by 37 publications

References 29 publications

A Model of motivated cognition to account for the link between self‐monitoring and materialism

A Model of motivated cognition to account for the link between self‐monitoring and materialism

Viewing Death on Television Increases the Appeal of Advertised Products

The Ultimate Resistance

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