Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World

289 Pages·2003·44.989 MB·English

by  Tim Kasser (editor), Allen D. Kanner (editor)

PSYCHOLOGYAND
CONSUMER
CULTURE
The Struggle for a
Good Life in a
Materialistic
World
Edited by
Tim Kasser and Allen D. Kanner
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION • WASHINGTON, DC
Copyright © 2004 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. Except
as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication
may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or
retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
First Printing August 2003
Second Printing December 2003
Published by
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
www.apa.org
To order Tel: [phone]; Direct: [phone]
APA Order Department Fax: [phone]; TDD/TTY: [phone]
P.O. Box 92984 On-line: www.apa.org/books/
Washington, DC 20090-2984 E-mail: [email protected]
In the U.K., Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, copies may be ordered from
American Psychological Association
3 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden, London
WC2E 8LU England
Typeset in Goudy by MacAllister Publishing Services, Indianapolis, IN
Printer: Sheridan Books, Ann Arbor, MI
Cover Designer: Naylor Design, Washington, DC
Technical/Production Editor: Casey Ann Reever
The opinions and statements published are the responsibility of the authors, and such opin-
ions and statements do not necessarily represent the policies of the American Psychological
Association.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Psychology and consumer culture : the struggle for a good life in a
materialistic world / edited by Tim Kasser and Allen Kanner.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-59147-046-3
1. Consumption (Economics)—United States—Psychological aspects. 2.
Materialism—Psychological aspects. 3. Acquisitiveness. 4. Identity
(Psychology) 5. Consumers—Psychology. I. Kasser, Tim. II. Kanner,
Allen.
HC110.C6P76 2003
306.3—dc21 2003004965
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record is available from the British Library.
Printed in the United States of America on recycled paper
To the memory of Erich Fromrn, who pointed the way toward an
understanding of psychology and consumer culture
CONTENTS
Contributors ix
Acknowledgements xi
Chapter 1. Where Is the Psychology of Consumer Culture? 3
Tim Kasser and Allen D. Kanner
I. Problems of Materialism, Capitalism, and Consumption 9
Chapter 2. Materialistic Values: Their Causes and Consequences ... 11
Tim Kasser, Richard M. Ryan, Charles E. Couchman,
and Kennon M. Sheldon
Chapter 3. Why Are Materialists Less Satisfied? 29
Emily G. Solberg, Edward Diener,
and Michael D. Robinson
Chapter 4. Globalization, Corporate Culture, and Freedom 49
Allen D. Kanner and Renee G. Soule
Chapter 5. Shopping for Sustainability:
Psychological Solutions to Overconsumption 69
Deborah Du Nann Winter
II. Theoretical Perspectives 89
Chapter 6. Materialism and the Evolution of Consciousness 91
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Chapter 7. Mindfulness and Consumerism 107
Erika L. Rosenberg
vn
Chapter 8. Lethal Consumption: Death-Denying Materialism 127
Sheldon Solomon, JeffGreenberg,
and Thomas A. Pyszczynski
HI. Clinical Issues 147
Chapter 9. Acquisitive Desire: Assessment and Treatment 149
Jeffrey Kottler, Marilyn Montgomery,
and David Shepard
Chapter 10. Self-Control and Compulsive Buying 169
Ronald ]. Faber
Chapter 11. Money, Meaning, and Identity:
Coming to Terms With Being Wealthy 189
Stephen Goldbart, Dennis T. Jaffe,
and Joan DiFuria
TV. The Influence of Commercialism on Child Development .... 211
Chapter 12. The Commercialization of Childhood:
Understanding the Problem and Finding Solutions 213
Diane E. Levin and Susan Linn
Chapter 13. Commercialism's Influence on Black Youth:
The Case of Dress-Related Challenges 233
Velma D. LaPoint and Priscilla J. Hambrick-Dixon
Chapter 14. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add":
Cutting Girls Down to Size 251
Jean Kilboume
Author Index 271
Subject Index 281
About the Editors 297
mn CONTENTS
CONTRIBUTORS
Charles E. Couchman, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in
Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of
Management, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
Edward Diener, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois,
Urbana—Champaign
Joan DiFuria, Money, Meaning & Choices Institute, Kentfield, CA
Ronald J. Faber, School of Journalism and Mass Communications,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Stephen Goldbart, Money, Meaning & Choices Institute, Kentfield, CA
Jeff Greenberg, Department of Psychology, University of Arizona,
Tucson
Priscilla J. Hambrick-Dixon, School of Education, Hunter College, City
University of New York
Dennis T. Jaffe, Money, Meaning & Choices Institute, Kentfield, CA
Allen D. Kanner, private practice, Berkeley and Sebastopol, CA
Tim Kasser, Department of Psychology, Knox College, Galesburg, IL
Jean Kilbourne, Visiting Research Scholar, Wellesley Centers for Women,
Wellesley, MA
Jeffrey Kottler, Department of Counseling, California State University,
Fullerton
Velma D. LaPoint, Department of Human Development and
Psychoeducational Studies, Howard University, Washington, DC
Diane E. Levin, Department of Education, Wheelock College, Boston, MA
Susan Linn, Judge Baker Children's Center, Boston, MA
Marilyn Montgomery, Department of Psychology, Florida International
University, North Miami
Thomas A. Pyszczynski, Department of Psychology, University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs
Michael D. Robinson, Department of Psychology, North Dakota State
University, Fargo
Erika L. Rosenberg, Health Psychology Program, University of California,
San Francisco
Richard M. Ryan, Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in
Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Kennon M. Sheldon, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri,
Columbia
David Shepard, Department of Counseling, California State University,
Fullerton
Emily G. Solberg, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Sheldon Solomon, Department of Psychology, Skidmore College, Saratoga
Springs, NY
Renee G. Soule, Berkeley, CA
Deborah Du Nann Winter, Department of Psychology, Whitman College,
Walla Walla, WA
CONTRIBUTORS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Russell Bahorsky, Lansing Hays, Ed Meidenbauer, Yelba Quinn,
and Casey Reever at the American Psychological Association for their help
and guidance. Thanks to Knox College for material support. Thanks to
Gary Ruskin at Commercial Alert for introducing us to each other. Thanks
to Mary Gomes, Larry Jaffe, and Virginia Kasser for their generosity.
XI
PSYCHOLOGY AND
CONSUMER
CULTURE
1
WHERE IS THE PSYCHOLOGY OF
CONSUMER CULTURE?
TIM KASSER AND ALLEN D. KANNER
.
n
o
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
i
d

r
e
h
t
r
u
f

r
o
f

t
o
N

.
n
o
i
t
a
i
c
o
s
s Many economists agree that the growth of free-market economies rides
A
in part on increasing profit and that increasing profit depends on rising con-
l
a
c sumption. It should therefore not be surprising that as the capitalistic eco-
i
g
o nomic system has continued its spread across the globe, consumerism, profit's
l
ho younger twin, has followed close behind, entering more and more aspects of
c
y more and more people's lives. We are now continually exposed throughout
s
P
our lifetimes to messages suggesting that we should work hard to earn money,
n
a
c which we can then spend on products and services, or which we can invest
i
r to make even more money. These messages have for years come from gov-
e
m
A ernment agencies and educational systems, as well as cultural role models and

t
h myths; today, such messages are ever-present in the multiple media to which
g
i most of us are exposed. Advertising has even recently spread beyond its tra-
r
y
p ditional media of television, radio, and print to unusual places like the com-
o
C
puter, toilet stalls, and food packaging.
There is no escaping the fact that modern day humans live in a culture
of consumption. This is true whether they reside in the largest metropolitan
areas of North America or Southeast Asia or whether they are Amish or
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/10658-001
Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic
World, edited by T. Kasser and A. D. Kanner
Copyright © 2004 American Psychological Association. All rights reserved.