The Material and Economic Self

• Diderot Effect


  Suggests that one innocent purchase can unexpectedly spiral into an endless cycle of complementary consumption
• Material Self


  According to William James, an individual's selfhood can be broken down into several fragments, with the material self being one. Aside from the physical body, this facet of the self also includes one's closest relatives and material possessions, with specific focus on clothes and properties one gets to acquire through time.
• The material self refers to tangible objects, people, or places that carry the designation of my or mine.
• The material self includes the bodily self and extracorporeal (beyond the body) self.
• Materialism


  A personal attribute which attaches importance to acquiring and consuming material goods. As a personality trait, it includes non generosity, envy, and possessiveness. As a value, it promotes acquisition centrality, the belief that possessions are the key to happiness and that success can be judged by a person's material wealth and the quality and price of material goods she or he can buy.
• Materialism


  Negatively related to happiness. Also positively correlates with more serious psychological issues such as depression, narcissism, and paranoia. Lower levels of well-being can cause people to be more materialistic in an effort to get external gratification.
• Experiential Purchases


  Purchases made with the primary intention of acquiring a life experience; an event, or a series of events that one "consumes".
• Material Purchases


  Purchases made with the primary intention of acquiring a material possession; a tangible object physically retained in one's possession.
• Experiences


  • Improve with time, are resistant to advantageous comparisons, and have more social value than material possessions.
• Consumerism


  The promotion of the consumer's interests. The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. In economics, it may refer to the economic policies which emphasize consumption. A social and economic order and ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever increasing amounts.
• Reasons why a person shops

  • There is a need
  • There is an occasion
  • There is an opportunity (availability of money, time, and being in the right place)
  • Being bored
  • Being depressed, sad, or angry
  • Part of social gesture (influence)
  • Discounts, sales, and promos
• Biological View of Buying Behavior

  • Shopping is so addictive due to the Nucleus Accumbens and Dopamine. Women have a thicker corpus callosum, which leads to them being more discovery-oriented shoppers who readily adjust their initial goals, while men tend to be more mission and task-oriented shoppers.
• Philosophical View of Buying Behavior

  The development of the country is primarily dependent on the self interest of the consumer (Bernard Mandeville, Fable of the Bees, 1714).
• Psychological View of Buying Behavior

  We are pleasure seeking organisms.
• Sociological View of Buying Behavior

  Conspicuous consumption, along with conspicuous leisure, is performed to demonstrate wealth or mark social status (Thomas Veblen, 1899).
• Gender Differences in Buying Behavior

  • Women prefer the hunt, men want a quick and effortless process. Men's motives for shopping appear to be more utilitarian, whereas women's shopping motives tend to be hedonic. Women tend to be more comprehensive and take both subjective and objective information into consideration, while men tend to favor objective information over subjective information. Men are loyal to brands, women are loyal to good service.