Lesson 5 Material Self

• Materialism does not make us happier.
• Material Self - Aspect of the self that considers your material possessions or something that belongs to you or something you belong to
• William James - "Sum total of all he call his, not only his body psychic powers, but his cloths and his house, his wife and children"
• Components of Material Self

  1. Home - it is the earliest nest of our selfhood
  2. Immediate Family
  3. Clothes - form of self expression
  4. Body - inner most part of our material self
• Consumerism - is the idea that increasing the consumption of goods and services purchased in the market is always a desirable goal
• Consumers - are often viewed as victims of greedy companies
• Strategy in persuading someone

  • Foot in the door Phenomenon - making you agree initially with the smaller request. eventually they will start making bigger request
• strategy in persuading someone

  • door in the face phenomenon - following up an extravagant request with a reasonable one
• materialism - the negative effect of the strong desire for material possessions
• the endowment effect - valuing of items more highly just as soon as we own them
• hoarding disorder - persistent difficulty getting rid or parting with possessions