Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World PDF
Preview Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World
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: (800) 374-2721; Direct: (202) 336-5510 APA Order Department Fax: (202) 336-5502; TDD/TTY: (202) 336-6123 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.
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