The Good life or the Goods life? Using the Science of Values to Live Well Together. Tim Kasser, Ph.D.

Transcription

1 The Good life or the Goods life? Using the Science of Values to Live Well Together Tim Kasser, Ph.D.

2 Advertisements

3 Advertisements

4 Political Discourse the American people have got to go about their business. We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don t conduct business, where people don t shop (reported in The New York Times, October 12, 2001)

5 Materialism s allure The percentage of incoming American Firstyear college students reporting that the following aims are very important or essential :

6 100% American Freshman survey 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Helping others who are in difficulty Developing a meaningful philosophy of life Being very well off financially

7 Messages about The Goods Life Can purchase happiness Important to work and consume Life is meaningful and people are successful to the extent they have money, possessions, and the right image

8 Living Well Together Deneulin & McGregor (2010) Some characteristics, practices, or situations may contribute to people s happiness and help them to live well Living well together can only occur when the characteristics, practices, or situations that promote happiness do not interfere with others opportunity to live well Other humans Future generations of humans Other species

9 Messages about The Goods Life The values of The Goods Life undermine both Living Well and Living Well Together

10 Measuring Materialism Values strategy (e.g., Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996) Rate many goals, guiding principles, (e.g., family, spirituality, fun, etc.) Sample extrinsic goals You will have a job that pays well You will have many expensive possessions You will achieve the look you ve been after You will be admired by many people Assess the relative importance of extrinsic goals All of us are somewhat materialistic

11 Measuring Materialism Survey methods (e.g., Belk, 1985, Richins & Dawson, 1992) Rate agreement with statements like: My life would be better if I owned certain things I don t have. I like to own things that impress people. I like a lot of luxury in my life. I would rather buy something I need than borrow it from someone else.

12 Well-being Correlates

13 Personal Well-being Longest standing research tradition since Richins & Dawson (1992) and Kasser & Ryan (1993, 1996) Since then dozens of studies have examined correlations of materialism with WB Numerous nations Numerous age groups & sample types Numerous assessments of WB Recent meta-analysis Dittmar, Bond, Hurst, & Kasser (in press, JPSP)

14 Well-being measures (Values & Beliefs is reference for estimates) Type of measure Compulsive Buying Health Risk Behaviors Negative Self Positive Affect Composite SWB r (95% CI) k n -.44 (-.48, -.39) 26 9, (-.38, -.19) 8 2, (-.37, -.18) 7 1, (-.31, -.14) 9 9, (-.25, -.14) 34 13,479

15 Well-being measures (Values & Beliefs is reference for estimates) Type of measure r (95% CI) k n Depression -.19 (-.25, -.12) 22 8,651 Anxiety -.17 (-.26, -.07) 12 1,659 Positive Self -.17 (-.24, -.09) 18 3,648 Other DSM Axis I -.16 (-.26, -.06) 7 4,272 Phys. Health -.15 (-.23, -.06) 14 12,549 Neg. Affect -.15 (-.21, -.08) 24 4,749 Life Satis (-.18, -.09) 75 74,216

16 Explanation Need satisfaction is required for psychological well-being to occur (Deci & Ryan, 2000) Materialistic values lead to choices and experiences that do a relatively poor job of satisfying psychological needs (Kasser, 2002)

17 Mediational Model Materialism Lower Need Satisfaction Lower Well-being

18 Mediational Model Meta-analysis found support for 3 needs Autonomy choosing what one does, rather than feeling pressured Relatedness feeling connected to and loved by other people Competence feeling able to do successfully what one wants to do

19 Mediational Model Materialism Lower Need Satisfaction Lower Well-being

20 Social Correlates

21 Social Correlates Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme Ken Lay Enron Scandal

22 Social Attitudes Empathy Sheldon & Kasser (1995) Machiavellianism McHoskey (1999) Racial & Ethnic Prejudice, Social Dominance Orientation Duriez et al. (2007); Roets et al. (2006)

23 Social Behavior Pro-social and anti-social behavior Cohen & Cohen (1996); Kasser & Ryan (1993); McHoskey (1999) Cooperative vs. Competitive Behavior Choose to get ahead vs. cooperate with friends in game to win movie ticket (Sheldon et al., 2000)

24 Ecological Correlates

25 Eco-Attitudes Attitudes towards the environment Good (2007); Saunders & Munro (2000) Concern about effects of environmental damage on other people, animals, and future generations Schultz et al. (2005)

26 Eco-Behaviors Amount of forest harvested in social dilemma games Sheldon & McGregor (2000) Frequency of riding bikes, recycling, re-use, etc. Kasser (2005); Richins & Dawson (1992) Size of Ecological Footprint 400 N Americans transportation, housing, food Brown & Kasser (2005)

27 Ecological Outcomes & Materialism Hurst, Dittmar, Bond, & Kasser (2013)

28 Ecological Outcomes & Materialism Hurst, Dittmar, Bond, & Kasser (2013) Type of measure r (95% CI) k n Attitudes -.22 (-.33, -.11) 8 2,474 Behaviors -.24 (-.30, -.17) 9 2,667 Note: Correlations not corrected for reliability; Materialism includes Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic + other measures

29 Two-fold Strategy Materialism

30 Two-fold Strategy Causes Materialism

31 Two-fold Strategy Causes Materialism

32 Two-fold Strategy Causes Materialism Healthy Values

33 Two-fold Strategy Causes Materialism Healthy Values

34 Causes of Materialism Kasser et al. (2004) Social Modeling Friends, parents, or peers who are materialistic Ingestion of more television & advertising Living in neo-liberal capitalist nation Insecurity Experience cold parenting or parental divorce Experience poverty Confronted with thoughts of one s own death

35 Healthy Values Grouzet, Kasser et al. (2005) Assessed aspirations in 11 domains e.g., Spirituality, Hedonism, Affiliation, Health, etc. >1800 College students in 15 nations Circular Stochastic Modeling Adjacent goals are consistent Opposing goals are conflictual

36 Self-transcendence Spirituality Conformity Community Extrinsic Intrinsic Popularity Image Affiliation Financial success Physical self Hedonism Physical health Safety Self-acceptance

37 Self-transcendence Spirituality Conformity Community Extrinsic Intrinsic Popularity Image Affiliation Financial success Physical self Hedonism Physical health Safety Self-acceptance

38 Self-transcendence Spirituality Conformity Community Extrinsic Intrinsic Popularity Image Affiliation Financial success Physical self Hedonism Physical health Safety Self-acceptance

39 Self-acceptance Intrinsic Values Kasser & Ryan (1996) I will follow my interests and curiosity where they take me. Affiliation I will express my love for special people. Community Feeling I will help the world become a better place.

40 Psychological Benefits More happiness More life satisfaction Higher vitality Less depression Less anxiety Fewer physical symptoms

41 Social Benefits More prosocial behavior More empathy More cooperation Less antisocial behavior

42 Ecological Benefits More environmentally friendly behaviors Lower Ecological Footprint Less consumption in forest dilemma game

43 Living Well Together Deneulin & McGregor (2010) Intrinsic values meet criteria for living well together Promote personal well-being Support well-being of other humans Support well-being of future generations of humans and of other species

44 Two-fold Strategy Causes Materialism Healthy Values

45 Positive Psychology As a basic science [positive psychology] is about promoting research and public policy that can be leveraged to enhance social welfare. As an applied science positive psychology is about creating tools and interventions by which we might advance both individual and group-level flourishing. Robert Biswas-Diener, foreword to Positive Psychology as Social Change, 2011

46 Avenues for Change Psychological Interventions Exposure to Advertising National Indicators of Progress

47 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) 71 Adolescents (aged 10-17) recruited with parents for study on spending, sharing and saving Procedure Completed T1 baseline surveys of materialism and selfesteem T2 surveys ~ 2-3 months after intervention, ~4-5 months after T1 T3 surveys ~ 8 months after T2

48 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Three group sessions following Financial Sanity curriculum Parents & children 2 hours each session Lectures, discussions, videos, homework assignments

49 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Key themes included: Financial habits Needs vs. wants Power of advertising Using values to guide financial behavior Having a money plan Saving and Sharing Allowances

50 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Key themes included: Financial habits Needs vs. wants Power of advertising Using values to guide financial behavior Having a money plan Saving and Sharing Allowances

51 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Changes in Materialism by Condition

52 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014)

53 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Changes in Well-being Split into High and Low Time 1 Examined changes in Self-Esteem

54 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Lo Mat

55 Psychological Intervention Kasser et al. (2014) Hi Mat

56 Other Interventions Gratitude Lambert et al. (2009) Mindfulness Brown et al. (2009) Reflecting on Intrinsic Values Lekes et al. (2012) Thinking about person who accepts you Sheldon & Kasser (2008)

57 Exposure to advertising Children in schools with Channel One have stronger consumer orientation (Brand & Greenberg, 1994) Children who watch more TV have higher consumer values, lower well-being, and worse environmental attitudes (Good, 2007; Nairn, Ormrod, & Bottomley, 2007; Schor, 2004)

58 Exposure to advertising Brief exposure to ads decreases children s social behaviors Goldberg & Gorn (1978) U.S. teens materialism is higher in years when a larger percentage of the U.S. GNP was due to advertising expenditures (Twenge & Kasser, 2013)

59 Block Influence Teach parents that there is no evidence for educational benefits of screens among infants Teach parents about American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines no screen time for children under 2 years of age no TV in child s bedroom

60 Policy Changes Support policies to remove ads from schools & public places End tax subsidy for advertisements End advertising to children Canada s Broadcast Code for Advertising to Children Quebec bans ads to children < 13 years

61 National Indicators of Progress Currently GNP is dominant Alternative indicators include metrics of intrinsic values in computation Examples: Bhutan s Gross National Happiness Canadian Index of Well-being Genuine Progress Indicator

62 GDP vs. GPI

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64 GDP vs. GPI

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66 GDP vs. GPI

67 National Indicators - Directions Adopt Alternative Indicators Models idea that intrinsic values are more important than materialistic values Provides information for developing new policies

68 Summary Materialistic values undermine both living well and living well together Positive psychologists can help people make changes in their own lifestyles Positive psychologists can help push for broader policy & social changes

69 Workshop 11 Explore ideas further and discuss other empirically-supported solutions concerning Interventions & Activism for policy changes

70 Thanks/Merci! If you want a copy of this slideshow or citations for any research mentioned, me at: tkasser@knox.edu

71 Self-transcendence Spirituality Conformity Community Extrinsic Intrinsic Popularity Image Affiliation Financial success Physical self Hedonism Physical health Safety Self-acceptance