Why are possessions important

This research examines the important possessions of consumers low and high in materialism to assess the extent to which these possessions express their owners' material values. Two aspects of the expression of values were examined—characterization, in which possessions embody aspects of their owner's values, and communication, in which possessions serve to signal the owner's values to others.

Three studies are reported; they demonstrate that material values are characterized in the type of possessions valued and in the private and public meanings of these possessions. The data also show that a person's material values can be communicated through socially constructed stereotypes about possessions and about the relationship between possessions and their owners.

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It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Sign In or Create an Account. Our life deserves better. Joy, happiness, and fulfillment are found in the invisible things of life: love, hope, peace, and relationships. And they are not on sale at your local department store. Stop looking for them there.

People who live their lives in pursuit of possessions are never content. They always desire newer, faster, or bigger because material possessions can never satisfy our deepest heart desires. Be reminded that your life is far too valuable to waste chasing material possessions. His new book, Things That Matter , will be published in April. Follow on Twitter Like on Facebook.

I thank you for the reminder it can be easy to get off track in life and forget what is important. Your blogs are thoughtful and thought-provoking. From Karon. There is a two edged sword to being a minimalist. For the wealthy who made the grade and proved themselves accordingly they no longer have to prove anything.

They have it all been there done that and got the T-shirt. They had nothing all their lives they leave this world with nothing. In my case I fall in the poor category. Often times when the money runs out so does the love. If you have none from the start where is the motivation for a female to hook up with you? The old adage of the first marriage is for money the second for love. After the guy makes his fortune the girl gets bored and or the guy gets bored they break up to relive their childhood.

Unfortunately, they are not a kid at 50 or If you are a loser at 50 or 60 and never had anything of value chances are you will live the rest of your days being a loser with hatred resentment bitterness while trying to justify your plight in life.

If buying these things gratify us, we earn more money to spend on them. Instead of saving money or making our future financially secure, we get into a habit of wasting money and feeling depressed when we are unable to buy certain things. Some people also consider the following as material things; Social friends who are not sincere and would probably leave you when you need them the most. External Things that make you feel good about yourself.

Opinions that you acquire only to put others down whenever they get a chance. An excessive amount of anti-aging products and cosmetic procedures to defy your age or hide your flaws.

Expensive belongings that only make you more worried about how to take care of them. Instead of these things that only bring momentary happiness, you can replace them with a true friend, a partner that values you and holds you dear, and be more productive than focusing on impressing others. Take time out for relaxing or going on a vacation with loved ones; spend money on these things instead of buying things that only make you more worried and anxious.

Do Material Possessions Bring Happiness? Solomon However, the information which objects relay to the young is an important, and often neglected, aspect of learning about the self. Strictly speaking, the young are seeking their own identity and trying to "separate" from their parents and from their peers to some extent to become their "own person.

As adolescents struggle to create their own self identity, they may seek to acquire certain possessions Belk These possessions may be used to plan for the future and to reflect ability, control, and power.

Ball and Tasaki , p. The authors found that attachment to products was higher prior to purchase than after purchase for year olds, while attachment increased after purchase for older groups. Thus, the young may be more likely to dream of possessions and what those possessions will allow them to do, whereas their elders have the possessions which allow them to do the things of which the youth dream. Possessions which reflect ability and control may be more important to youths.

In a study of a group of Chicago residents between the ages of 8 and 30, Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton found that this generation is more likely than its grandparents to give as examples of favorite possessions those that reflect ability or skills e.

The young are limited in that they do not have the privileges nor the responsibilities that adults have. They may want to be older and want to have the power and privileges which they perceive adults to have. Products sought by youths are often symbols of the power perceived to be held by adults. For instance, money may be seen as a source of power Belk ; Ozanne, Hill, and Wright One informant of Ozanne, Hill, and Wright [The quotes in this paper taken from Ozanne, Hill, and Wright were used with the authors' permission.

Money to me is power. That's how I think, money gives me power. Money gives me the okay to do anything I want to do, stand on my own two feet. The meaning of possessions to the young may differ depending upon their outlook for the future. Some youths do not understand what it means "to become," instead they focus on the present and satisfying themselves. For example, a student who drops out of high school a month before graduation obviously does not have a strong future orientation.

Some do not foresee a future, instead they just act for now. Ozanne, Hill, and Wright provide a glimpse of these contrasting time orientations, as Mormon missionaries sacrifice an immediate, more "comfortable" lifestyle, whereas juvenile delinquents seek immediate gratification, power, and control, in part because some of the juvenile delinquents have trouble imagining being alive in five years.

The identities of mainstream adults approximately ages lie primarily in their roles; their identity comes from what they do e. In this stage, "identity" is based upon roles played, rather than on potential roles promise as with youths or roles once played past as with elderly. One's identity is a function of doing, being, and having. Possessions are important, but things are used to show who you are and to demonstrate your ability to generate them.

They represent the "work identity" more than other sources of identity. The term "work" here is used broadly to include those tasks which constitute much of the individual's "flow experiences" Csikszentmihalyi ; besides salaried or otherwise compensated activities, the term may include child care and home maintenance activities.

The mainstream years may encompass multiple transitions, including the bachelor, young married, early nest, full nest, and empty nest stages of the family life cycle.

While one's identity changes across these stages, identity may have relatively more of a "current role" rather than "future role" or "past role" emphasis. However, of course, there are different time orientations in this stage. Thus, the role of possessions during this stage does vary perhaps more than in the other stages. For example, Olson found that younger couples give special objects which reflect future plans more importance, whereas older couples find objects which reflect past experiences to be more important to them.

As this example illustrates, the mainstream years are the most difficult to make generalizations about because there is a great amount of variation. However, one thing that is clear is that products are used to set the stage for social roles Solomon As one ages, death becomes more of a reality. As family roles diminish due in part to the great mobility of our society , as friends die, as work roles are given up, and as one's physical condition deteriorates making volunteer work harder , identity suffers.

Identity for the elderly is redefined after the transition from the workplace due to retirement and, as one reaches the old-old stage, after the adjustment to a limited mobility status. Gramlich , p. Again, in the broad sense, all the actions of the significant others and even their simple presence serve this sustaining function" Berger and Kellner , pp. As friends and family move or die, identity diminishes. Heisley, Cours, and Wallendorf and Unruh found that elderly view the intergenerational disposition of possessions as a means of creating some immortality for themselves and as a means of strengthening family ties.

Both motives of disposition aid in the preservation of identity. Unruh , p. They hope to be remembered, for example, as good fathers, competent women, successful businesspersons, creative artists, or peacemakers. Belk b, p.

She refuses to discard them, because it would be like throwing her life away. She hopes these will mean something to her heirs when they go through her possessions after her death, and that they will finally appreciate what an interesting life she had. Often the things which are most stable and which will always be there are possessions. Thus, possessions may serve as a source of comfort. This perspective is similar to that presented by McCracken , who suggests that we displace our hopes and ideals into possessions and places of the past or future.

These values are seen as too fragile, unsafe, and easily challenged if left in the present. The elderly see the good as residing in a golden age of the past.

In contrast, youths and those in the mainstream of life see the good as residing in a future yet to come; they may believe their lives will be or are wondrously transformed once they get the car or home of their dreams Belk a. Not only do possessions remain while spouses and friends die, but possessions may be used to filter out the negative experiences of the past and stimulate only positive memories. For example, Belk a, p. The acknowledgment that death will occur adds insight to the topic of "identity;" given this, it is somewhat surprising that death has received little attention in the consumer research area.

Gorer asserts that death has become taboo, and that in the twentieth century it has replaced sex as the principal forbidden subject. To the extent possible, we will consider the meaning of possessions to those for whom death seems imminent. Unruh distinguishes two categories of death: 1 those who have a physical condition likely to lead to death in a short or predictable period of time; and 2 those not medically defined as dying, but who have acquired an awareness that life will end in the not-too-distant future.

One aspect which separates the life stages is that the first category of death may soon occur in all three stages, while the second category is restricted mainly to the elderly. A variety of sources are used to support the logic contained in this paper. Examples from Adelman and Pavia who interviewed informants in the former category, and Heisley, Cours, and Wallendorf who investigated the meaning of possessions for those in the latter category are examined.

The authors also have interviewed survivors in grief Gentry, et al.