Psychological Effects Of Materialism And Work On Happiness By Matt Brundage

Don Peck and Ross Douthat convey through their editorial, “Does Money Buy Happiness?,” that one’s level of content to a degree is contingent upon their ability to act as a consumer in society. Peck and Douthat base their assumption on research which shows, “For individual countries, with few exceptions, self-reported happiness has increased as incomes have risen” (332, par.4) Based on this statistic, it is being assumed that one’s ability to support their lifestyle and perhaps better it creates a sense of security that leads to happiness.

Growing up in a family where both my parents came from poor immigrant backgrounds always made financial success a priority and when there was no need to be frugal, my parents did seem happier. But did money buy my parents’ happiness or did money lead to their happiness? Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener attempt to answer that question in their excerpt “Can Money Buy Happiness,” where they claim that “[m]oney can be a help in attaining psychological wealth, but it should be considered in the bigger picture of what makes people general genuinely rich (Biswas-Diener 161). Although not explicitly defined by Diener and Biswas-Diener, “psychological wealth” is the overall measure of happiness, beyond just fiscal affluence, including positive ties with other individuals and joyful temperaments (Biswas-Diener 168). By extending Biswas-Diener and Diener’s idea of “psychological wealth” to include the perception of what wealth is and what wealth consists of beyond monetary success, such as achievements or fulfillment, there exist a copious number of ways to view wealth. One can be rich in more than finances and happiness is dependent upon the perception of wealth due to money being one of several paths, including deliberate effort and being positive, to “psychological wealth” which leads to happiness.

Today, people focus only on how much. Success is not seen as happiness; it is shown solely by how much money one makes. This belief is the inverse of what Emerson and Thoreau believed in. Their predictions about what society would be like, in a materialistic world, are spot on. See that people today are programmed to practice materialism, it creates a very competitive society. There is a smaller emphasises on moral values and a strong emphasis on materialistic values. With this comes negative effects

People say that money does not buy happiness. Yet society has been seeking happiness through their money for decades. Materialism has consumed America since the 1920’s. It is engraved in our minds that money can solve any problem, but oftentimes it can make life more miserable. With money comes the purchases of expensive items as well as a higher social status.

In his article The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People David G. Myers analyzes results of different surveys and researches in attempt to answer the question: “does money make people happier?” The conclusion suggests they do not. While many people have an opposite opinion, facts show the correlation between money and happiness weakens with the increase of income.

According to researchers, this two-way misconception that the amount of items a person may possess equivalates to their self-worth, and internal value is a grand problem in common day society. It is arguable that the two variables, materialistism and unhappiness, directly correlate to one another and have been proven to do so in various experiments. This derives from an unnatural process in which a human strays from a healthy path benefiting them with wholesomeness and satisfaction, rather, and placing them on a path of authentic material happiness that they believe defines their net-worth. The damaging

Materialism certainly can give us a kind of happiness - the temporary thrill of buying something new, and the ego-inflating thrill of owning it afterwards and we use this kind of happiness to try to override - or compensate for - the fundamental unhappiness inside us” which refers to the fact that we use the short amount of satisfaction that we get from buying a new outfit or shoes or any material item to try to hide the fact that we are unhappy. So even though we believe that buying things for ourselves will make us happy it doesn’t

A powerful quote said by pre-socratic philosopher named Democritus says “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul”. In other words, happiness does not come from materialism but instead from the things money can’t buy. In the article The Secret of Happiness the author David Myers writes directly to Americans about how he believes we need to obtain a new “American Dream” that emphasizes personal happiness instead of materialistic happiness. Myers also believes happiness resides in the soul and he says people that think money is the key to happiness are actually less content with themselves and he uses various ways to prove this point. With that being said materialistic happiness vs personal happiness is an important issue, and Myers made a strong use of Logos by showing surveys and studies, Ethos by showing credibility in his argument but he could have used more Pathos by using more emotion and enthusiasm in his argument.

It is often said that, “Money can’t buy happiness.” In Cass R. Sunstein’s Yes, Money Can Make You Happy, Sunstein provides a summary and review of Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton’s Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending; he declares that money, when spent wisely and with the right attitude, can provide the most elusive of all human experiences: happiness. In a changing social climate with advances in technology offering unmatched convenience, and a culture in which diverse people with equally diverse sets of values come together, the study of what truly makes us happy is especially relevant now more than ever. While money can certainly be spent in a manner which will create happiness, what Sunstein neglects to address in his writing is that more money does not always equate to more happiness, regardless of how and when it is spent.

In today’s materialistic world, the phrase that ‘money can’t buy happiness’ is tending to be proved hence otherwise. Social research and surveys have shown results based on an individuals income, health and the political scenario which is dominant in his or her region. It is quite obvious that the gap between the privileged and the not so is growing into a great divide giving rise to different class and status, thus defining ones social circle. It should therefore be understood how an individuals economic status affects their personal happiness throughout all aspects of life. Many tend to refer to this age-old quote especially when they tend to belong to sector of people who can’t afford the modern day luxuries of life. What they do not

Some of the direct effects materialism has on americans in our society is that earth’s resources are unable to meet the demands of all inhabitants ( An Exploration of Materialism and Consumption-Related Effect by Marsha L. Richins, Kim K. R. McKeage, and Debbie Najjar). So this forms the question we all want to know as consumers, does having more materialistic items make us more happy and improve our well-being? The answer is yes, the sole purpose of one’s possession is to bring them happiness and give them something to enjoy. The importance of knowing that you’re financially stable and are able to obtain pricey items give people a sense of comfort and confidence. This means that we expect our items to give us more positive emotion (An Exploration of Materialism and Consumption-Related Effect by Marsha L. Richins, Kim K. R. McKeage, and Debbie Najjar). However these people can also be seen as greedy and living for things without purpose. Thus meaning the overall negative side of being a materialist is that, those who solely base their happiness by the products they have achieved and are given are more likely to be dissatisfied or unhappy

Happiness Industry by William Davies explores the history of capitalism, economics and psychology and the impact of the politics on the well-being due to low-level mental health. Over the past years, there has been an increase emphasis on what happiness really is. Is happiness a subjective or objective feeling? According to Davies (2015), “Happiness itself may not be an objective, physical phenomenon but it occurs as a result of various sources of pleasure, which have a firm, physiological basis”. (p, 18)

The beautiful smile. The joyous laugh. The smiling eyes. The high pitched voice. All describe the characteristics of one being happy. Benjamin Franklin once stated “money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.”. In turn that quote has been a center of debates for centuries. Conversing over the debatable topic in which happiness does or does not extend from money. In a society such as the twentieth century, happiness is evidently reflected by wealth. Therefore, happiness is influenced by the amount of wealth that corresponds to the way one uses their money.

The study (Materialism: Origins and implications for personal well-being by Aaron Ahuvia, University of Michigan and Nancy Wong, University of Michigan) confirms the generally established negative relationships between life satisfaction and materialism. Research in future needs to investigate more closely the nature of this relationship between the two. Particularly we need to know if materialism causes unhappiness and if does then how. The current research does in this direction gives us some hints. Evidences from the Matval scale shows that those people who place the utmost value on material possessions are the least satisfied with this area in their life. This

Whoever said money can’t buy happiness? Today, the argument can be made that happiness and consumerism are directly linked. It is fair to say that happiness is a relative term for different people. However, the obtaining of new and shiny things has become such a part of everyday life, that it provides happiness when people are purchasing something new, and causes sadness when no buying is taking place. For many, it seems to be a protective coating against the harsh realities of everyday stresses from a job, or family life.