MATERIAL SELF

AND
ECONOMIC SELF
 At the end of the chapter, the students are
expected to
• Describe the relationship between
possessions and the self;
• Distinguish which material
possessions have an economic
importance to the Self;
• Describe the role of consumer
culture on self ; and
• Determine the needs according to
the priorities of human consumption
and satisfaction.
MATERIAL
SELF
Motivational
activity
 MATERIAL SELF
• It is one of the components of self . Our
body is the innermost part of the material
self in each of us (William James, 1890)
• A man’s Self is the total that he can call
his; which is not only his body and his
psychic powers but also his:

Clothes Ancestors
House Reputation and
Wife work
Children Lands and
Friends bank accounts
MATERIAL SELF
• The material self refers to tangible
objects, people, or places that carry
the designation my or mine.
 TWO SUBCLASSES OF
MATERIAL SELF:

1. BODILY SELF

2. EXTRACORPOREAL
SELF (BEYOND THE
BODY) – EXTENDED
SELF
 BODILY SELF
• These are entities that are clearly
described as an intimate part of who
we are. It is concerned with awareness
of one’s bodily states.
Example: arms and legs
A person may express, “my arms feel
heavy” or “my skin feels warm.”
However , our sense of self is not only
limited to our bodies;
 EXTRACORPOREAL SELF
• EXTENDED SELF INCLUDES
– Other people
– Pets
– Possessions
– Places
– Products of our labors

it is not the PHYSICAL ENTITIES

rather it is our PSYCHOLOGICAL
OWNERSHIP
EXTRACORPOREAL SELF
• EXAMPLE:
A girl has a favorite dress that she
wears. The dress itself is not part of the
self, instead it is the sense of
appropriation present in the phrase “ my
favorite dress” . This is what extended
self means. It includes all people, places,
and things that we regard as ours.

• Individuals who were asked to describe

themselves tend to mention their
possessions and assets. (Gordon, 1968)
 EXTRACORPOREAL SELF
• Possessions' symbolic function is that
they help define themselves. The way
we dress and carry ourselves , the cars
we drive, and how we embellish our
abodes signal to others and ourselves
who we think we are and how we
want to be regarded. When one'
identity is densely threatened, an
individual will be inclined to acquire
more material possessions. To widen
one's sense of self, individuals tend to
accrue material possessions ( Satre
1943)
EXTRACORPOREAL SELF
• A series of investigations on the
mere ownership effect provides
further evidence that possessions
become part of the extended self
(Beggan, 1992).
 Two types of investment which
people might shop to gain
happiness and satisfaction
(Gilovich,2003)
1. MATERIAL PURCHASES -are those
made with the primary intention of
acquiring tangible possessions that can be
physically retained in one's possession.

2. EXPERIENTIAL PURCHASES-are those

made with the primary intention of
acquiring life experiences such as an event
or series of events that one encounters and
lives through.
 MATERIAL PURCHASES
• Material possessions might fulfill
personally relevant goals and increase
happiness for the highly materialistic
consumer. On the other hand,
experiential purchases might make
materialistic people happier for they
can also benefit having successful
social relationship (Gilovich,2004).
• O'Guinn and Faber (1989) found that
some aspects of materialism were
related to compulsive buying disorder.
Role of consumer culture on
self
• Culture is a crucial factor in
determining consumer behavior; it
is a shared belief among a group of
people in a place and time.
Consumers are conditioned to
develop self-concepts that are
appropriate to their age, gender, and
social groupings.
 Categories of Consumer behavior's
self-concept
Sirgy (1982)
1. self image (how they see
themselves)
2. ideal self-image (how they would
like to see themselves)
3. social self-image ( how they feel
others see them )
4. ideal social self -image ( how they
would like others to see them)
• This implies that individuals are
highly dependent on consumption to
communicate themselves. As
consumers they buy products and
brands that they believe possesses
symbolic images that are similar and
complimentary to their self -image to
achieve image congruence
(Scott,1988). Levy (1959) concluded
that people don't just buy things for
their benefits, they also buy it for
what it means to them.
• For the material self, objects helped
make the person but they also showed
what that person was made of. It means
the use and display of wealth remains
powerful and controversial, and
nowhere more so than for the super rich.

 Luxury has evolved throughout history

because of change in the value systems
and cultural contexts.
 Luxury can be a sign of distinction.
 It can be a commodity.
 “I shop therefore I am”

• Initiated by Barbara Kruger, an

american artist whose pop art often
deals with consumerism and
feminism.

• Barbara’s statement stemmed from

Descartes’ philosophy of “I think
therefore I am”.
• The primary way of that people
relate to each other is as
consumers.
• For instance, people show their
love by spending money on each
other
• Commerce, while not being
everything, is strongly present in
most, if not all, important aspects
of life, and thus shape those
aspects in its image
Economic
self
Economic Self
- consists of one's economic activity
that results from individual self interest.
1. Why do you go to work?
2. Why do you go to school?

Being self-interested simply means that you

seek your own personal gain.
1. You go to work because you want to get
paid, so that you can buy the things you
want.
2. You go to school to get a respectable job
someday and earn more money to buy
the things you want.
Economic Self
• In fact, most of the economic
activities we see around us are
results of self interested
behavior.

• What do you need?

• What do you want?
 NEEDS
• Needs- refers to an individual's basic
requirement that must be fulfilled in
order to survive.
• Nature: limited
• What is it? Something you must have
• Represents: Necessity
• Survival: Essential
• Change: May remain constant over
time
• Non Fulfiiment: May result in onset
of disease or even death.
 WANTS
• Wants- are described as the goods
and services that an individual
would want to have as a part of his
caprices.
• Nature: Unlimited
• What is it? Something you wish
to have
• Represents: Desire
• Survival: Inessential
• Change: May change over time
• Non Fulfillment : May result in
disappointment
 “By shopping, people
validate their own sense of
who they wish they were”
 Advantages of shopping
1. Long life for Sale

2. Relaxation and escape

3. Social connection

4. The pleasure boost of creativity

and aesthetics
 Disadvantages of shopping
1. May lead to compulsive buying

2. People lifestyles may change from

simplicity to lavishness full of
material comforts.

3. May serve as a distraction to avoid

other important issues.
 The role of consumer
culture in one’s identity
• Previous studies have emphasized the
significance of self-concept and consumer
preference, as purchases made by
consumers were directly influenced by the
image individuals had of themselves.

• Self-image congruity
the process of consumers purchasing
products/brands that they perceived as
possessing symbolic images similar to the
image they hold of themselves.
 The role of consumer culture
in one’s identity
• The greater the congruity between
human characteristics that exhibit
consumers’ senses of self and the
characteristics that depicted a
brand, the greater the consumers’
preferences were for the brand
(Sung, Choi & Tinkman, 2012).