UNIT 2: UNPACKING THE SELF

source: www.canva.com

Lesson 3: The Material Self

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
1. Explore the different aspects of self and identity
2. Demonstrate critical, reflective thought it integrating the various aspects of self and
identity
3. Identify the different forces and institutions that impact the development of aspects of
self and identity
4. Examine one’s self against the different aspects of self that were discussed in class

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The Material and Economic Self: “I shop therefore I am.”
All people have a “material” self-according to William James. This includes
family, body and reputation but also clothes, houses, cars and others. All the
physical elements that serve as possessions constitutes the material self

Possessions as Part of SELF

• Material possession attachment reflects a vital and ubiquitous way people
evaluate goods. A significant body of literature provides a foundation for
describing what material possession attachment is.
• how it compares to place, brand, or consumption experience bonds,
whether marketing activities influence possession attachment, and how
having attachments affects consumer well-being.

What Attachment Is
• Material possession attachment is a multi-faceted property of the
relationship between an individual or group of individuals and a specific
material object that has been psychologically appropriated (something
that we have psychologically claimed), de-commodified, and singularized
through person-object interaction.

Characteristics of Material Possession (Kimmel, 2015)

1. Specific material object
• Material possession attachment forms with specific material possessions,
not with product classes or brands. The material objects are acquired
through exchange, received as gifts, self-produced, or found. Most often
attachment possessions are ordinary objects that have special meaning
formed through experiences involving the object.

2. Psychologically Appropriated Material Object

▪ Attachment does not require legal or physical possession only
psychological appropriation; that is, a sense the object is “mine. Through
consumption people extract cultural meaning from, give meaning to, and
claim goods as theirs.
▪ Examples of psychological appropriation include students taking
possession of “their” chair in a classroom for the term; lost, stolen, or
destroyed valued possessions still perceived by the owner to be “mine”;
jointly held possessions perceived to be “ours” or singular culturally shared

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 possessions, such as the Statue of Liberty. Psychological appropriation is
necessary but not sufficient for material possession attachment to form.

3. A Type of Self-Extension
• We extend ourselves into things such as people, places, experiences, ideas,
beliefs (see also Abelson 1986), and material possession objects.
Conceptually, self-extension, encompasses objects perceived to be
“mine,” including but not limited to possession attachments. However,
more empirical relationship between self-extension and material possession
is needed.

Four levels of the extended self (Belk, 1988)

a. Individual level: personal possessions; jewelry, car, clothes
b. Family level: residence, furnishings house as body for family
c. Community level: in terms of your neighborhood, town, city,
d. Group Level; social groups, landmarks, monuments, sports teams

4. Decommodified, Singular Possessions

• We construct meanings for material objects in ways similar to how we
construct meanings for people; over time we get to know them as
individuals (Kopytoff 1986). Self-extension processes decommodify,
singularize, and personalize particular material objects symbolizing
autobiographical meanings (Belk 1988).
• Perceived singularity often is associated with an unwillingness to sell the
possession for market value. A singular, irreplaceable possession becomes
non-substitutable. It "is one that a consumer resists replacing, even with an
exact replica, because the consumer feels that the replica cannot sustain
the same meaning as the original")
• Example
A young child’s baby blanket is one well-known example of no
substitutability; discuss adult examples. An unanswered empirical
question is whether possessions must be irreplaceable to become
attachments.
The concept of “limited edition” “collector’s item”

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5. Personal History Between Person and Material Possession
• Over time, particular goods become irreplaceable via possession rituals
(e.g., using, displaying, cleaning, storing, discussing, comparing) that
extract meaning from, and give meaning to, the goods.
• Example: A toddler becomes attached to a special object (e.g., baby
blanket, stuffed animal) over many, many repeated uses.
• Adult possessions may become “contaminated” through constant or
habitual use and dependency (e.g. one’s “faithful” wristwatch or
constantly worn piece of jewelry) endowing it with personal meaning
connecting self and object.

6. Attachment Has Strength

• Attachment to a possession can be relatively strong or weak. Generally,
strong attachment possessions include those regarded as "most difficult to
part with and most cherished, "attached to," or "irreplaceable."
• Strong attachments are more central to the proximal self, whereas weak
attachments do not reflect the self as much or at all. The strength of
attachment may be indicated by behavioral tendencies such as
unwillingness to sell possessions for market value or to discard objects after
their functional use is gone.

7. Attachment is Multi-Faceted
• Attachment is a multi-faceted, relatively complex concept. It portrays the
extended self (including attachments) as being comprised of different
layers from the private inner self-core to the outermost collective layer.
• Special possession objects vary in their symbolic purposes and identify.
Various motivations for attachments, suggesting multi-faceted person-
possession ties. Each self is associated with different kinds of possession
attachments that reflect particular self-developmental tasks.

8. Attachment is Emotionally Complex

• Attachment possessions, laden with personal, deeply emotional meanings
are "extraordinary, mysterious, and emotion evoking rather than merely
functional."
• Attachment is emotional in experience quality, recorded in a cognitive-
emotive understanding of the possession’s symbolic, autobiographical,
personalized meaning formed via a history between self and object.

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9. Attachment is Dynamic
• The meaning associated with a possession and the intensity of attachment
to it does not remain static but evolves as the person’s self evolves and the
autobiographical function of the object changes
• Autobiographical Value - Viewed as an autobiography, a person’s self-
concept is a narrative construction told and retold based on selected life
events.

The Costs of Attachment

▪ On the other hand, there are economic and psychic costs associated with
having and using material possession attachments.
▪ Attachment represents commitment of one’s resources and self that could
be invested in other things.
▪ Relying heavily upon material goods for self-construction may restrict the
range of meanings from which the self can be built.
▪ Self-cultivation becomes limited to the domain of the marketplace, "that is,
a person’s pool of experiences is reduced by the objects into which one
extends one’s self. Kilbourne views this as limiting the developmental
potential of individuals. Perhaps the ultimate issue is how investing one’s self
in material attachments affects well-being, life

Sources:
Belk, R.W. (1988) The journal of consumer research, 15:2, pp. 139-168 USA: The University of
Chicago Press Stable retrieved October 9, 2018 from URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2489522
Kimmel, A.J. (2015). People and products: Consumer behavior and product design. USA:
Routledge.

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