The Material /

Economic Self
After an hour of varied T – L discussion the
students will be able to:
1. Examine how consumer culture affects the
person’s concept of possessions and self-
identity.

2. Identify the material possessions that have

economic importance to one’s self.

3.Determine the needs according to priorities

for human consumption and satisfaction.
A man’s self is the sum total of all that he can
call his, not only his body, but also his clothes,
house, family, reputation, works, his lands and
bank accounts… etc.
(William James)
Material Self
 WHAT IS MATERIAL SELF?
• Material self (James) refers to tangible objects,
people, or places that carry the designation me
or mine. (my body, my things, my food, my
family, my friends, my house, etc)
• It’s not just the physical entities (physical self)
that comprise the material self, it is also our
psychological ownership of them. (They are
mine). They become part of me (extended self).
INCLUDES:

• body, family and reputation but also his “clothes

and his house…
• his lands and horses, and yacht and bank-
account.”
*If they grew, their owners felt triumphant. If
they faded, people felt a part of themselves was
dying.
 Material Self
• Pushed people to acquire homes and fill them with
possessions. – found in the writing of James – the
Spoils of Poynton (1896) –in real life material
things are possessions were means for families to
cultivate and demonstrate their character.

• For the “ material self”, objects helped make the

person but they also showed what a person was
made of.
 Sub-classes Material/Economic Self

Bodily self - is the physical, the legs or limbs

Extended self – is your possession. The things

we regarded as ours.
 THEORIES:
(1)MARKET BEHAVIOR (SYMBOLIC
VALUE)
(2)MATERIAL POSSESSIONS
(3)BRAND AND PRODUCT PERSONALITY
 THEORIES:
(1) MARKET BEHAVIOR (SYMBOLIC
VALUE)- We treat possessions as part of the self
for reasons that they serve a symbolic function –
they help people define themselves.
 “I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM”
(2) MATERIAL POSSESSIONS-Sartre (1943)
claim that people accumulate possessions to
enlarge their sense of self.
“for the highly materialistic consumer, purchases
are potential panaceas for all manners of
dissatisfaction with self and life generally”
 THEORIES:
Once possessions become part of the self, people
imbue them with value, and use them to promote
feelings of self-worth (Kahneman, Knetch, &
Thaler, 1990)

(3) BRAND AND PRODUCT PERSONALITY-

Brand issues and product characteristics are
sometimes equated to our worth and encompasses
our personality.
There is a diminished sense of self when
possessions are stolen or lost.
 Consumer behavior says…
We are what we have (Belk, 1980).
We are what we possess (Van Esterick, 1986;
Feirstein, 1986, Rosenbaun, 1972).
Having possessions can contribute to our
capabilities of doing and being (Sartre)
“If I am what I have, and what I
have is lost, then who am I?”
(Fromm, 1976)
 It means…….
According to Barthes, it is through objects that
people asserts their identities.
Objects are not just things but are reflections of a
wider lives of communities and individuals;
the things people possess are also sync with
what is valued by their community.
 ECONOMIC SELF
• consists one’s economic activity resulting
from one’s individual self-interest.

 to be self-interested simply means that you

seek your own personal gain.

What do you need?

What do you want?
Economic Self
• In the context of Self Interest:
1. Why do you go to school?
You go to school so you can get a better job someday and earn
more money to buy the things you want. In fact, most of the
economic activity we see around us is the result of self-interested
behavior.

2. Why do you go to work?

You go to work because you want to get paid so you can
buy the things you want.
*To be self-interested simply means that you seek
your own personal gain.
 COMPARISON CHART

BASIS FOR COMPARISON NEEDS WANTS

Meaning Needs refers to an Wants are described as the

individual's basic goods and services, which
requirement that must be an individual like to have, as
fulfilled, in order to survive. a part of his caprices.
Nature Limited Unlimited

What is it? Something you must have. Something you wish to have.

Represents Necessity Desire

Survival Essential Inessential

Change May remain constant over May change over time.

time.
Non-fulfillment May result in onset of May result in
disease or even death. disappointment.
 Set priorities right..
NEEDS WANTS WISHES
Transportation

Food

Clothes

Housing

Leisure
/Recreation
 Material Possessions and the Bible

Mark 10:17-27
“The Rich Young Man”

Do you believe to a High Supreme Being?

If you do so, then you value your Spiritual

Self?