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John Patella
Professor Intawiwat
UWRT 1102-008
28 November 2015

Materialism and Happiness

Materialism is the belief that material success and progress are the
highest values in life rather than spiritualism. It also refers to the
preoccupation with the material world (AllAboutPhilosophy). Many people
have materialistic dreams that one day they will be wealthy enough to fulfill
their happiness. Happiness is based upon an individuals perception of their
own situation (Happiness). Does materialism have a positive affect on life
satisfaction and happiness?
It is hard to grasp the concept that spiritualism has a more positive
affect on life long happiness rather than materialism. Who wouldnt want all
the money in the world and how could that person not be happy? According
to the survey, Materialism, there are many different views and responses.
Some of which are, It can be hard to stay interested in your goals when
success requires patience; the opposite of the instant gratification
materialism provides and Materialism only gives us temporary happiness
because what good is a lot of stuff if you have no one to share it with. On
the other hand, some answers from the survey Materialism were along the
lines of, Yes, it does give us life long happiness because discovering new

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things in science and having the will to evolve as a race helps with our
happiness for our kids and should give a sense of satisfaction. Satisfaction
has a strong correlation with happiness, but do cars, houses and boats give
us self worth to spark inward happiness? Dr. Roberts, Ms. Tsang, and Mr.
Manolis did a study on the negative relationship between materialism and
life satisfaction. Individuals high in materialism showed decreased life
satisfaction when either gratitude or positive affect was low (The Journal of
Positive). This meaning that people are most happy or alive when they
achieve something from within themselves. Also, Lisa Ryan and Suzanne
Dziurawiec did a similar study on individuals higher in materialism being less
satisfied with particular aspects of their life (Materialism and Its
Relationship). These included peoples standard of living, family life, and the
amount of fun and enjoyment they have. The finding from this research have
shown that people low in materialism value possessions that are important
to their inter-personal determination, while those high in materialism value
possessions that are high in appearance and status. Although research has
proven that there is a connection between materialism and dissatisfaction,
the reasoning behind it is still unclear. By achieving materialistic wants, the
happiness will wear off, it is a distraction from what really matters and the
more you have, the more you crave (7 Reasons). You begin to never be
satisfied with what you have. Also, if you have less stuff that means less
clutter and stress. There will always be something better than what you
have. For example, once you get a new iPhone there will always be a new

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and improved version, more colors, or more features that will come out. You
need to be happy with what you already have and be thankful for it.
Christopher McCandless displays this in the book, Into the Wild. He also
displays that you can find so much beautify, satisfaction, and happiness
through so many non-material things such as nature, being worry free, and
traveling.
Does life satisfaction and happiness have a positive affect from
materialism? Satisfaction with life is an important component to ones
happiness. It is ones cognitive appraisal of ones life as a whole (The
Journal of Positive). It seems that materialism has a negative affect with this
satisfaction. Everybody has their own way of finding happiness to get
through everyday life. It is whether or not that happiness is life long through
spiritualism or an instant gratification through materialism. Life long
happiness through self fulfillment and spiritual pleasure is more beneficial
than materialistic pleasure.