THE

MATERIAL
SELF
Trentman – If they grew
(possesions), their owners felt
triumphant.. If they faded, people
felt a part of themselves was
dying.

James – Material self is

constituted by our bodies,
clothes, immediate family, and
home.
Gregoire – money can
powerfully influence our thoughts
and actions in ways that we’re
not aware of, no matter what our
economic circumstances are.
Curtis – cash can have serious
bearing on one’s belief regarding
the way a person views
himself/herself
A. Social and business Value
Heyman and Ariely – there are
two motivations for completing
a given task: “social and money”

B. Self sufficiency and service

money – conscious individuals
are more self-sufficient then
their peers, particularly when
money is made the focus
C. Self- view
the amount one earns could have an
effect on how he/she views both
himself/herself and others
D. Ethics
*Self-interest maximization an idea
suggest these who have the most
money or occupy higher classes are
likely to take a “what’s in it for me?
“ attitude.
E. Addiction
*Behavioral or process addiction –
a compulsive behavior not
motivated by dependency on an
addictive substance, but rather by a
process that leads to a seemingly
positive outcome
Shaping The Way We See
Ourselves:
The Roles of Consumer
Culture on Our Sense of Self
and Identity
Possessions and the extended self
 The premise that people regard
their possessions as parts of
themselves is not new. If
possessions are viewed as part of
self, it follows that an intentional
loss of possessions should be
regarded as a loss or lessening of
self.
Goffman – if possessions are viewed as
part of self, it follows an unintentional loss
of possessions should be regarded as a
loss or lessening of self.
 Snyder and Fromkin – the result of
this systematic substitution of
standardized “identity kits” for former
possessions is an elimination of
uniqueness.
Rosenblatt, Walsh, and
Jackson -suggest that a process
of grief and mourning may follow
the discovery of theft, just as one
might grieve and mourn the
death of a loved one who had
been a part of one's life.
Mcleod – those who lost
possession to a mudslide went
through a process of grief similar
to that of losing a loved one.

Juliet Schor – there is a

connection between wealth and
well-being.
* cycle of work and spend *
 Our immediate family is a part of
ourselves. Our father and mother, our
wife and babies, are bone of our bone and
flesh of our flesh. When they die, a part of
our very selves is gone. Clearly what is
mourned is loss of self, as material
property is an extension of the ego, and
any interference with our property is, for
this reason, felt to be a violation of the
person.
 The income earned then determines
the level of consumption. Thus,
individual workers/consumers
choose the level of working hours
and the quantity of consumption.

 There is no possibility of "too much"

or "too little" consumption. It is
individuals' preferences that
determine the quantity of consuming
and free time.
Special Cases of Extended Self
Collections (“I shop Therefore, I am”)
*Belk – today humans more often
assemble non-necessities for
distinction and self-definiton.

*Goldberg and Lewis –

collections may be seen as transition
objects or security blankets for
adults.
Pets as Extended Self
Foote 1956; Heiman 1967- Pets are
regarded commonly as representative
of self and studies show that we
attempt to infer characteristics of
people from their pets.
Cain 1985; Freidman and Thomas
1985; Hickrod and Schmitt 1982;
Rochberg-Halton 1985;
Wallendorfand Belk 1987- like
people, pets are regarded as family
members
Hickrod and Schmitt 1982;
Meer 1984 - it is significant that
we name name our pets,feed and
care for them, photograph
themm, spend money on them,
groom them, talk to them,
protect them, sleep and play with
them, and mourn their death.
Carmack (1985), Cowles
(1985), and Keddie (1977)-
found that in some cases of pet
death the mourning is similar to
that which occurs due to the loss
of a home or the loss of a limb.
Levinston (1972) and Robin
and Bensel (1985) – found that
pets are so instrumental to self-
identity that they are often useful
as transition objects (surrogate
parents) for children and as
surrogate children for adults.
Body Parts
 Body parts are among the central
parts of the extended self.
 In psychoanalytic terms, such self-
extension is called cathexis.
 Cathexis – involves the charging
of an object, activity, or idea with
emotional energy by the
individual.
Csikszentimihayli and Rochberg
Halton
(1981) - proposed the seemingly
identical concept of psychic
energy investment to describe
the process of identification with
possessions of any type.
Material Self
 Refer to all of the physical
elements that reflect who a
person is which includes his/her
body, possessions and home.
 The body is the most inner part
of the material self.
Materialism
Refers to the theory or belief that
nothing exists except matter, its
movements and its modification;
the theory or belief that
consciousness and will are wholly
due to material agency; a tendency
to consider material possessions
and physical comfort as more
important that spiritual values.