TV or not TV? Can't buy me joy

(Photo by William Hook) 

If you find yourself tingling all over with the just the thought of buying that latest flat-screen TV, think again.  It turns out that the Beatles were more than correct:  "Can't buy me love" - and can't buy me happiness either.

MSN Healthy Living reports that Marsha Richins, Professor of Marketing of the University of Missouri at Columbia, "surveyed 329 undergraduates on three separate occasions" regarding the anticipation and aftermath of their important purchases.  These

undergraduates were also rated as exhibiting either "high" or "low" levels of materialism - based upon "how much the students said they valued possessions in their lives."  Richins found that those in the "high" category were "more happy and excited" than others at the very thought of purchasing an item.  However, this happiness quickly subsided after the purchase was made.

After another survey of "180 U.S. consumers," Richins concluded that highly materialistic people "tend to believe that the car, flat-screen or laptop will somehow transform their lives for the better."  Those with lower levels of materialism "were less prone to believing purchases could have wide-reaching effects on their lives – even if they really wanted that car or TV."

These results seem to indicate an important distinction between simply wanting a new item and believing that it will somehow "magically" transform one's life.  So go ahead and want that TV.  But not too much…

How much is too much?  Does your overall happiness seem to depend upon possessing it?  If so, think again…

Resources

http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/people-overestimate-the-happiness-new-purchases-will-bring?ocid=vt_twmsnhlt

Copyright January 29, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved