Values, materialism, and well-being: A study with Turkish university students

Material objects gain social meaning not only because they have instrumental use in our daily lives but also because they function as symbols of identity and self-expression. Material values are investigated under the concept of materialism which is broadly defined as “a set of centrally held beliefs about the importance of possessions in one’s life” (Richins & Dawson, 1992). The current study is primarily concerned with specifying value antecedents of materialism in a Turkish adult sample. Data were collected from a sample of 948 university students through the measure of materialism by Richins and Dawson and the Schwartz Value Survey. Two measures were used to test the effect of materialism on subjective well-being. Results provided strong evidence toward positive associations between self-enhancement motives and materialism. The findings also validate the central assumption in the literature that materialism diminishes well-being. The relationships among values, materialism, and well-being are discussed within a value congruity perspective.