MATERIAL SELF

• We are living in a world of sale and shopping spree. Shopping has become a leisure and a way to
pass time.
• What we want to have or already possess is related to our body
• Product advertisement are suggestive of making us feel better or look good.
• Materialism does not make us happy.

WILLIAM JAMES
° A Harvard psychologist in the late 19th century. William James wrote in his book The Principle of
Psychology in 1890 that understanding the self can be examined through its different components.
° He described these components as:
° Its constituents (material self, social self, spiritual self and pure ego)
° The feelings and emotions they arouse (self feelings)
° The actions to which they prompt (self-seeking and self- preservation)
- (Trentmann 2016;Green 1997)

• The material self according to James primarily is about our BODIES, CLOTHES, IMMEDIATE FAMILY and
HOME.
• We are deeply affected with these things because we have put so much investment of our self to them.
• A man’s self is a sum total of all what he can call his.

MATERIAL SELF INVESTMENT

1. BODY
• Inner most part of our self is our body.
• Intentionally, we are investing in our body.
• We strive hard to make sure that this body functions well and good.
• Any ailment or disorder directly affect us. We do certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to
certain body parts because of its value to us.

2. CLOTHES
 James believed that clothing is an essential part of material self.
 Any time we bring an object into the surface of our body, we invest that object into the consciousness of
our personal existence taking in its contours to be our own and making it part of the self. (Lotze,
Microcosmus)
 Clothing is a form of self-expression. We choose and wear clothes that reflect our self (Watson, 2014)
 The fabric and style of clothes we wear bring sensations to the body to which directly affect our
attitudes and behavior.

3. IMMEDIATE FAMILY
 Our parents and siblings hold another great important part of our self. What they do or become affects
us.
 When an immediate family dies part of our self dies too.
 When their lives are in success, we feel their victories as if we are the one holding the trophy.
 When they are in disadvantage situation, there is an urgent urge to help like a voluntary instinct of
saving one’s self from danger.
 We place huge investment in our immediate family when we see them as a nearest replica of our self

4. HOME
 Home is where the HEART is;
 It is the earliest nest of our selfhood. Our experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on
particular parts and things in our home.
 The more investment of self given to the particular thing, the more we identify ourselves to it.

WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE

 Russel Belk (1988) posits that “… we regard our possessions as part of ourselves. We are what we
have and what we possess.”
 The identification of self to things started in our infancy stage when we make a distinction among self
and environment and others who may desire our possession.
 Material possessions signify some aspects of one’s sense of self and identity.
 The possession of material things also indicates one’s status in the society.

MATERIALISM
Is the attitude of someone who attaches a lot of importance to money and wants to possess a lot of
material things.
At the highest levels of materialism , such possessions assume a central place in a person’s life and
believed to provide the greatest sources of SATISFACTION. (Belk 1985)
 Material possessions can be a reflection of hard work and success.
 People tend to measure success through material possession

MATERIALISTIC
 Someone with high level of materialism
 Excessively concerned with the aquisition of material possession

“I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM”

For the highly materialistic consumer, purchases are potential panaceas for all manners of
dissatisfaction with self and life generally.
O’Guinn and Faber (1989) found some aspects of materialism to be related to compulsive shopping
tendencies.

COMPULSIVE BUYING DISORDER

The psychological dysfunction or impairment in functioning caused by strong desire of material
possessions.
Characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behaviors that causes adverse
consequences.
Thus, when a person is about to make a purchase, he should ask himself a very important question:
Do I really need this?

Common Strategies in Persuading Someone

1. Foot –in-the-door Phenomenon - Making you agree initially with a smaller request. Eventually, they will
start making bigger requests
2. Door – in-the - face Phenomenon - Following up an extravagant request with a reasonable one

AVOID TRAP
1. Exercise intellectual independence – be aware how consumerism controls your life. Ignore advertising.
2. Consume less, live more - stop and think about the influences of consumerism in your life

SPIRITUAL SELF
Spiritual self is one of the four constituents of the “self” according to William James in his book, The
Principles of Psychology in 1890.
The spiritual self is the most intimate, inner subjective part of self. It is the most intimate version of the
self because of the satisfaction experiences when thinking of one’s ability to argue and discriminate, of
ones moral sensibility and conscience, and of our unconquerable will is purer than all other sentiments of
satisfaction.
The ability to use moral sensibility and conscience may be seen through the expression of religion, its
belief and practices. In the same manner, cultural rituals and ceremonies are some manifestations what
people believe in. Moreover, seeking the meaning of life is a journey that the spiritual self is on.

RELIGION
Rebecca Stein works on the definition of religion “as a set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually
includes some or all of basic characteristics. The characteristics are:
° A belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being, such as spirit and gods.
° A focus on the sacred supernatural. Where sacred refers to a feeling of reverence and awe.
° The presence of supernatural power or energy that is found on supernatural beings as well as
physical beings and objects.
° The performance of ritual activities that involves the manipulation of sacred object to communicate to
supernatural beings and/or to influence or control events.
° The articulation of worldwide and moral codes through narratives and other means.
° Provide the creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism of social control within a
community; provide explanation for unknown and a sense of control for individual.
 An individual lives in a society where there are many practices of religion. The choice of religious
beliefs lies within the spiritual self. Although the choice maybe influence by the society and its culture.

RITUALS
Rituals is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribe by a tradition or sacred law. Ritual is a
specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all know societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a
way of defining or describing humans.
There are three fundamental characteristics of rituals according to Penner. Ritual has the
characteristics of:
• A feeling of emotion of respect, awe, fascination, or dread in relation to the sacred.
• Dependence upon a brief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth.
• Is symbolic in relation to its reference.
The self can be described as a ritual being who exhibits a striking parallel between their ritual and
verbal behavior. Just as language is a system of symbols that is based upon arbitrary rules, ritual may be
viewed as a system of symbolic acts that is based upon arbitrary rules. Participation to rituals is
expressions of religious beliefs.