Consumption and Well-Being in the Material World [Paperback]

This volume addresses how we can find happiness and well-being in the material world. It builds on previous works that find that materialism is associated with lowered well-being (materialists are less happy) and that consumerism, in all its profusion, is harmful to environmental well-being. How can we use the money and possessions in our lives in the service of well-being?? Apparently not by being materialistic. Can we benefit from the many wonders of the marketplace -- in technology, convenience and aesthetics -- without falling prey to the lures and dangers of excessive material preoccupation? Can we meet our material needs in ways that nourish growth and well-being? The authors of the chapters in this volume are on-going researchers into such questions. Herein you can learn about the hedonic benefits of thrift and of spending on experiences; how possessions can be beneficial; how different types of consumers spend money; cultural variations in conceptions of the good life; how we might reconcile environmental and consumer well-being; and how to measure the whole of human, economic, and environmental well-being. Taken all together, this collection finds grounds for compatibility between what's good for the consumer and what's good for the environment.

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This volume appeals to academics, professionals, students and others interested in materialism and consumer well-being.

Introduction.- Chapter 1: Consumption and Well-Being, An Introduction; Miriam Tatzel.- PART I: Money and Consumption for Well-Being.- Chapter 2: Money for Happiness: The Hedonic Benefits of Thrift; Joseph Chancellor and Sonja Lyubomirsky.- Chapter 3: Getting the Most for the Moneló,