UNPACKING
THE SELF: THE
MATERIAL/
ECONOMIC
SELF
Material Self
A person’s tangible possessions like
his/her car, house, clothes, even family
and friends
Material possessions are usually a
reflection of person’s success or failure
Many people work to earn money to
buy basic necessities like food, clothes,
and shelter, and the like
People also spend money to buy
material things that will bring them
comfort, convenience and pleasure
Some people buy things to earn
admiration, praise and recognition
from other people while some buy
things to represent their status in
life
Many people perceive material
things as the extension of their
identities
The attachment of human beings to material
things is influenced by many factors in the
environment and in the present times, is
greatly influenced by the media
Some people think that acquiring material
things is the key in improving their identity
They assume that their
participation in the consumption of
goods and services represent their
material self as their participation
furnishes them a status and role in
society
I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM
I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM
Identities can be reflected on
the possessions that people
have
People regard possessions as
part of themselves
Tuan (1998)
Argues that “our fragile sense of self
needs support, and this we get by having
and possessing things because, to a large
degree, we are what we have and
possess”
This premise regarded possessions are
part of self of a person that is not a new
concept
William James
Said that “a man’s self is the sum total of all that he ca
his, not only his body or psychic powers, but his clothe
and his house, his wife and children, his ancestors and
friends, his reputation and works, his lands, and yacht
and bank account. All these things give him emotions.
If they wax and prosper, he feels triumphant; if they
dwindle and die away, he feels cast down, -not
necessarily in the same degree for each thing, but in
much the same way for all.”
If people define possessions as
things, they call theirs, James was
saying that people are the sum of
their possessions.
2 Subclasses of
Material Self
1. The Bodily Self
The components of this is composed
of the intimate parts of the person, it
includes our body aspects such as
physical (arms, head. leg., etc.),
emotional (feelings, desires, etc.),
psychological (intelligence,
cognition, etc.), and moral (values,
beliefs, etc.)
2. The Extracorporeal Self
Also known as the extended
self
It includes the people of great
significance to us (family),
possessions (house, car,
clothes), places that matter to
us, products of our labor (job,
hardwork, etc.)
MATERIAL SELF (WILLIAM JAMES)
Is constituted by our bodies, clothes, immediate
family and home. It is to these things that we are
most deeply affected because of our investments of
self within these things.
The more we invest ourselves in these objects, the
more attached we inevitably we are to them
BODY
Is the innermost part of our material self
Intentionally, we are investing in our body
We strive to make sure that the body
functions well and good (buy food to nourish
and sustain it , vitamins to supplement its
functions well and good, cosmetics that will
enhance it, etc.)
We do have preferential attachment or intimate
closeness to certain body parts because of its
value to us
There are certain people who get parts of their
body insured like renowned football athletes
David Beckam and Cristiano Ronaldo who both
had their legs insured for $70M and $144M
respectively and Jennifer Lopez who insured her
butt amounting $300M
Next to our body are the CLOTHES that we use
Influenced by the “Philosophy of Dress” by Herman Lotze, James
believed that clothing is an essential part of the material self
Lotze in his book Microcusmos, stipulated that “anytime we bring
an object into the surface of our body, we invest in it part of the
self”
The fabric and the style of the clothes we wear bring sensations to
the body, to which we are directly affected through our attitudes and
behaviour
Immediate family (parents and siblings
Hold another great importance to the self
What they do or become affects us
When an immediate family member dies, a part of our
self dies too
When their lives are in success, we feel their victories as
it is our own
In their failures, we are also put to guilt or shame
When they are in disadvantaged
situation, there is an urge within us
to help like a voluntary instinct of
saving one’s self from danger
We see our family as the nearest
replica of our self
Home
Home is where the heart is
Our experience inside the home were recorded and
marked on particular parts and things in our home
As an old cliché goes “if only walls can speak,” thus
the home is an extension of the self because in it we
can directly connect our self.
HOW MUCH
DO WE
VALUE OUR
SELF?
Self-worth and self-value are two
related terms that are often used
interchangeably.
Having a sense of self-worth means
that you value yourself, and having a
sense of self-value means that you are
worhty
Self-worth
Defined by Merriam-Webster as “a feeling that you
are a good person who deserves to be treated with
respect.”
Self-value
More behavioral than emotional, more about how
you act toward what you value, including yourself,
than how you feel about yourself compared to others”
(Stosny, 2014)
Self-worth Theory
Posits that an individual main priority in life is
to find self-acceptance and that self-acceptance
is often found through achievement
(Covington and Beery, 1976). In turn
achievement is often found through
competition with others.
The logical conclusion is that,
competing with others can help us
feel like we have impressive
achievements under our belt,
which then make us feel proud of
ourselves and enhances our
acceptance of ourselves.
Self-worth
Determined mostly by our self-
evaluated abilities and our
performance in one or more
activities that we deem valuable
5 Yardsticks In Measuring Self-worth
1.Appearance
Whether measured by the
number on the scale, the size
of clothing worn, or the kind
of attention received by
others
2. Net Worth
this can mean income,
material possessions,
financial assets, or all of the
above
3.Who you know/ Social Circle
Some people judge their own
value and the value of others by
their status and what important
and influential people they
know
4.What you do/ your career
We often judge others by what
they do ; for example a
stockbroker is often considered
more successful and valuable
than a janitor or a teacher.
5.What you achieve
As noted earlier, we frequently use
achievements to determine someone’s
worth (whether its our own worth or
someone else’s), such as success in
business, scores on the SATs, or
placement in a marathon or other
athletic challenge (Morin, 2017)
“We cannot think of being
acceptable to others until we
have first proven acceptable to
ourselves.”
-Malcolm X
SELF
IDENTITY
AND
CONSUMER
CULTURE
Consumer researchers have recognized for a long time
that people consume in ways that are consistent with
their sense of self (Levy 1959).
Important thought leaders in our field have described and
documented that consumers use possessions and brands
to create their self-identities and communicate these
selves to others and to themselves (e.g., Belk 1988,
Fdournier 1998; McCracken 1989)
On increasingly powerful context in which
individuals construct and express their identities is
the material and consumer culture we live in.
Having the ‘right’ material good has become vital
to many, not so much because of these goods
themselves, but because of hoped-for
psychological social image, and achieving positive
emotional states. Having, buying, and desiring
material goods has a profound impact on
individuals’ identities and their weel-being
(Dittmar, 2008)
Previous studies have emphasized
the significance self-concept and
consumer preference, as purchases
made by consumers were directly
influenced by the image individuals
had of themselves (Onkivist &
Shaw, 1987).
Self Image Congruity (Sirgy, 1982)
Also referred to as product-image
congruity
The process of consumers purchasing
products/brands that they perceived as
possessing symbolic images similar to
the image they hold to themselves
This theory postulated that that products and brands
have symbolic meanings and display certain images.
Consumers’ choices to purchase, display, and use the
products or brands helped them communicate the
symbolic meaning to themselves as well as to others.
Thus, the greater the congruity between human
characteristics that exhibit consumers’ senses of self and
the characteristics that depicted a brand, the greater the
consumers’ preferences were for the brand (Sung, Choi
& Tinkman, 2012)
Purchase can be the consumer’s self-concept
or identity
6 Components of the “I”
a.Bodies
b.Values and character
c.Successes and competence
d.Social roles
e.Traits
f.possessions
If a person had to invest a lot of resources (money, time,
energy) finding and selecting a product, then to
psychologically justify that kind of investment, people tend to
view that product as part of their extended self.
For this reason, more expensive purchases, and purchases for
which they have saved for a long time are more likely to
become part of the extended self
A product can relate to one’s self in
2 ways:
1.By being instrumental to
enhancing their self sans
possessions
2.By becoming valued possession
