Materialism and Well-Being: A Conflicting Values Perspective

Over the past decade, materialism has emerged as an important research topic. Materialism is generally viewed as the value placed on the acquisition of material objects. Previous research finds that high levels of material values are negatively associated with subjective well-being. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between materialism and well-being within the broader context of an individual's value system. In this article, we examine the relationship between material values and other important life values. In addition, we draw on values theory to examine a novel conceptualization of why materialism is antithetical to well-being. Specifically, our theory proposes that the individual…