PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

When wanting is more important than having: Will that new car really make you happy?

2013-01-15
(Press-News.org) Materialistic consumers may derive more pleasure from desiring products than they do from actually owning them, and are willing to overspend and go into debt because they believe that future purchases will transform their lives, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

"Thinking about acquisition provides momentary happiness boosts to materialistic people, and because they tend to think about acquisition a lot, such thoughts have the potential to provide frequent mood boosts. But the positive emotions associated with acquisition are short-lived. Although materialists still experience positive emotions after making a purchase, these emotions are less intense than before they actually acquire a product," writes author Marsha L. Richins (University of Missouri).

Materialists tend to buy more than other consumers and are more willing to go into debt because they believe that buying things will make them happier. But does acquisition actually make them happier?

In three different studies, materialists (compared to other consumers) reported significantly stronger positive emotions when thinking about an important future purchase. This was true for both expensive items like automobiles and cheaper items like household electronics, and whether they anticipated making the purchase within a few weeks or a year or so in the future.

Materialists were more likely than others to believe that an upcoming purchase would transform their lives in meaningful ways. For example, they tended to believe that an important new acquisition will improve their relationships with other people, enhance the way they feel about themselves, enable them to have more pleasure in life, and allow them to carry out life tasks more effectively. The intensity of the happiness boost a materialist experiences before a purchase is directly related to the extent to which they expect these transformations to occur.

"Materialists are more likely to overspend and have credit problems, possibly because they believe that acquisitions will increase their happiness and change their lives in meaningful ways. Learning that acquisition is less pleasurable than anticipating a purchase may help them delay purchases until they are better able to afford them," the author concludes.

### Marsha L. Richins. "When Wanting Is Better Than Having: Materialism, Transformation Expectations, and Product-Evoked Emotions in the Purchase Process." Journal of Consumer Research: June 2013. For more information, contact Marsha Richins or visit http://ejcr.org/. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

The housing market: Consumers struggle to get the price right

2013-01-15
Consumers systematically mispredict both the selling and purchase prices of other consumers due to a lack of cognitive and emotional connection, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "As sellers, consumers fail to appreciate the extent to which endowment and the prospect of giving up an object and not getting to enjoy its benefits influence other owner valuations. On the other hand, as buyers, consumers fail to realize the extent to which lack of ownership and the prospect of giving up money to purchase an object impact other buyer valuations," ...

Fashion blogs: How do ordinary consumers harness social media to become style leaders?

2013-01-15
The Internet has given consumers the unprecedented opportunity to reach a mass audience and thereby advance their social position through displays of good taste, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Ordinary consumers were previously limited to sharing their views and tastes within their circle of friends and acquaintances, and only media professionals and others in powerful positions could reach a mass audience. But the Internet has made it possible for ordinary consumers to reach a mass audience or 'grab hold of the megaphone' through blogs, ...

Are consumers with fewer friends more likely to take financial risks?

2013-01-15
Feeling socially isolated causes consumers to pursue riskier but potentially more profitable financial opportunities, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "Seeking social acceptance and maintaining close relationships are among the most fundamental and universal human needs. Consumers are often willing to invest or sacrifice important resources to secure social bonds. In the absence of social support, consumers seek significantly more money to secure what they want out of the social system surrounding them. Feeling socially rejected triggers riskier ...

How does family life influence consumer response to television advertising?

2013-01-15
Family interaction and everyday activity strongly influence how television advertisements are experienced and interpreted at home, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. "It is common to link advertising viewing at home to increased levels of materialism and domestic tension stemming from 'pester power' (children getting parents to buy something by asking for it repeatedly until they get it). While these are serious issues, we have found that creative and skilled viewers of television advertising in the family living room can overturn and personalize ...

Don't read my lips! Body language trumps the face for conveying intense emotions

2013-01-15
Be it triumph or crushing defeat, exhilaration or agony, body language more accurately conveys intense emotions, according to recent research that challenges the predominance of facial expressions as an indicator of how a person feels. Princeton University researchers report in the journal Science that facial expressions can be ambiguous and subjective when viewed independently. The researchers asked study participants to determine from photographs if people were experiencing feelings such as loss, victory or pain from facial expressions or body language alone, or from ...

Major step toward an Alzheimer's vaccine

2013-01-15
This press release is available in French. Quebec City, January 15, 2013—A team of researchers from Université Laval, CHU de Québec, and pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has discovered a way to stimulate the brain's natural defense mechanisms in people with Alzheimer's disease. This major breakthrough, details of which are presented today in an early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), opens the door to the development of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease and a vaccine to prevent the illness. One of the main characteristics ...

Youth mentoring linked to many positive effects, new CAMH and Big Brothers Big Sisters study shows

2013-01-15
Toronto, January 15, 2013 –The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada (BBBSC) are releasing the first results of one of the largest mentoring studies ever conducted. The five-year study, which tracks the experiences of almost 1,000 children and teenagers registered with Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across Canada, found that those with a mentor are significantly more confident in their academic abilities and considerably less likely to display behavioural problems. One stand out finding is that girls in the study with ...

Claims of 'post-racial' society and other denials of racism may reflect ignorance of history

2013-01-15
New research suggests that commonly observed differences in how groups perceive racism may be explained by ignorance about — and even denial of — the extent of racism over the course of history. The research, conducted by psychological scientists at the University of Kansas and Texas A&M University, indicates that African Americans had more accurate knowledge of historically documented racism compared to European Americans. This difference in historical knowledge partially accounted for group differences in perceptions of racism, both at a systemic and an incident-specific ...

Salmon runs boom, go bust over centuries

2013-01-15
Salmon runs are notoriously variable: strong one year, and weak the next. New research shows that the same may be true from one century to the next. Scientists in the past 20 years have recognized that salmon stocks vary not only year to year, but also on decades-long time cycles. One example is the 30-year to 80-year booms and busts in salmon runs in Alaska and on the West Coast driven by the climate pattern known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Now work led by University of Washington researchers reveals those decadal cycles may overlay even more important, centuries-long ...

Scientists find a new way to boost common cancer drugs

2013-01-15
PHILADELPHIA, PA (January 14, 2013)—Shutting down a specific pathway in cancer cells appears to improve the ability of common drugs to wipe those cells out, according to new research from scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center, published in the January issue of Cancer Discovery. "Ideally, this research will eventually enable scientists to find drugs that disrupt this pathway and boost the impact of current therapies," says Igor Astsaturov, MD, PhD, Attending Physician in the Department of Medical Oncology at Fox Chase. "That's the long-term plan." The new approach appears ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Transforming treatment outcomes for people with OCD

Damage from smoke and respiratory viruses mitigated in mice via a common signaling pathway

New software tool could help better understand childhood cancer

Healthy lifestyle linked to lower diverticulitis risk, irrespective of genetic susceptibility

Women 65+ still at heightened risk of cervical cancer caused by HPV

‘Inflammatory’ diet during pregnancy may raise child’s diabetes type 1 risk

Effective therapies needed to halt rise in eco-anxiety, says psychology professor

Nature-friendly farming boosts biodiversity and yields but may require new subsidies

Against the odds: Endometriosis linked to four times higher pregnancy rates than other causes of infertility, new study reveals

Microplastics discovered in human reproductive fluids, new study reveals

Family ties and firm performance: How cousin marriage traditions shape informal businesses in Africa

Novel flu vaccine adjuvant improves protection against influenza viruses, study finds

Manipulation of light at the nanoscale helps advance biosensing

New mechanism discovered in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis: YWHAB restriction drives stemness and chemoresistance

New study links blood metabolites and immune cells to increased risk of urolithiasis

Pyruvate identified as a promising therapeutic agent for ulcerative colitis by targeting cytosolic phospholipase A2

New insights into the clinical impact of IKBKG mutations: Understanding the mechanisms behind rare immunodeficiency syndromes

Displays, imaging and sensing: New blue fluorophore breaks efficiency records in both solids and solutions

Sugar, the hidden thermostat in plants

Personality can explain why some CEOs earn higher salaries

This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI

Study suggests remembrances of dead played role in rise of architecture in Andean region

Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections

Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds

Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance

Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting

Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating

Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests

[Press-News.org] When wanting is more important than having: Will that new car really make you happy?