Attitude toward Consumption and Subjective Well‐Being

Abstract

The current study looked at the effects of attitude toward consumption (positive or negative) on subjective well‐being. This research studied attitude toward consumption at both the personal (micro) level and societal (macro) level and subjective well‐being in terms of cognitive well‐being and affective well‐being. Results indicated that micro attitudes, whether positive or negative, were positively related to a consumer's subjective well‐being. In contrast, macro attitudes were negatively related to subjective well‐being. We posit that these findings could be due to micro attitudes enhancing the person's feeling of autonomy and control. In contrast, macro attitudes may create concerns beyond the person's control. For those who wish to impact societal‐level consumption, these findings provide empirical support for the idea that focusing on the personal benefits of anticonsumption may be more effective than emphasizing larger societal concerns. We explore the potential implications of these findings for mandated vs. voluntary approaches to reducing consumption.

Being green in a materialistic world: Consequences for subjective well‐being

“…However, the consequences of this trend for consumer well‐being are not well established (García‐de‐Frutos et al, ). While recent research showed that anti‐consumption tendencies in general (Lee & Ahn, ), negative attitudes toward consumption (Iyer & Muncy, ), or positive attitudes toward environmental protection (Welsch & Kühling, ) are related to increased well‐being, the presented research suggests that there can be negative well‐being consequences as well.…”

“…While the positive consequences of green value orientations and related anti‐consumption lifestyles for the environment have been well established in the literature (e.g., García‐de‐Frutos et al, ; Haws, Winterich, & Naylor, ), potential consequences for individual consumers’ well‐being remain understudied (see Iyer & Muncy, ; Lee & Ahn, ; Welsch & Kühling, for exceptions).…”

The impact of anti‐consumption on consumer well‐being

“…In fact, to date, academia lacks a scale that can measure anti‐consumption behaviours holistically. Hence, we mainly build on the work of Iyer and Muncy () and of Lee and Ahn () by empirically developing such a holistic scale and by focusing on simplifiers and global impact consumers.…”

“…In general, the concept of well‐being describes the condition of individuals or groups in different areas such as their psychological, physical, social or economic status (Diener & Ryan, ; Iyer & Muncy, ; Lee & Ahn, ; Sirgy & Lee, ). Especially within the scope of marketing and psychology, the relevance of consumer well‐being has grown (Albrecht, Stokburger‐Sauer, Sprott, & Lehmann, ; Pancer & Handelman, ).…”

Consume Less and Be Happy? Consume Less to Be Happy! An Introduction to the Special Issue on Anti‐Consumption and Consumer Well‐Being

“…Does the way individuals feel and think about consumption affect their subjective well‐being? This is the basic question considered by Iyer and Muncy () in their paper entitled “Attitude toward Consumption and Subjective Well‐Being.” There are already ample studies analyzing the relationship between actual consumption, materialism, or income with well‐being (e.g., Easterlin ; Tatzel ). These studies show for example that money can buy happiness only up to a certain point and that consumer materialism tendency is associated with lower levels of subjective well‐being (Burroughs and Rindfleisch ; Kahneman and Deaton ).…”