La razon felicidad/consumo: un enfoque alternativo en la busqueda de la felicidad.
| Autor | Borrero Caldas, Silvio |
| Cargo | Report |
The happiness-to-consumption ratio: an alternative approach in the quest for happiness
A razão entre felicidade/consumo: uma abordagem alternativa na busca da felicidade
INTRODUCTION
In an often futile quest for happiness, many people spend their lives accumulating money and possessions. Wealth and consumption, however, do not necessarily make people happy (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Van Boven, 2005); despite rising incomes, intensive consumerism seems ineffective in improving subjective well-being (SWB) (Myers, 2000). Perhaps consumers could increase their happiness-to-consumption ratio if they socialized and sought experiences, instead of gathering material goods (Van Boven, 2005). Moreover, such an experientialist approach would reduce overall contribution to global entropy. This study suggests that there is an inverse relationship between entropy of consumption and happiness, and that countries with lower material consumption achieve happiness at lower entropy costs than wealthier countries.
Based on an exploratory analysis of relevant data from 191 countries, and building on previous research on happiness, entropy, consumption, materialism, and individualism, it is suggested that countries with low consumption entropy are happier than countries with high entropy, at similar income levels. This article discusses preliminary results, proposes consequent hypotheses to be tested with a cross-cultural experimental design, anticipates results, potential contributions to theory, practical applications, and suggests future research possibilities.
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THE QUEST FOR HAPPINESS
Previous research has alternatively--and interchangeably-used "satisfaction," "well-being," "living well," and "happiness" as analogous concepts. Happiness has also been associated with both an objective self-assessment of the personal situation and a subjective feeling of well-being. The latter has prevailed and most recent studies assume SWB or reported satisfaction with life as proxies for happiness (Steel and Ones, 2002). Consistent with these trend, this study deems happiness as synonymous to life satisfaction or SWB, and define it as a cognitive and affective self-evaluation of a person's life (Diener, Diener and Diener, 1995).
1.1. Money does not buy happiness, does it?
Many people spend their productive years striving to accumulate money and possessions, in an often futile attempt to be happy. Evidence suggests, however, that wealth is not proportional to happiness (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Myers, 2000; Van Boven, 2005). Even if material goods add to quality of life, the cost/benefit relation is not linear, and there is a point past which no improvement in life satisfaction is derived from additional possessions. As illustrated by curve A in Graph 1, material resources add to perceived quality of life up to a certain point, after which returns diminish. In fact, some research suggests that acquiring additional material possessions over a certain threshold might in fact reduce happiness, as in curve B (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). (2)
[GRAPHIC 1 OMITTED]
It seems that such a central consumer goal as happiness cannot be attained through the prevailingly consumerism, suggesting that huge amounts of money are wasted (Sujan, 2008). From ancient Greek philosophers to modern-day theorists, this notion that attaining material goals does not necessarily produce happiness has been a recurrent issue. In general, seeking meaningful experiences and socializing, rather than accumulating things, translates into a richer, healthier, happier existence (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Russell, 1930; Van Boven, 2005). Maslow's taxonomy (1968, cited by Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) might explain this threshold past which material well-being and consumption cease to translate into happiness, and why social/experientialist behaviors lead to happier lives. If consuming behavior is driven by existentialist needs, increases in material well-being will contribute to satisfy lower-order needs, up to a point. Once these basic needs are satisfied, satisfaction of higher-order needs becomes more important. In this context, engaging in purposeful activities is more effective in filling personal voids than less transcendent consumption. In fact, an absence of consciously meaningful goals could result in unhappiness, because even the most expensive goods cannot fulfill higher-order needs as meaningfulness can (Sujan, 1986; Sujan, Weitz and Kumar, 1994).
1.2. The entropic perspective
An interesting and unorthodox approach to the relationship between material consumption and happiness involves consumers' contribution to the decay of natural resources and to overall entropy (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The fossil and electrical energy consumed in a specific activity--and its contribution to entropy--has been shown to negatively relate to the happiness derived by the consumer. This has been explained by the fact that passive consumption tends to use a lot of fossil or electric energy. Given that passive consumption requires less psychic energy from the consumer than more mentally-challenging types of consumption, it is not surprising that wasting a lot of energy relates with lower reports of happiness. It follows that a consumer's perception of happiness could be inversely related to the entropy resulting from her consumption.
The coincidence of high entropy and low SWB in materialistic/individualistic countries (NEF, 2007) leads to some fascinating inferences about the relationship between entropy of consumption and happiness, at a national level. Just as individuals who deplete more resources through energy-intensive consumption are less happy, the low levels of happiness reported by many wealthy nations could be the result of a highly entropic consumer behavior. In terms of entropic cost, these countries are inefficient in pursuing happiness. A more experientialist consumption should achieve equal or higher levels of happiness, at a lower entropy cost--once the minimum threshold of material well-being that satisfies lower order needs has been breached.
1.3. The role of national culture
A particular example of exacerbated entropic consumption took place in the aftermath of 9/11. After the terrorist attacks, consumers bought goods in record quantities, complying with President Bush's encouragement to "go out shopping" (Arndt, Solomon, Kasser and Sheldon, 2004), aptly reflecting a phenomenon common to many countries where consuming is deemed as a patriotic act (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). When US citizens go out shopping, they satisfy a short-term goal of getting pleasure from buying things, substituting for more meaningful experiences. When purchasing is directed towards social or experiential consumption, however, the longer-term objective of enjoying through experience enhances happiness (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Russell, 1930; Van Boven, 2005). Take Colombia, for instance, a country that has also had to deal with ongoing terrorist threats. Rather than buying things, Colombians opt for social or family-binding experiences. Considering that Colombia scores are consistently higher than the US in happiness ratings (Diener et al., 1995; Inglehart, 2007; NEF, 2007; Veenhoven and Kalmijn, 2005), experientialist consumption does seem more efficient than shopping in making people happy.
Such contrasting consumption patterns between unhappy-wealthy and happy-poor countries can also be evaluated within an individualist/collectivist framework. Previous research has reported that collectivism is a survival mechanism in poor countries (Ahuvia, 2002). In wealthier countries, however, collectivism is inconsistent with the prevailing cultural pressures to achieve personal and economic success on an individual basis. That is, whereas collectivism might contribute to happiness in a poor country, it is individualism could actually reduce life satisfaction in a wealthy western-world one. Interestingly, a collectivist orientation might in fact result in lower levels of happiness as wealth--and hence consumption entropy cost--increases.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Albeit interesting in its own right, happiness is especially appealing for consumer behavior given its centrality as a driver of many consuming decisions. Consumer happiness is affected by the complex interaction of several factors, including such determinants as type of consumption, consumers' attitudes, and resulting impact on the environment. Whether consumers prefer individualist or materialist purchases, or social or experientialist activities, and how such preferences contribute to entropy, are thus important determinants of happiness.
Increasing material well-being does not result in a proportional increment in happiness (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Myers, 2000; Van Boven, 2005). Although improving a country's material standards will make poor people happier, the cost/benefit relation is not linear but rather an inverse function of the f (x) = a - b/x type. This might be explained by Maslow's hierarchy of needs: for poor consumers, any improvement in their income levels will result in more happiness, up...
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