RESEARCH_FILE
Helga Dittmar
University of Sussex
Known for:Meta-analytic synthesis of the materialism and wellbeing literature, establishing the cross-cultural robustness of materialism's negative effect on happiness
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“Everyone my age owns a home already”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“'Everyone my age' is a highlight reel of maybe six people. I don't set my life by six people.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
List the actual names of people your age you know for certain own homes. Stop at the real count, don't estimate. Write one financial metric of yours that improved in the last 36 months.
Key findings
- 2014
With Bond, Hurst, and Kasser, Dittmar synthesized 259 studies on materialism and personal wellbeing (n > 175,000), finding a consistent negative correlation (r = -.19) that held across happiness, life satisfaction, vitality, and absence of depression — and across every culture and age group in the sample. The Relationship between Materialism and Personal Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis ↗