Consumers own objects for the value they provide. This article argues that the value of possessions resides in their meanings and further makes a distinction between the public and private meanings of possessions. The nature of these meanings is elaborated, and three studies are described that assess the public and private meanings of the possessions consumers value most. Similarities and differences between the two sorts of meaning are examined, and implications of meaning for the understanding of consumer behavior are discussed.

Possessions often reveal characteristics of their owners. This research examines the important possessions of consumers low and high in materialism to assess the extent to which these possessions express their owners' material values. Two aspects of the expression of values were examined—characterization, in which possessions embody aspects of their owner's values, and communication, in which possessions serve to signal the owner's values to others. Three studies are reported; they demonstrate that material values are characterized in the type of possessions valued and in the private and public meanings of these possessions. The data also show that a person's material values can be communicated through socially constructed stereotypes about possessions and about the relationship between possessions and their owners. In addition, study findings suggest that low-materialism consumers have an orientation that emphasizes both the interpersonal/symbolic value and the hedonic potential of possessions; the orientation toward possessions of those high in materialism seems to emphasize more utilitarian as well as appearance and status concerns.