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Journal of Consumer Psychology 2022

What makes people happy? Decoupling the experiential‐material continuum

Evan Weingarten1; Kristen Duke2; Wendy Liu3; Rebecca Hamilton4; On Amir3; Gil Appel5; Moran Cerf6; Joseph Goodman7; Andrea C. Morales1; Ed O’Brien8; Jordi Quoidbach9; Monic Sun10

1 W. P. Carey School of Business Tempe Arizona USA · 2 Rotman School of Management Toronto Ontario Canada · 3 Rady School of Management La Jolla California USA · 4 Georgetown University · 5 The George Washington School of Business Washington District of Columbia USA · 6 Kellogg School of Management Evanston Illinois USA · 7 Fisher College · 8 Booth School of Business Chicago Illinois USA · 9 Universitat Ramon Llull · 10 Questrom School of Business Boston Massachusetts USA

Abstract

Extant literature suggests that consumers derive more happiness from experiences (e.g., vacations) than from material possessions (e.g., furniture). However, this literature typically pits material against experiential consumption, treating them as a single bipolar construct of their relative dominance: more material or more experiential. This focus on relative dominance leaves unanswered questions regarding how different levels of material and experiential qualities each contribute to happiness. Four preregistered studies ( N = 3,288), using hundreds of product categories, measured levels of material and experiential qualities using two unipolar items. These studies investigate recalled, evoked, and anticipated happiness. Results show a more nuanced view of the experiential advantage that is critical for future research and consumer theory: material and experiential qualities both have positive relationships with happiness. Further, there is no inherent trade‐off between experiential and material qualities: consumers can enjoy consumption that is high on both (e.g., swimming pools and home improvements).

DOI
10.1002/jcpy.1291
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