A Longitudinal Experimental Study Examining How and Whether Practicing Acts of Kindness Affects Materialism.

Dariusz Drążkowski, Radosław Trepanowski
Author Information
  1. Dariusz Drążkowski: Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, 89 Szamarzewskiego Street, 60-568 Poznan, Poland. ORCID
  2. Radosław Trepanowski: Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, 89 Szamarzewskiego Street, 60-568 Poznan, Poland. ORCID

Abstract

(1) Background: Kindness interventions assist individuals in the pursuit of greater well-being. However, little is known about whether these interventions can decrease materialism. The current study tested how kindness interventions decrease materialism and external aspirations. Furthermore, we tested whether these interventions influence impulsive shopping. (2) Method: We randomly assigned 122 females to a three-week intervention of practicing acts of kindness or a neutral intervention (practicing acts related to studying). Before and after the interventions, all participants reported their life satisfaction, level of materialism, and internal and external aspirations. (3) Results: Among women practicing acts of kindness, materialism and life satisfaction did not change compared to the control group, but in both conditions, life satisfaction increased, and materialism decreased. However, we found that practicing kindness was associated with (a) an increase in aspiration affiliation, (b) a reduction in the intention to shop impulsively, (c) less focus on external aspirations, and (d) more focus on internal aspirations. (4) Conclusions: Although our results show that practicing kindness does not lead to a decrease in materialism, they suggest that focusing on increasing personal happiness might lead to such a decrease. Furthermore, our research contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating that kind women are less oriented toward materialistic values.

Keywords

References

  1. J Soc Psychol. 2010 May-Jun;150(3):235-7 [PMID: 20575332]
  2. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1993 Aug;65(2):410-22 [PMID: 8366427]
  3. Science. 2008 Mar 21;319(5870):1687-8 [PMID: 18356530]
  4. BMC Public Health. 2013 Feb 08;13:119 [PMID: 23390882]
  5. Psychol Sci. 2012 May 1;23(5):517-23 [PMID: 22427388]
  6. Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr;44:130-134 [PMID: 34628365]
  7. J Pers Assess. 1985 Feb;49(1):71-5 [PMID: 16367493]
  8. J Happiness Stud. 2006 Sep;7(3):361-375 [PMID: 17356687]
  9. J Happiness Stud. 2022;23(8):3889-3908 [PMID: 36213306]
  10. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2014 Nov;107(5):879-924 [PMID: 25347131]
  11. Contemp Educ Psychol. 2000 Jan;25(1):54-67 [PMID: 10620381]
  12. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2021 May;47(5):826-840 [PMID: 32856538]
  13. Emotion. 2018 Jun;18(4):507-517 [PMID: 28581323]
  14. J Soc Psychol. 2019;159(3):340-343 [PMID: 29702043]
  15. J Psychosom Res. 2002 Oct;53(4):849-57 [PMID: 12377293]
  16. Public Health. 2017 Nov;152:157-171 [PMID: 28915435]

MeSH Term

Female
Humans
Happiness
Impulsive Behavior
Longitudinal Studies

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0materialisminterventionskindnesspracticingdecreaseaspirationslifesatisfactionexternalactsKindnessHoweverwhethertestedFurthermoreinterventioninternalwomenlessfocuslead1Background:assistindividualspursuitgreaterwell-beinglittleknowncancurrentstudyinfluenceimpulsiveshopping2Method:randomlyassigned122femalesthree-weekneutralrelatedstudyingparticipantsreportedlevel3Results:Amongchangecomparedcontrolgroupconditionsincreaseddecreasedfoundassociatedincreaseaspirationaffiliationbreductionintentionshopimpulsivelycd4Conclusions:AlthoughresultsshowsuggestfocusingincreasingpersonalhappinessmightresearchcontributesexistingliteraturedemonstratingkindorientedtowardmaterialisticvaluesLongitudinalExperimentalStudyExaminingWhetherPracticingActsAffectsMaterialismself-determinationtheory

Similar Articles

Cited By

No available data.