MATERIAL/

ECONOMIC SELF

UNDERSTANDING THE SELF

WHAT IS MATERIAL SELF
MATERIAL/
- A PERSONS TANGIBLE POSSESION
ECONOMIC .LIKE HIS OR HER CAR, HOUSE,

CLOTHES, EVEN FAMILY AND

SELF FRIENDS MAKE UP HIS OR HER
MATERIAL SELF.

PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO PURCHASE

- PRODUCTS THAT CAN RELATE TO
THEIR PERSONALITY.

- MATERIAL POSSESIONS SIGNIFY SOME

ASPECTS OF ONE’S SENSE OF SELF
AND IDENTITY
 • Infographic
HOW TO Style
DETERMINE WHETHER THE ITEM
PURCHASED ARE WANTS OR NEEDS?
NEEDS WANTS
NEEDS ARE THOSE WANTS ARE
IMPORTANT FOR SYNOYMOUS WITH
SURVIVAL. FOOD, LUXURIES. PEOPLE
CLOTHING, AND BUY THEM FOR
SHELTER ARE BASIC REASONS THAT DO
NEEDS SO PEOPLE NOT WARRANT
PURCHASED THEM NECESSITY.
OUT OF NECESSITY.
 IN THEStyle
• Infographic PROCESS
OF ACQUIRING MATERIAL
GOODS, PEOPLE GENERALLY CONSIDERS TWO
THINGS
UTILITY SIGNIFICANCE

CONCERNED WITH CONCERNED WITH

HOW THINGS SERVED THE MEANING
A PRACTICAL ASSIGNED TO THE
PURPOSE OBJECT
 MATERIAL SELF BY WILLIAM JAMES
“IN ITS WIDEST POSSIBLE SENSE, A MAN’S SELF IS THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL THAT HE CAN CALL HIS”
 MATERIAL SELF
WILLIAM JAMES
-The self is everything that an individual considers to be his or hers,
not only his or her body possessions but also his or her reputation
and beliefs. The self, therefore is composed of the material self
which is the manifestation of one’s identity through his material
possessions.

-an individual’s selfhood can be broken down into several

fragments, with the material self being one.
19th century philosopher (1842-1910)

- He has a special fascination with the importance of clothes to

people. He claimed that the old saying that the human person is
composed of three parts- soul, body and clothes- is more than a
joke.”
THE MATERIAL SELF HIERARCHY
FIGURE 1.
• BODY
-The “PHYSICAL BODY” is considered the constituent unit.
-The basic components of self include the body. One of the task
of adolescents is to accept and appreciate the physical characteristics
of their body.

• CLOTHES/CLOTHING
-Another component of the material self is the clothes that
people wear. Clothes represent the self. The style and brand of
clothes become significant symbols, particularly among adolescents.

HERMANN LOTZE IN MICROCOSMUS (1890) -ASSERTED THAT EACH TIME

WE GET TO WEAR GARMENTS OF VARYING KIND IS A CHANCE FOR US TO
“BRING THEM INTO RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SURFACE OF OUR BODY
AND INJECT THEM WITH THE VERY “ CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR
PERSONAL EXISTENCE”.
• FAMILY
-These people are likely to shape and influence the development of one’s
self and identity.
• - Pets can also symbolically define a person’s identity. A persons pet could
be an expression of one’s social status, pride, and prestige, as in owning a dog
or cat with a very expensive breed.
-One of the former reason why we grieve over the death of our loved ones.

• HOUSE
-The accumulation of such comprises the empirical self’s wealth, and is
thus perceived as” most intimately ours’”, for it is made possible by our labor.

• OTHER PROPERTIES
- The purchase of an item, is not just considered as an investment in
monetary sense (because you can always sell it sooner or later) but also from the
standpoint of material self
 MATERIAL
-OWNING MATERIAL POSSESSIONS CAN
POSSESSIONS ALSO CONTRIBUTE
-MATERIAL BECOME A DRIVING TO AFFELING OF
-MATERIAL
POSSESSION
ACTS AS AN
OBJECT
POSSESSIONS
CAN BE
REFLECTION OF
FORCE IN URGING
INDIVIDUAL TO SEEK
HIGH LEVEL OF
HOWEVER THE ROLE OF
WELL BEING,
THE LACK
OR LOSS OF
MATERIAL
MANIFESTATION
OF SELF
HARDWORK AND
SUCCESS
ACHIEVEMENT TO
ACQUIRE MORE
POSSESSIONS
POSSESSIONS
MATERIAL
CAN
BE DISRUPTIVE TO
MENTAL HEALTH

POSSESSIONS ON
THE SENSE OF SELF
AND IDENTITY

ARE WE
REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH OR HOW LITTLE
OWN?

WHAT MATERIAL POSSESSIONS PEOPLE HAVE, THEY

WE

REMAIN VALUABLE BECAUSE THESE

POSSESSIONS ARE SYMBOLIC OF ONE’S SOCIAL
STATUS. CARS, HOUSE GADGETS, AND CLOTHES
ARE TO SOME THE MOST VALUABLE
POSSESSIONS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MOST
Russell Belk(1988) VISIBLE TO THE EYE OF OTHERS.
MATERIALISM

-GIVING IMPORTANCE TO MATERIAL POSSESSIONS THAN INTANGIBLE VALUES

- A MATERIALISTIC PERSON IS ONE WHO IS EXCESSIVELY CONCERNED WITH THE
ACQUISITION OF MATERIAL POSSESSIONS

COMPULSIVE BUYING DISORDER (CBD)

- CHARACTERIZED BY AN OBSESSION WITH SHOPPING AND BUYING BEHAVIORS THAT

CAN CAUSE ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES (E.G: DEBTS)

CONSUMERISM
-IS THE CONSUMPTION OF MATERIAL, GOODS AND SERVICES IN EXCESS OF ON’S
BASIC NEEDS
CONSUMER CULTURE AND THE SELF
CONSUMER CULTURE IS A SOCIAL
SYSTEM IN WHICH CONSUMPTION IS
DOMINATED BY THE CONSUMPTION OF
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS (ARNOLD,2010)

-IT DENOTES SOCIAL ARRANGEMENT IN WHICH THE

RELATIONS BETWEEN LIVED CULTURE AND SOCIAL
RESOURCES, AND BETWEEN MEANINGFUL WAYS OF LIFE
AND THE SYMBOLIC AND MATERIAL RESOURCES ON WHICH
THEY DEPEND ON, ARE MEDIATED THROUGH MARKETS.

- THE CONSUMPTION OF MARKET MADE COMMODITIES AND

DESIRE- INCLUDING MARKETING SYMBOLS IS CENTRAL TO
CONSUMER CULTURE
“NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF
CONSUMPTION”
 THE SEMIOTICS
OF CONSUMPTION
OUR EVERYDAY LIFE IS GOVERN BY
SIGNS AND SYMBOLS. EVEN OUTSIDE
LINGUISTIC AND LITERATURE, FROM
WHICH SEMIOTICS WAS SAID TO HAVE
ORIGINATED, WE STILL ENCOUNTER
SYSTEM OF CODES WHICH WE DRAW
MEANING, INCLUDING THE TYPOLOGY
WITH WHICH CONSUMER CULTURE
OPERATES.
According to Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913)
Meanings are based off conventions and are, by nature,
arbitrary. Words, therefore are Unmotivated signs with
no fixed definitions. Essentially, present always in the
signifier, which can be a phrase, sound or image and
the signified, or the concepts or abstraction attached to it.
The relationship between the two is never stable and can
be change over time, either synchronically (at a given
point) or diachronically (over a relative period of time
Langue

-is language as a
structure that dictates
the rules and
conventions Parole Any given linguistic
fragnment or item
extracted from that
very structure
 DENOTATION

Defined as the literal

interpretation of something

CONNOTATION

Pertains to culture-specific meanings

and ideologies attached to it for
purposes of myth-making
Archorage Relay

Anchorage underlines the Puts emphasis on a more

importance of text in making sense complementary relationship
of an image between the two
HOW DO I DECIDE WHAT TO BUY?
According to Philip Kotler (1980), there are 5 stages of
BUYER DECISION PROCESS

POST
NEEDS INFORMATION EVALUATION PURCHASE
PURCHASE
AROUSAL SEARCH BEHAVIOR DECISION
FEELINGS

Kotler’s Buyer Decision Process, is unstable and ever changing for factors both
tangible and otherwise ultimately affirm or alter the final decision.
 THANK YOU
FOR LISTENING!