Living "the good life": The hedonic superiority of experiential versus material purchases

Abstract

People frequently spend money pursuing happiness and “the good life.” Psychologists’ knowledge about the determinants of happiness can and should inform prescriptions regarding such “hedonic consumption.” In this dissertation, I examine one particular prescription: Purchasing life experiences makes people happier than purchasing material things. In three surveys, described in Chapter 2, respondents indicated that experiential purchases make them happier than material purchases. In one study, described in Chapter 3, participants who thought about experiential purchases were placed in a relatively better mood than were participants who thought about material purchases. In other studies, described in Chapter 4, participants indicated that they enjoy discussing experiential purchases more than material purchases. Evidence from studies presented in Chapter 5 indicate that experiences are more open than material things to enhanced retrospective evaluations or “rosy views.” I examine in Chapter 6 why people may not spend their money wisely, given that they know they are made happier by experiential purchases. I conclude in Chapter 7 by presenting evidence that experiential purchases are a larger part of people’s self-perceptions and by exploring potential moderators of the hedonic superiority of experiential purchases.