you are what you consume: chocolate consumption and the theory of responsible materialism amanda l...
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You are what you Consume:You are what you Consume:
Chocolate ConsumptionChocolate Consumption
and the Theory of Responsible Materialismand the Theory of Responsible Materialism
Amanda L MahaffeyAmanda L MahaffeyCentre for Social Research & InterventionCentre for Social Research & Intervention
Lisbon University InstituteLisbon University Institute
Materialism
• Generally negative
– Unhealthy relationship to material goods– Negatively correlated with happiness and
wellbeing, self-esteem, wealth management– Unsustainable
Anti-Materialism
Responsible Materialism
• Generally positive
– Healthy relationship to high quality, ethically and sustainably produced goods
– Responsibility for means of production, consumption, maintenance, and disposal
– More sustainable- economically and environmentally– Similar to eco-consumerism
• About the connection to the goods• About quality AND quantity
– Positively correlated with happiness and wellbeing, self-esteem, health consciousness, wealth management?
Chocolate StudySpring 2012
Benefits of Chocolate Consumption
Benefits of Chocolate Consumption• Most craved food in the U.S. (Rozin, 1991)
• Mood– Elevated mood, for three minutes
• Tryptaphan – Serotonin, Phenylethamine• Most likely psychological (Macht & Mueller, 2007)
– Too quick to reach neurotransmitters• Health
– Lower risk of stroke, cholesterol, heart disease, inflammation, diabetes, etc.,…
– Antioxidants reduce risk of sun damage
• Psychological benefits of ethically-produced chocolate consumption?
A Test of the Theory ofResponsible Materialism
• Study of Ethical Chocolate Consumption– n = 106 (67% female)– U.S. Mturkers/Qualtrics– Mean age = 28
– 2 Quality X 2 Quantity = 4 Experimental Conditions
• Hypotheses– Happiness/Wellbeing = Chocolate Quality X Quantity– Traditional Materialism = Chocolate Quality X Quantity
Dependent Variables
• Wellbeing– Ryff (1999) Wellbeing Scale– ( = .951 , k = 54– “For me, life has been a continuous process of learning,
changing, and growth.”
• Traditional Materialism– Richins & Dawson (1992) Materialism Scale– ( = .91 , k = 18– “The things I own say a lot about how I am doing in life.”
Imagine you are opening this new bar of chocolate. It’s a large bar of chocolate you picked up at the gourmet foods store. This chocolate was cultivated by a small cocoa farm where the workers received a fair wage for their work. The beans were organically grown in a sustainable shade forest.
Now imagine you break off one square and savor the flavor with small bites, letting each one melt in your mouth before taking another. You fold the wrapping back over and put the rest of the bar away for later because you know something this special should be savored over many days.
Imagine you are opening this new bar of chocolate. It’s a large bar of chocolate you picked up at the convenience store. This chocolate was cultivated by a large cocoa farm where the workers earned low wages for their work. The beans were grown with the use of pesticides in an endangered rain forest.
Now imagine you eat the whole bar in one sitting. It’s so delicious, it’s hard to resist. You wad the packaging up and throw it in the trash, thinking about which bar you’ll get tomorrow.
Qualitative Responses
• Whole Bar of Low Quality, Unethically-produced Chocolate– “I feel like I really could eat one more right now.”
• One Square of Low Quality, Unethically-produced Chocolate– “Fine. I’d hope that no pesticides got into the chocolate.”
• Whole Bar of High Quality, Ethically-produced Chocolate– “I feel like I didn’t properly savor such a nice bar of
chocolate that hard working individuals took so much time to produce.”
• One Square of High Quality, Ethically-produced Chocolate– “Happy, Amazing, Pleased, Joy, Relaxed, Warm, Content”
Wellbeing
=
Chocolate
Quality
X
Quantity
Wellbeing = Quality X Quantity
Wellbeing (Environmental Mastery) = Quality X Quantity
“In general, I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live”
Wellbeing (Positive Relations with Others) = Quality X Quantity
“People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others”
Marginally significant
Wellbeing (Autonomy) = Quality X Quantity
“My decisions are not usually influenced by what everyone else is doing”
Marginally significant
Wellbeing (Purpose in Life) = Quality X Quantity
“I live one day at a time and don’t really think about the future” (reverse scored)
Marginally significant
Wellbeing (Self Acceptance) = Quality X Quantity
“The past had its ups and downs, but in general, I wouldn’t want to change it”
Materialism
=
Chocolate
Quality
X
Quantity
Materialism = Quantity
Marginally significant
Materialism (Acquisition Centrality) = Quantity
“Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure”
Results
• Wellbeing– Wellbeing (specifically being in control of one’s situation in life
and future orientation) is associated with savoring small quantities of ethically-produced chocolate
– Being happy with oneself no matter what is associated with consuming large quantities of unethically-produced chocolate
• Materialism– Desire to acquire goods is associated with consuming large
quantities at once
Conclusions
• Happiness is a bar of organic, fair-trade, rainforest-safe chocolate– savored one square at a time
• Or, happiness is gorging on a big bar of poorly produced chocolate– Cognitive dissonance?
• Give people large quantities of chocolate and they’ll seek out more stuff
