Chronological Summary of the Positive Psychology Meetings “Finding Alternatives to Materialism”

Chronological Summary of the Positive Psychology Meetings: “Finding Alternatives to Materialism” The Quality of Life Research Center Peter F Drucker School of Management Claremont, California 2000 by Jeremy P Hunter Executive Summary The meetings of the Positive Psychology Center at Claremont took place on February 25-26; April 14-15; April 28-29 and June 9-10, 2000 It had been decided that the theme for the Spring 2000 meetings was going to be the question: “What can the social sciences to help provide alternatives to excessive dependence on materialism?” The reason for choosing this topic was the realization that while the U.S has achieved a position of global leadership in terms of economic productivity and democratic institutions, this achievement had not been matched by a vision of a good life to which all could aspire without exhausting the resources of the planet along the way Is there a way to slow down the increasingly frantic cycles of production and consumption, while at the same time improving the quality of life? To answer this question, fifteen individuals, five at a time, were invited each for a weekend in February, April, and June 2000 The idea was to keep meetings small to optimize diversity while allowing constant face-to-face participation The schedule was as follows: informal get-together Thursday evening; full discussions Friday and Saturday interspersed with outdoors walks, and departure Sunday morning In advance of the meetings, each participant was assigned a question on which he or she was expected to lead a 2-hour discussion For instance the Director of Education of the Getty Museum was asked to speak to the issue: “What can aesthetic education contribute to setting limits to materialism?” One relevant publication for each participant was also circulated among the whole group in advance of the meeting Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Meeting 1: February 25-26, 2000 Participants: Diane Brigham, Director of Education, Getty Museum, L.A Robert Emmons, Psychology, UC Davis Alexandra Freund, Max Planck Institute, Berlin David Mick, Univ of Wisconsin Business School, Madison, WI Ken Sheldon, Psychology, Univ of Missouri Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, CGU Jeanne Nakamura, CGU Jeremy Hunter, CGU The meetings were intense and extremely stimulating The conversation across disciplinary boundaries was to the point and free of jargon or professional pretense An enormous number of ideas emerged, and some of the highlights are reported below Basically, the group agreed that: a) there is increasing evidence in the social sciences to the effect that the correlation of material well-being and subjective well-being is very weak; b) this fact is not believed by society at large Taken together, these two facts pose a danger for the future, when all the nations of the world will try to outdo each other in efforts to increase subjective well-being by consuming more and more material resources What can psychology and the other social sciences to avert the worst consequences of runaway materialism? The consensus of the group focused on two strategies: Continue research on the relationship between wealth, consumption, and happiness At the same time, find ways of letting people know how low the correlation is between material and subjective well-being In this effort, it is important to popularize findings in a dramatic way, enlisting as spokespersons opinion leaders and media stars like Oprah Winfrey Increase research on conditions that support traits leading to subjective well-being without necessarily depending on material resources, such as autonomy, spirituality, and intrinsic motivation The group concluded that it was important to enlist organizations that would benefit from such knowledge, including the World Council of Churches, the YMCA, the 4H, the Boy Scouts Also, practices that provide alternatives to exclusive addiction to material consumption ought to be of interest to enlightened businessmen concerned with maintaining a vibrant civil society in a sustainable environment Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Friday AM Notes: David Mick started the morning discussions asking “Does Consumer Research Offer Hopeful News about Limiting Materialism?” David provided and overview of the history of the role of materialism in consumer research: 1970s—Environmental Research 1980s—Definitions, Scales, Correlates of Materialism (Russell Belk) 1990s—New Perspectives and Research on Materialism Sacred and Profane, Belk, et al Historical, Cross-cultural, self-identity (Belk) Meaning, Measure and Morality of Materialism (Rudmin, Richins) Materialism as Dependence (Mick, Fournier) Consumer Boycotts and Resistance (Dobscha, Mick) Voluntary Simplicity (Rudmin, Kilbourne) Homelessness and Poverty (Hill, Holt) Critical Theory He then proposed the following alternative questions: “Can Consumer Researchers Help to Limit Materialism?” “Why Should Consumer Researchers Help to Limit Materialism?” “How Should Consumer Researchers Help to Limit Materialism? “Will Consumer Researchers Help to Limit Materialism?” David also went on to say that the real problem was addiction to materialism noting that human beings, being sophisticated tool users, depend on material objects for survival So the human dependence on objects has existed nearly as long as humanity itself, and certainly longer than civilized humanity However, dependence can be taken to an extreme case where the object plays no larger role in the person’s life outside of the temporary psychic gratification gained through acquisition/possession It is this phenomenon, which seems especially pernicious in consumer cultures Mick notes a distinction raised by Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton of Instrumental versus Terminal Materialism Terminal materialism typifies the case where an object is consumed for no other purpose than to consume it Carried out on a mass scale, this type of behavior causes mass waste with little overall psychic gain Conversely, instrumental materialism is a case where an object leads to other ends, for example, the case of a car that offers transportation to work, mobility, etc David pointed out the connection between terminal materialism and the Buddhist concept of mindlessness Mindlessness can be described as a state where a person does not pay full attention to his/her surroundings, internal feelings/motivations/cognitions, etc Mick suggested that terminal materialistic behavior is an expression of automatic behavior encouraged by Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 constant commercial messages One remedy to this state of affairs is a cultivation of greater sensitivity to one’s purchasing motives and the role that things play in life Furthermore, the idea was raised that people may not be materialistic enough and only gain a shallow appreciation for the things they buy and quickly tire of Bob Emmons raised the issue of gratitude and materialism suggesting that by appreciating things more fully, more value can be extracted from them and the need to quickly accumulated something else decreases This could perhaps be called “Deep Materialism” or “Positive Materialism.” Skillful consumption could be incorporated into a education program for youth through schools, churches, etc Bob Emmons went on to discuss: “To What Extent Can Spirituality Provide Limits to Materialism” Relationship between Spirituality and Materialism: Emmons reports that there are distinct forms of relating spiritualism and materialism Mutual Exclusivity: as exemplified by an anti-materialist message in Bible (cf Ecclesiastes), in De Tocqueville, etc Affluence Fueling Spirituality: This generally results from dissatisfaction with high material attainment and provokes search for deeper truths, Isomorphism: “Salvation through Stuff”; shopping as religious activity (Leach’s Land of Desire history of department store development and role of religion in dep’t store design) and Spirituality Leading to Materialism where God helps “chosen ones” both spiritually and financially (a.k.a “Prosperity Gospel” or “Consumer Evangelism”) “Consumption is an issue suited for faith communities Among the institutions of our society, only the church and the synagogue and the mosque can still posit some reason for human existence other than the constant accumulation of stuff” (McKibben, 1996) Emmons also discussed the role of conditionality and happiness, citing the research of Bill McIntosh He examined the behavior of “linkers” and “nonlinkers.” Linkers are people who believe that their happiness is contingent on the attainment of important goals, whereas non-linkers are less attached to the outcomes of particular goals Spiritual Alternatives to “Affluenza” Emmons named at least three alternatives to a materialistic way of life Consecrated consumption/stewardliness: “Nurturing Nature” where humans take on the role of guardians of nature and realize human responsibility for its impact on nature and duty to protect it Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Voluntary Simplicity: “Less is More” A nascent social movement of “downshifting” where people consciously choose remove themselves from the “Accumulation Game” and emphasize other values like social relationships, volunteerism, etc Cultivating Virtue, which provides alternatives goals from a materialistic way of life, for example the fostering of gratitude (“Wanting what you have”)…Bob suggests developing research on inducing gratitude in everyday life Coins “Possession Obsession” Ad campaign: “Got Gratitude?” What are the obstacles to positive motivation? Ken Sheldon started the discussion by reviewing the future role of positive psychology and the legacy of humanistic psychology One of the failures of humanistic psychology was its failure to build results on an empirical base, an error which positive psychology seeks not to repeat To this end, Ken discusses the importance of self-organizing systems, flow, enjoyment, and other generative concepts Through the lens of Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination theory, he proposed that extrinsically motivated individuals lose out not only in terms of quality of experience, but ironically, may also lose out in terms of material success, because of the “tragedy of the commons.” He reviewed results of recent social dilemma research and noted their relevance to the emerging “group selection" paradigm in evolutionary psychology Ken’s results suggest that when extrinsic rewards are the dominant motivation, people not only fail to enjoy what they are doing, but also fail to secure as many resources as they intend, because their behavior tends to undermine grouplevel performance Whereas intrinsically motivated people both enjoy their tasks and thrive economically, even though this is not their primary intention Ken then noted a paradox: if most people say they most favor intrinsic values, and if people who strongly favor material values tend to be unhappier than those who don’t, and if they also tend to no better, economically, then why does materialism persist? What maintains it? One possibility is that consumer culture and media tend to program extrinsic rewards as the goals for which everyone should strive John Bargh’s important work on the automatic priming of goals by the environment is relevant It was observed that we have no systematic programs for inoculating the youth against consumer culture This led into a conversation regarding the role of initiation rites in modern life and how the absence of the transformative effects of initiations plays out in stunted psyches on a larger Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 scale The notion of revitalizing traditional youth development organizations offers a means of teaching skills, enhancing abilities and channeling interests to structure adolescence to positive, pro-social ends They would also provide meaningful alternatives to consumption, substance abuse, etc Why material goals are so attractive? Alexandra Freund discussed next what light action theory can shed on limiting materialism Action theory suggests that humans are intentional and goal driven These goals play a central role in human behavior by organizing attention/action and providing purpose Material goals have clear, shortterm and concrete goals, with immediate feedback, which in part is why they’re so seductive Conversely, other types of goals, like personal development, require long periods of time, have spotty feedback and are often difficult and painful to pursue The challenge becomes making more worthwhile activities more/as enjoyable as the easy-gratification material ones How, therefore to make nonmaterial goals also clear, concrete and short-term? How can these relate to long-term goals? Can they be dissected into smaller short-term goals with same eventual outcome? Process vs Outcome orientation There are also differences in quality of experience depending upon one’s goal orientation If one is process oriented, one enjoys the progress towards the goal and offers a greater number of “enjoyments” along the way Outcome orientation focuses on lack of attainment and has a short-lived enjoyment once goal is attained The implication for the quality of life is enormous If a life is lived with an incessant goal orientation, then large swaths of life will be merely endured, not enjoyed, until a goal is, if ever, reached The temporary lift received from goal attainment recedes as another goal is selected and embarked upon How we slow down? In our conversations, the role of mindfulness again arose Mick points out the dilemma of “cognitive misers” who don’t want to think/use attention any more than they have to This often results in stereotyped behavior where mindlessness runs rampant Mike mentions the Jesuit tradition of instituting daily goals and feedback loops to assess one’s state of being and measure progress, as an example of a method that fosters appreciation Program Possibilities: Ad campaign with Covey to encourage mindfulness Mindfulness tapes for commuters Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Oprah, Oprah, Oprah Rise of small-group movement (fostering mindful conversation) Saturday AM Notes: The Aesthetic Alternative Sunday morning Diane Brigham offered an art-based exercise for selfexploration and clearly showed one possible and powerful means for developing alternatives to Materialism She displayed a number of posters from the museum’s collection, and then asked to rest of the participants to look at the artworks with a number of questions in mind, e.g “Which one of these works represents most some elements of your self” What was most revealing about the exercise, was the realization of how deep and emotional experience on is able to obtain if one confronts an object with full attention and personal engagement We then discussed the role of creation/appreciation of aesthetics as a possible skill that could be fostered that would enhance the richness of everyday life We also discussed enhancing the role of museums as social/psychological/spiritual educators Sheldon suggested that we focus on needs, which enhance the three dimensions of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness Program Possibilities: Gallery of Mindfulness Museum Skills: “How to Use Museum” pamphlet Understanding the role of museum/culture centers in economic development Saturday PM Discussion: After an intense discussion, we focused on developing framing questions that would guide future endeavors The primary question addressed the cognitive dissonance most people express when they tout the importance of non-material things like family, friends, religions over material gain, yet behave in ways that undermine the former and enhance the latter IF MATERIAL VALUES AREN’T THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES TO PEOPLE, WHY DO THEY ACT AS IF THEY ARE? Possible answers: b/c they are mistaken, and really value the material more b/c material goals are the only “game in town”—in that alternatives are not available Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 b/c other goals aren’t accessible Skills and/or awareness low (poor people don’t believe a museum is a place for them) b/c trade-offs for embracing non-M are too great not enough time: a goals conflict b delaying gratification David Mick mentioned the Maguire persuasion model and its relevance to developing alternatives to materialism, and enhancing awareness of its limits According to this model, the process of persuasion starts with Awareness, then builds up Motivation, requires Skills, and then results in Behavior From this it was decided that research should continue to focus on: The psychic costs of materialism, Developing a picture of life in which there are socially legitimate alternatives to materialistic goals that can be widely pursued by most people Program Possibilities: Mindfulness enhancing techniques Field experiments School intervention—consumers, mindlessness; dependent variables? Alternatives  Book clubs  “Salon” /Library  Museums  Malls…  Revitalize youth organizations  Service orgs (and other civil society networks)  ILMS (Library-Museum Studies)  Meditation Groups The meeting adjourned with the understanding that at least tow more weekends with a different cast of characters would confront these issues, and that if good ideas continued to emerge, those participants who are motivated to so would convene for a larger meeting later this year At this meeting, concrete steps towards publication, diffusion and implementation would be taken Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Meeting 2, April 14-15, 2000 Participants: Attilah Olah, Eotovos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary Larry Gianinno, William T Grant Foundation, New York Kevin, Rathunde, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City Regula Pfister, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich, Switzerland Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, CGU Jeanne Nakamura, CGU Jeremy Hunter, CGU Executive Summary The theme of the meeting that arose revolved around the notion of “Attention, Consumption, and the Self.” The presentations built on both the work of the previous meeting and on each other All the presentations focused on the role of attention in consumption and on how a person can bolster one’s defenses against mindless materialism Larry Gianinno brought to bear his considerable knowledge of advertising and media practices, as well as his own research in economic practices of youth to examine the various reasons one consumes goods Kevin Rathunde explored the notion of abiding interest, a relationship between world and self, and its promise for a deeper satisfaction than a terminal materialism Attilah Olah reported on his model of a psychological immune system, a set of measurable traits that protect against stress, illness, as well various addictions, like materialism Regula Pfister shared with us her research findings that speak to the notion explored in the Center’s first meeting: if materialistic goals are not as satisfying as non-material ones, why people keep pursuing them? Friday AM Notes: The Economy of the Self Larry Gianinno began the session by exploring the nature of what might be called “the economy of the self” and proposed an alternative definition of thinking about economic behavior, contrary to the traditional idea of people as rational actors in a monetary economy Gianinno offered instead the concept that the economy is a system in which people related to each other in regards satisfying wants and needs Expanding the notion of “allocation of scarce resources” to cultural contexts, this diversified view of Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 economic practices can be applied to other, non-financial, resources like attention and by extension social relationships, values, affect, and so on While economists rarely consider this, economic practices are a shared, social phenomenon Economic practices are not experienced by all members of a society, so that some are “adults only” (like those found at work), while others may exist only between children (e.g trading baseball cards) and yet others may be shared between many groups These practices are often guided by social scripts (e.g “how to behave at a restaurant”) which are learned at an early age and govern/guide behavior in certain contexts Social rules that govern exchanges are often influenced by social distance (the closeness of a person’s social ties to another person) and as social distance decreases, relationships become more efficient as trust increases and defenses can be dispensed with This also ties into the notion that affect guides much of economic decision-making Research suggests that as persons age, non-economic factors become increasingly important Taking the concept of laddering from advertising practices, meaning is construed by three points of attentional focus: Attributes (physical, symbolic properties) Benefits (functional, social, psychological properties) Values (moral, or ethical properties) (e.g “Green goods”) These three categories serve to distinguish perceptions of products from each other And represent the images that advertisers manipulate to encourage an economic connection However economists tend to ignore these factors and provide no shared lexicon of consumption practices Religions once provided reference points for economic behavior, but these influences have weakened in the face of growing secularization Now material success has become the only reference point of “positive development.” Without a linguistic referent, Giannino suggests that people revert to intuitive schemes and explanations for their behavior A shared formal language of consumption would provide symbolic tools that would foster: Awareness of Economic Agents Awareness of Types of Economic Exchanges Awareness of Motives which Guide Economic Behavior Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 cementing social relations, etc However, the pernicious effects of materialism obtain when consumption practices are grounded in mindless behavior, believing that consumption itself will make you happy All agreed that a lexicon should be constructed to highlight and concretize the processes involved in our relations with objects, as well as explore the difference between worth/meaning/price and value; between hoarding and connoisseurship All agreed that a salutatory strategy would be define positive alternatives to mindless materialism instead of merely being “materialism bashers.” These might include terms like creative materialism, mindful materialism or critical consumption Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Meeting 3: April 28-29, 2000 Participants: Russell Belk, Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, his research primarily involves the meanings of possessions, materialism, collecting, nonfirst world consumer culture and gift-giving Michael Benedikt, Department of Architecture, University of Texas, Austin, involve in 16 research grants since 1977 Author Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, CGU Antonella Delle Fave, Department of Psychology, Medical School of the University of Milan Carrissa Griffing, University of Pennsylvania Jeremy Hunter, CGU Tim Kasser, Department of Psychology, Knox College Jeanne Nakamura, CGU Regula Pfister, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich, Switzerland Rick Robinson, Chief Experience Officer, Sapient Sheldon Solomon, Department of Psychology, Skidmore College Executive Summary The theme of the meeting that arose revolved around the notion of “Attention, Consumption, and the Self.” The presentations built on both the work of the previous meeting and on each other All the presentations focused on the role of attention in consumption and on how a person can bolster one’s defenses against mindless materialism Friday AM Notes: An Overview of Materialism Russell Belk provided an excellent overview of the state of research in consumption and the role it plays in life around the world On the basis of extensive cross-cultural research, RB concludes that materialism is not limited to affluent societies In our society, consumers claim to disdain materialism whereas they keep indulging in it Why? Starting with the premise that humans need hope he examined the implications of consumer desire as being a chief supplier of “hope fulfillment.” Lacking other goals, consumption provides objects of desire that keep us wanting to go on – being without desire altogether is a sad and unacceptable alternative Consumer behavior is largely motivated by dissatisfaction with the present and a longing for transformation: “I don’t want realism, I want magic” Transformations of luxuries into necessities through habituation Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Transformations of consumption act through ritualization Transformation of interpersonal security through financial security Transformation of self through acquisition of goods, marking inclusive and exclusive territories of identity In the subsequent discussion, which raged on for quite some time, the following points were raised (among others): • The ruinous impact of materialism on the environment • That materialism is basically unfair • That materialism does not satisfy spiritual needs • The substitution of connoisseurship for hoarding/fetishism • What alternative sources of “magic” can we appeal to? Objects and Identities Rick Robinson, who as a corporate executive introduced himself as an “agent of materialism,” discussed the role of consumption in the psychic life of the consumer – how objects are built into our identities Although a “pure sales” view of the market has been weakened because of increasing consumer sophistication, market saturation, etc., we are not likely “to get rid of the stuff.” Hence instead of thinking how to limit materialism, RR asks how we can use materialism to improve the quality of life He also talked about the need to produce systems that are more sympathetic to real needs as opposed to those assumed by marketing experts The current situation cannot have business as “the other” as has been in the past, but needs the help of social science to understand real behavior For instance, in order to implement an “experience economy,” we need different representations of our relation with artifacts; a new lexicon and syntax of consumption He described how a brand of cold medications has been marketed on an “experience-based model of cold” rather than on the obscure chemical properties of the drug This in turn was based on extensive research that yielded self-defined stages of the flu based on shared cultural categories This is one way that consumer products can be made more responsive to the real needs of the public RR also believes that the spread of the internet is going to subvert information ownership; for example, patients can share their symptoms, cures, and experiences bypassing the medical establishment in ways that reduce the monopoly of medical personnel on health- related information Friday PM Notes: The Psychic Costs of Materialism Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Tim Kasser discussed the psychic costs of a high materialistic value orientation (relative to alternative values like belongingness) His and others’ research suggest that the costs of materialism are a lowered quality of life: • • • • • • Those who value materialistic goals above all other things tend to be less happy, less fulfilled, have lower self esteem Their selfesteem is contingent on possessions and is often unrealistic and delusional They have weaker, fewer, and less lasting relationships Friendships are instrumental, less empathetic and helpful —“commodity friendships.” They are more at risk for alcoholism and other addictions Poorer people and poorer nations are more materialistic Children from troubled families are more materialistic Material goals undermine intrinsic motivations; those for whom they are paramount have less autonomous reasons for action Demystifying Money’s Power Sheldon Solomon explored the idea that money is the root of a problem in which it acts as a symbolic conflation of legitimate needs with useless desires SS, harking back to ideas of Kierkegaard and Ernest Becker, identifies our “evolutionary conundrum” as having become smart enough as a species to recognize our own mortality, thereby triggering dread and anxiety about our futures Cultures provide shields against the chaos of mortality, often based on absurd supernatural scenarios With the deflation of the credibility of religious explanations, we are left with money as the sole barometer of success Many people entertain the crazy hope that they can purchase life everlasting This situation requires a need to demystify the psychic power of money without demystifying the process of living In the ensuing discussion, two particularly important points were raised: • “Acceptance of death” interventions should decrease materialism • Rituals of gift-giving may reduce the selfishness inherent in consumerism Saturday AM Notes: The Theory of Value Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Michael Benedikt discussed his evolutionary theory of value based on the premise that individual value-driven decisions are like holographic chips reenacting on a small scale the entire evolutionary process The central concept of this theory is that of “Omega”, or complexity-andorganization MB unveiled an elegant mathematical model showing the relationship between these two variables, and the areas between them where Omega reaches its optimal expression With the premise that “Business is a projection of our soul” MB reviewed a proposed F hierarchy of exchange patterns and commented on their relative complexity Finally, drawing on his experience with architecture, MB described efforts to build spaces where people could fully experience their individuality, starting with High School buildings that not look like penitentiaries Complexity and Optimal Development Antonella Delle Fave finished the individual discussions reporting on crosscultural research in Indonesia, Nepal, and other cultures Through the use of ESM, the Flow, and Life Themes Questionnaires, she presented results that suggest 90% of people around the world recognize and cherish flow experiences, while only 2% (in a sample of 4000 respondents) associate consumption with flow ADF’s paradigm assumes that optimal experience is a mechanism for selecting and transmitting cultural information Instead of dissipating activities like shopping, it would behoove us to encourage people to build goals and a life through increasingly complex, culturally constructive tasks Enhancing individual complexity develops emergent properties, which act as improbable “strange attractors” eventually leading to cultural evolution Saturday PM Notes: Among the ideas that arose in the later discussions are the following: • Identify “tweakable institutions” that could become allies in our quest; • Identify parallel initiatives • Construct a map of conceptual possibilities, creating a matrix of potential outcomes (e.g flow, enhanced community life) by potential mechanisms to reach them (e.g built environment, agencies, etc.) • Create a website • Develop a “Quality of Life” seal of approval for products and services • Explore token economies that use alternatives to money • Activities that amplify community engagement • Workplace Quality of Life initiatives Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 • • A ceremony for trading in useless things (á la Bonfire of the Vanities) Build a board (e.g Bill Bradley, Tipper Gore, Mark Hartfield ) As usual, the meeting adjourned with lively discussion and ideas for reconvening in the Winter of this year at a plenary meeting focused on clear agenda items that have emerged from this series of encounters Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Meeting 4: June 9-10, 2000 Participants: David Myers, Department of Psychology, Hope College Jane Zeender, Director of Marketing, The Center for a New American Dream Barbara Fredrickson, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan Paolo Inghilleri, Department of Psychology and Cultural Anthropologie, University of Verona Wade Pickren, Official Historian of the American Psychological Association Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, CGU Jeanne Nakamura, CGU Jeremy Hunter, CGU Executive Summary The theme of the meeting that arose revolved around the notion of “Wealth, Well-Being and Positive Experience.” The presentations built on both the work of the previous meeting and on each other All the presentations focused on the role of attention in consumption and on how a person can bolster one’s defenses against mindless materialism Friday AM Notes: Wealth and Well-being David Myers reviewed his work on the relationship between wealth and wellbeing summarized in his new book on The American Paradox Reviewing American social history of the last half century, DM concludes that the material advances of the last 40 years not only have not been accompanied by advances in human well-being, but led instead to a “Social recession” To document these claims, DM presented an impressive array of survey data showing positive trends in material well being paralleled by negative trends in social and psychological well-being Having concluded that excessive materialism flattens the richness of life and deprives individuals of psychic resources for confronting adversity, DM discussed various alternatives ranging from instituting courses in the psychology of consumption, to public policy suggestions such as progressive consumption taxes and the taxation of inherited wealth The ensuing discussion considered such possibilities as the role of the media in disseminating the kind of data presented by DM, and policy options like the ones recently implemented in major Italian cities, where cars are banned from driving in the city one Sunday each month Such policies, in turn, force Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 the city administration to provide alternative transportation plus civic events that encourage social participation Friday PM Notes: The Center for a New American Dream Jane Zeender started by reporting four questions that her Foundation was hoping to get answers for by our group These were: Have there been historical precedents for a successful limitation of materialism and self-regulation of consumption? How can empathy for the plight of those affected by excessive materialism be best awakened? How can communities be mobilized to provide alternatives to consumption? If fear of death is at the basis of excessive consumption, what alternatives to it can be found? Next, JZ described some of the global trends that motivate the Center for a New American Dream to seek alternatives to excessive consumption In the reckless depletion of natural resources, the U.S is playing a leading role, and we cannot expect the rest of the world to mend its ways while we continue splurging; e.g that Americans constituting 5% of the population of the planet can continue to use up 40% of its petroleum products In an effort to curb excessive consumption the NAD foundation has found: It is important to avoid being judgmental or critical, because people resent being made to feel guilty Humor works better It is better to ask questions of people rather than trying to influence answers Doable, measurable, small-scale change is best – such as changing light bulbs with CFHs, or reducing Christmas gifts The important thing to convey is that supplanting more with better one can live a richer life experientially and spiritually The discussion that followed identified two interesting possibilities for positive psychology researchers: How can the environmental impact (or “ecological footprint”) of individual behavior be measured? What alternatives can be devised to reduce one’s environmental impact? Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Could one develop a mirror image to the Holmes-Rahe stress index which would assess the positive contribution of various life events? Saturday AM Notes: Understanding the Role of Objects Paolo Inghilleri started his talk with the question, What makes an object attractive? He made a distinction between two forms of materialism – the instrumental, purposive, mindful form; and the terminal, mindless, negative form of materialism Next he introduced the ritual, community-building forms of consumption, and ended up discussing how the quality of subjective experience in the interaction with artifacts leads to the psychological selection which shapes culture Building on Jacques Monod’s distinction, he discussed the dual status of artifacts: On the one hand they are inorganic objects subject to the second law of thermodynamics; on the other hand, they embody the negentropic strivings of human complexity Some of the points of his talk touched upon • Objects as fetishes, rich in information about the past, thereby constraining behavior; and through their instrumental form, giving instructions for future behavior • Objects that enhance well-being and positive experience • Objects that promote group interests and values • Objects that promote memory and tradition, as well as innovation and change Cites Monod in that objects have sides: constructed of inorganic materials which 1) are destined for physical entropy, 2) but b/c of human attention (psychic energy) lends artifacts a place in psychic life and complexity Memory and behavior is mediated through objects Inherent potential: 1) linked to past, 2) possibility of leading to innovation Objects contain information and give instructions for behavior and constraints to behavior Interaction b/w biological development and cultural objects Meaning of objects is interlinked to interests: the individual (through personal meaning) and the group (eg social value/status) The discussion focused on developing a typology of the attractiveness of objects, based on two orthogonal axes: One measuring the personal/social continuum, the other the past/future continnum Emotions and Materialism Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Barbara Fredrickson focused on the subjective experience of materialism, and specifically on the “social trap” that follows when short-term benefits are recognized while long-term costs are ignored She suggested that the solution is to develop “mindful connoisseurs” who can derive short-term benefits from consumption while avoiding long-term costs Next, Barbara Fredrickson reviewed the difference between the evolutionary function of negative and positive emotions While negative emotions evoke specific action tendencies (such as flight, or defense), positive emotions are less specific, but no less important, in that they expand the repertoire of actions Interest leads to exploration, love to approach Negative emotions are adaptive in the moment, positive ones are adaptive in the long run, leading to growth and transformation Negative emotions tend to lead to a narrowing possibility of action, which in the short term may prove adaptive However, in the long term deleterious for optimal development Positive emotions are adaptive in the long-term and can include exploration and playfulness An emotion like contentment allows for an integration of experience Thus the possibility arises of cultivating positive emotions to reduce consumption, and implementing activities that produce positive emotions such as elevation, joy, awe, appreciation, pride, and contentment Saturday PM Discussion: During the discussion, David Myers produced a model which indicated how attitudes and behaviors towards materialism could be influenced through a) disseminating information about environmental crisis, such as global warming; b) disseminating information about the limits of material wellbeing; c) providing alternatives that liberate us from exclusively material solutions, such as opportunities for flow, for spirituality, for stewardship, and through relationships The discussion touched on practical solutions such as including sections on alternatives to materialism in textbooks, course outlines, and influencing TV series like Dateline and 20/20 Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Finally, a matrix to guide further research and action was developed, as follows: RESEARCH Develop Analysis EDUCATION ALLIANCES & IMPLEMENTATION Measures MATERIALISM COSTS OF Personal Social Environmental BENEFITS OF Personal Social Environmental ALTERNATIVES TO Activities Experiences The decision was made that participants in the four small meetings will be invited in the Autumn of 2000 to fill up the matrix with specific recommendations, and perhaps with ideas for how to implement them in practice Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 List of Participants Russell Belk, N Eldon Tanner Professor at the David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah His research and writing focus on qualitative, cross-cultural perspectives of consumption systems and how they interact with one another His has conducted research that involves the cultural meanings of possessions, materialism, and collecting as well as non-first world consumer cultures and gift-giving Michael Benedikt, holds the Hal Box Chair in Urbanism Department of Architecture and is the Director of the Center for American Architecture and Design, at the University of Texas, Austin He has been involved in 16 research grants since 1977 and has 30 years of experience in major architectural projects He also authors more than 50 publications, including the upcoming A General Theory of Value Diane Brigham, Director of Education, Getty Museum, Los Angeles, develops and implements interpretive programs and educational services based on the museum’s collections She began her career as an elementary school art teacher, was named National Museum Educator of the Year in 1995, presented papers and workshops on teaching strategies, audience development and the educator’s role in the museum at numerous conferences Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University and Director of the Quality of Life Research Center He has written over 189 journal articles and 16 books including Flow and Finding Flow which have been translated into 15 languages, have had major TV stories on NOVA, the BBC, and RAI, etc., and major print stories in publications such as American Psychologist, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Psychology Today Robert Emmons, Professor of Psychology, UC Davis, author of 60 original publications, including The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns; his research focuses on personal goals, spirituality, and subjective well-being Antonella Delle Fave, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Medical School of the University of Milan Her research interest includes: Biocultural evolution, Cross-cultural Psychology, Quality of daily experience, Behavioral development Barbara Fredrickson, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, she is the recipient of the first Seligman Award for Positive Psychology She has created a new theory explaining the beneficial effects of positive emotions called The Broaden-and-Build Model to help individuals find Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 positive meaning in daily life through spiritual beliefs, or by reframing/infusing daily events with positive value Alexandra Freund, Research Scientist, Max Planck Institute, Berlin; her research focuses on the content, and function of the self-definition in old age Other research interests are developmental regulation and motivation across the life span Current project focuses on the empirical investigation of a model of positive development across the lifespan, the model of selection, optimization, and compensation Larry Gianinno, Vice President of Strategic Communications, William T Grant Foundation, New York, his role at the foundation focuses on understanding different groups of adults and their perceptions of attitudes toward adolescents and young adults His research centers on the impact on cultural, social, media, and marketing forces on youngsters’ decision-making in the everyday economic world Jeremy Hunter, Research Director, The Quality of Life Research Center, Claremont Graduate University, his research focuses on the role of the experience of interest and boredom in adolescents He also serves as project manager exploring the “Contemplation and Everyday Life” which tried to understand the role that contemplative practice has in determining how a person relates to the world His article “The Phenomenology of Body-Mind” will appear in a forthcoming issue of Anthropology of Consciousness Paolo Inghilleri, Professor of Social Psychology and Human Development, University of Verona, Dept of Psychology and Cultural Anthropology.He is author of From Subjective Experience to Cultural Change His area of research include the relationship between biological, cultural and psychological processes, cultural evolution and self development, mental health and culture, quality of daily experience in case of migration and cultural change Tim Kasser, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Knox College He has authored over two dozen scientific articles and book chapters on materialism, values, and goals, among other topics, and is currently working on a book about materialism to be published by MIT Press David Mick, Robert Hill Carter Professor of Commerce, McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia; Editor, Journal of Consumer Research His research centers on the nature and role of meaning in consumer behavior in advertising, gift giving (particularly self-gifts), and the consumption of technological products Four of his articles have received awards from the Association for Consumer Research and the American Marketing Association Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 David Myers, Professor, Department of Psychology, Hope College, an award-winner researcher (the Gordon Allport Prize for his studies of group influence), and teacher His scientific research, supported by National Science Foundation grants and fellowships, has appeared in two dozen periodicals, including Science, the American Scientist, the American Psychologist, and Psychological Science.Author of The Pursuit of Happiness, The American Paradox and A Quiet World Jeanne Nakamura, Research Director, The Quality of Life Research Center Claremont Graduate University.  Currently heading a set of research projects concerning the pursuit of good work in the professions, focusing currently on the American college, the business world, and organized philanthropy In a related project, she is investigating what is transmitted across generations by exemplary professionals In the context of both these projects and others, her current research interests focus on optimal experience and development, with emphasis on adulthood and later life; creativity; and the study of exemplary lives Attilah Olah, Head of the Department of Personality and Health Psychology and vice-director of the Psychological Institute, Eotovos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary, his studies center on how members of different cultures cope with everyday stressful situations He teaches personality theories, personality assessment and psychometrics Regula Pfister, Psychological Institute, University of Zurich, Switzerland, her dissertation focuses on the flow experience at work She also her other central research interest is to develop the statistical approach of multilevel modeling for the use of ESM studies Wade Pickren, Historian of the American Psychological Association, direct the archives of the APA program and currently working on a history of psychology and the NIMH Personal scholarship focuses on psychology and the public Kevin, Rathunde, Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, research focus on adolescent development in the family and the role of interest in education and lifelong learning He is co-author of the book, Talented Teenagers, which won the Social Policy Book award in 1994 Meeting 1: February 25-27, 2000 Rick Robinson, Chief Experience Officer, Sapient, oversees the development of innovative research approaches for understanding human interaction with products, environments, communications, services, and technologies He is a co-author of The Art of Seeing, and author of numerous articles on research and design Ken Sheldon, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia Ken investigates which facets of self-generated personal goals promote maximal attainment of those goals, best afford experiential need-satisfaction during the process of attainment, and best promote increases in well-being and new levels of personality development, if the goals are obtained A second area of research concerns cooperation within social dilemmas and examines the ways and conditions in which "nice guys may finish first," drawing from evolutionary game theory and groupselection theory, as well as contemporary work on coalition formation and integrative negotiation Sheldon Solomon, Professor, Department of Psychology, Skidmore College and the Brooklyn College of the City University of New York His work focuses on exploring the effects of fear of death on aspects of individual and social behavior His work has been reported in The New York Times, Herald Tribune, Boston Globe, Psychology Today, and Self magazine, and is coauthor of the forthcoming book, Self-Esteem and Meaning (2001) Jane Zeender, Director of Marketing, The Center for a New American Dream, which is dedicated to helping Americans reduce and shift consumption to improve their quality of life and protect the natural environment Before joining the Center, Jane spent years in corporate America in various sales, marketing, and management positions She holds an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from Duke University, and a MBA in marketing from The George Washington University She began examining the questions around materialism, quality of life, and personal values after experiencing several downsizings and has just returned to the East Coast after spending years living and working in both Portland, Oregon, and Anchorage, Alaska ... are the obstacles to positive motivation? Ken Sheldon started the discussion by reviewing the future role of positive psychology and the legacy of humanistic psychology One of the failures of. .. discussed the dual status of artifacts: On the one hand they are inorganic objects subject to the second law of thermodynamics; on the other hand, they embody the negentropic strivings of human... CGU Executive Summary The theme of the meeting that arose revolved around the notion of “Wealth, Well-Being and Positive Experience.” The presentations built on both the work of the previous meeting