Money

[Steve]

x-no-archive: yes


Not exactly directly related to SCN, but interesting...

==========================

In Pursuit of Affluence, at a High Price

NY Times 2/3/99


The adage that money cannot buy happiness may be familiar, but is
easily forgotten in a consumer society. A much more persistent and
seductive message is beamed from every television screen: Contentment
is available for the price of this car, that computer, a little more
getting and spending. 

Over the last few years, however, psychological researchers have been
amassing an impressive body of data suggesting that satisfaction
simply is not for sale. Not only does having more things prove to be
unfulfilling, but people for whom affluence is a priority in life tend
to experience an unusual degree of anxiety and depression as well as a
lower overall level of well-being. 

Likewise, those who would like nothing more than to be famous or
attractive do not fare as well, psychologically speaking, as those who
primarily want to develop close relationships, become more self-aware,
or contribute to the community. 

Earlier research had demonstrated that neither income nor
attractiveness was strongly correlated with a sense of well-being. But
Dr. Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of
Rochester, and Dr. Tim Kasser, a former student who is now an
assistant professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, have
discovered that the news is even worse. 

In three sets of studies published in leading psychology journals
since 1993, with a new article expected later this year in Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin and still more papers on the way, the
researchers sketch an increasingly bleak portrait of people who value
"extrinsic goals" like money, fame and beauty. 

Such people are not only more depressed than others, but also report
more behavioral problems and physical discomfort, as well as scoring
lower on measures of vitality and self-actualization. While not every
study has investigated the full list of effects, the pattern that
emerges from the research project as a whole is remarkably consistent.


Dr. Ryan and Dr. Kasser said their studies provided a look at the
"dark side of the American dream," noting that the culture in some
ways seemed to be built on precisely what turned out to be detrimental
to mental health. Americans are encouraged to try to strike it rich,
but, "the more we seek satisfactions in material goods, the less we
find them there," Dr. Ryan said. "The satisfaction has a short
half-life; it's very fleeting." 

Moreover, the deterimental effect of extrinsic goals seems to hold
regardless of age or even level of income: A preoccupation with money
bodes ill regardless of how much money one already has. The effects
also appear not to be limited to any one culture. Dr. Kasser and his
associates have now collected data from subjects in 13 countries,
including Germany, Russia and India. The fact that pursuing wealth is
psychologically unhelpful and often destructive, he reports, "comes
through very strongly in every culture I've looked at." 

Affluence, per se, does not necessarily result in an unsatisfying
life. Problems are primarily associated with "living a life where
that's your focus," Dr. Ryan said. Nevertheless, the negative
psychological picture does seem to be associated with the extent to
which people believe they are already on the way to attaining
extrinsic goals. For example, the paper to be published this year
surveyed about 300 youths, some in the United States and some in
Russia. In both countries, lower levels of mental health were found
not only in people who wanted to make a lot of money but also in those
who thought they were likely to succeed at it. 

Another study by the same researchers, not yet accepted for
publication, found that college students who were already "relatively
high in the attainment of appearance, financial success and
popularity" were nevertheless "lower in well-being and self-esteem."
Those who aspired to affluence also had more transient relationships,
watched more television and were more likely to use cigarettes,
alcohol and other drugs than were those who placed less emphasis on
extrinsic goals. 

Apart from its obvious implications for a culture that thrives on
material gain, this whole line of research raises questions about the
proclivity of some psychologists to analyze the dynamics of what is
often called goal-directed behavior while, in effect, ignoring the
nature of the goal. 

Likewise, it challenges homespun advice to "follow one's dream,"
whatever it may be. 

These data strongly suggest that not all goals or dreams are created
equal.

According to the researchers, pursuing goals that reflect genuine
human needs, like wanting to feel connected to others, turns out to be
more psychologically beneficial than spending one's life trying to
impress others or to accumulate trendy clothes, fancy gizmos and the
money to keep buying them. 

The latter quest may amount to using compensation to try to
compensate for something more meaningful. The empirical support for
this piece of the puzzle comes from a particularly provocative study
that Dr. Kasser and Dr. Ryan conducted with Dr. Melvin Zax at the
University of Rochester and Dr. Arnold J. Sameroff at the University
of Michigan. These researchers discovered that 18-year-olds for whom
financial success was especially important turned out to be
disproportionately likely to have mothers who were not very nurturing.
When parents are "cold and controlling," the researchers wrote, "their
children apparently focus on attaining security and a sense of worth
through external sources." 

This seems consistent with anecdotal accounts of very wealthy men who
grew up in troubled homes. Such stories are sometimes cited as
evidence that they made the best of a bad thing, turning out well
despite or because of their unhappy childhoods. The problem with this
interpretation, according to the research, is that they may not have
turned out so well after all. They just turned out wealthy. 

It is not entirely clear why a poor psychological profile would go
hand-in-hand with a quest for extrinsic goals. It may be that unhappy
people are more likely than others to chase after money and fame.
Conversely, the very act of chasing after money and fame may reduce
one's sense of well-being, perhaps because "it makes you ignore the
goals that could lead you to have more satisfying experiences," Dr.
Kasser speculated. Yet a third possibility is that extrinsic goals and
poorer psychological health are symptoms of something else that is
amiss. 

More investigation may be needed to tease apart cause and effect. Some
of that research is being conducted by scholars in the field of
consumer behavior, who have been collecting data about materialism. 

Dr. Aric Rindfleisch, who teaches in the business school at the
University of Arizona, and his colleagues published a paper in 1997
showing that "young adults whose parents were divorced or separated
demonstrated higher levels of both material values and compulsive
buying." This, they argued, suggests that such people "use material
objects as surrogates for absent parents." 

There is a modicum of good news, Dr. Rindfleisch added. In a
still-unpublished study, he and Dr. James Burroughs of Rutgers
University found that while "people who are more materialistic tend to
be unhappy with their lives," this effect may be moderated or even
eliminated for those who have close, caring relationships. 

But the bad news, according to the Ryan-Kasser work, is that close,
caring relationships may be among the casualties of a life devoted to
getting rich. 

Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company 




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