Materialism Measure

What it measures

The original Richins (1987) materialism measure, developed to explore the relationship between media exposure, consumer aspirations, and materialism as a value orientation. Validated on student and adult samples, this instrument captures the global attitudinal core of materialism — the belief that possessions, wealth, and acquisition are central to life satisfaction and self-definition. Items span beliefs about the importance of owning nice things, the role of possessions in personal happiness, and the use of material goods as indicators of success and social status. This scale is historically significant as the precursor to the more widely cited Richins & Dawson (1992) MVS and Richins (2004) MVS short forms. It is the appropriate choice when a brief unidimensional composite is required, when replicating research from the pre-1992 literature, or when comparing materialism measurement approaches. Richins & Dawson (1992) found that the 1987 measure loaded predominantly on the Happiness and Success dimensions of the MVS, suggesting it captures the evaluative/outcome-expectancy components of materialism more than the Centrality (salience-in-daily-life) dimension.

Representative items

• It is important to me to have really nice things.
• I would like to be rich enough to buy anything I want.
• I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes.
• The things I own say a lot about how well I'm doing in life.
• Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure.

Citation

Richins, M.L. (1987). Media, materialism, and human happiness. Advances in Consumer Research, 14, 352–356.