Why are materialists less happy? The role of gratitude and need satisfaction in the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction

Abstract

Materialism has been consistently related to lower levels of life satisfaction. We suggest that one reason for this negative relationship may be that high materialists find it harder to be grateful, and lower levels of trait gratitude may be related to unmet psychological needs. 246 undergraduate marketing students (129 female) completed self-report dispositional measures of materialism, gratitude, need satisfaction, and life satisfaction via online questionnaire. Statistical mediation analyses were performed using conditional process modeling. Consistent with predictions, gratitude and need satisfaction mediated the relationship between materialism and decreased life satisfaction in-sequence. Gratitude was also a direct mediator, whereas need satisfaction played an indirect role through its relationship with gratitude. Results may shed light on why those high in materialism are less happy than those low in materialism, and suggest possibilities for interventions to increase life satisfaction. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.