Children, Values and Consumer Culture

1. Children, Values and Consumer Culture Tim Kasser, Ph.D.

2. Advertisements

3. Advertisements

4. Political Discourse • “…the American people have got to go about their business. We cannot let the terrorists achieve the objective of frightening our nation to the point where we don’t conduct business, where people don’t shop” (reported in The New York Times, October 12, 2001)

5. Materialism’s allure • The percentage of incoming, U.S., first-year college students reporting different values to be “very important” or “essential”:

6. American Freshman survey

7. Messages • Can purchase happiness • Important to work and consume • Life is meaningful and people are successful to the extent they have money, possessions, and the right image

8. Stated goals of a Montessori Education • Feel self-confident & a sense of inner freedom • Develop curiosity, love of learning, & persistence • Learn responsibility, cooperation, honesty, kindness & a sense of common humanity • Foster respect for the environment and contribute to the community and planet.

9. Values & Goals • Guiding principles in life • Affect people’s attitudes towards particular objects and policies • Orient people to engage in particular behaviors • Many different types of values and goals exist • Organized in systems

10. Values & Goals • Some values are compatible, others are in conflict • Data can be represented with circumplex models • Compatible values are next to each other

11. Self-Transcendence Self-Direction Universalism Openness to Change Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Tradition Conformity Achievement Conservation Self-Enhancement Security Power

12. Self-Transcendence Self-Direction Universalism Openness to Change Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Tradition Conformity Achievement Conservation Self-Enhancement Security Power

13. ValuesSchwartz (1992) • Self-direction values • Creativity, Freedom, Curious, Self-respect • Self-transcendent values • Helpful, Responsible, Mature love, Social justice, Equality, A world of beauty, Protecting the environment

16. GoalsGrouzet et al. (2005); Kasser & Ryan (1996) • Intrinsic • “I will feel free.” • “I will feel good about my abilities.” • “I will choose what I do, instead of being pushed along by life.” • “I will express my love for special people.” • “I will help the world become a better place.”

17. Values & Goals • Some values are compatible, others are in conflict • Data can be represented with circumplex models • Compatible values are next to each other

18. Values & Goals • Some values are compatible, others are in conflict • Data can be represented with circumplex models • Compatible values are next to each other • Conflicting values are on opposite sides

19. Self-Transcendence Self-Direction Universalism Openness to Change Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Tradition Conformity Achievement Conservation Self-Enhancement Security Power

20. ValuesSchwartz (1992) • Self-enhancement values • Social power, wealth, authority, successful, influential

22. GoalsGrouzet et al. (2005); Kasser & Ryan (1996) • Extrinsic • “I will have enough money to buy everything I want.” • “I will achieve the ‘look’ I've been after.” • “I will be admired by many people.”

23. Stated goals of a Montessori Education • Feel self-confident & a sense of inner freedom • Develop curiosity, love of learning, & persistence • Learn responsibility, cooperation, honesty, kindness & a sense of common humanity • Foster respect for the environment and contribute to the community and planet.

24. Well-being Correlates

25. Distress: Anxiety Depression Physical Symptoms Unpleasant emotions Happiness Self-actualization Vitality Life Satisfaction Pleasant Emotions Measures of Well-beingKasser & Ryan (1993, 1996); Sheldon & Kasser (1995, 1998)

26. Child Risk Behaviors

27. Child Risk Behaviors • Conduct disorder • Cohen & Cohen (1996); Kasser & Ryan (1993) • Smoking and drinking • Kasser & Ryan (2001); Williams et al. (2000)

28. Educational Outcomes

29. Educational Outcomes • Academic Achievement & Mastery vs. Performance Orientation • Ku, Banerjee, & Dittmar (in press) • Academic Achievement & Test Anxiety • Mouratidis & Vansteenkiste (2011)

30. Social Concern

31. Social Attitudes • Empathy • Sheldon & Kasser (1995) • Social dominance orientation • Duriez et al. (2007) • Racial & Ethnic Prejudice • Duriez et al. (2007); Roets et al. (2006)

32. Social Behavior • Cooperative vs. competitive behavior • Sheldon et al. (2000) • Pro-social behavior • Sheldon & Kasser (1995); McHoskey (1999) • Helping behavior • Vohs et al. (2006)

33. Environmental Concern

34. Eco-Attitudes Attitudes towards the environment Good (2007); Saunders & Munro (2000) Concern about effects of environmental damage on other people, animals, and future generations Schultz et al. (2005)

35. Eco-Behaviors Frequency of riding bikes, recycling, reuse, etc. Gatersleben et al (2008); Kasser (2005); Richins & Dawson (1992) Size of Ecological Footprint 400 N Americans – transportation, housing, food Brown & Kasser (2005)

36. Suggestions for Montessori Educators • Interpersonal Style • Framing and Priming • Nature • Marketing

37. Suggestions for Montessori Educators • Interpersonal Style • Framing and Priming • Nature • Marketing

38. Interpersonal Style • Montessori suggests that “when adults provide clear limits but set children free within those boundaries, and sensitively respond to children’s needs…. children show high levels of … desirable characteristics” (Lillard, 2005, pgs. 32-33)

39. Interpersonal Style • Children orient towards Intrinsic (and away from Extrinsic) values when provided with a parental environment that is warm, democratic, stable, involved, & nurturing • Cohen & Cohen (1996); Flouri (2004); Kasser et al., (1995); Rindfleisch et al., (2002); Williams et al., (2000)

40. Interpersonal StyleSheldon & Kasser (2008) • Imagine person who likes you and • tends to be “very accepting and non-evaluative of you” OR • “seems to accept you only to the extent that you live up to certain standards of performance” • Shift towards Intrinsic and away from Extrinsic values if imagine accepting person

41. Interpersonal Style – Suggestions for schools • Keep it up Montessori educators!!!

42. Suggestions for Montessori Educators • Interpersonal Style • Framing and Priming • Nature • Marketing

43. Framing and PrimingMaio et al. (2009) • Cardiff students given pre-test measure of SE, ST, and other values • Then either • Told that their peers highly valued 4 of the Self-Transcendent aims • Told that their peers highly valued 4 of the Self-Enhancement aims • Memorized value-irrelevant words (control) • Then given post-test value measure with new SE, ST, and other values

44. Self-Transcendence Self-Direction Universalism Openness to Change Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Tradition Conformity Achievement Conservation Self-Enhancement Security Power

45. Change in ST valuesMaio et al. (2009)

46. Change in ST valuesMaio et al. (2009)

47. Change in SE valuesMaio et al. (2009)

48. Change in SE valuesMaio et al. (2009)

49. Framing and PrimingVansteenkiste et al. (2004) • Belgian education students • Asked to read a text on recycling framed as: • Helping the community (intrinsic) • Saving money (extrinsic)

50. Framing and PrimingVansteenkiste et al. (2004) • Compared to those given Extrinsic frames, those given Intrinsic frames: • Learned material more deeply • Were more likely to visit library to learn more • Were more likely to go on later trip to recycling plant