Happier Consumers Can Lead to Healthier Environment, Research Reveals
WASHINGTON — The pursuit of true happiness can lead people to lifestyles that will not only be satisfying but will be better for the environment, according to an overview of psychological research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 122nd Annual Convention.
“For decades, consumerism has been on a collision course with the environment, with consumer appetites draining the planet of natural resources and accelerating global warming. One view is that we need to change consumption in order to save the planet,” said Miriam Tatzel, PhD, of Empire State College. “But what if we approached it from the other way around? What if what’s good for the consumer meets what’s good for the environment?”
Positive psychology, or the study of happiness, well-being and quality of life, provides the answers to what really brings happiness to consumers, Tatzel said. Several studies have determined that peoples’ basic psychological needs include competence, autonomy, positive relationships, self-acceptance and personal growth. And research has shown that rather than fulfilling these needs, the pursuit of money and possessions takes time away from more personally fulfilling activities and social relationships.
Tatzel’s presentation illustrated how many consumer traits have direct links to the environment for both good and bad. Materialism is not only bad for the environment, it’s bad for consumers’ well-being. “Peoples’ wants escalate as they tire of what they have and they want something else, which in turn leads to more consumption and more waste in landfills, more energy consumed and more carbon emitted into the atmosphere,” she said. “The larger the gap between what one wants and what one has, the greater the dissatisfaction. Less materialism equals more happiness.”
“A society in which some people are idolized for being fabulously rich sets a standard of success that is unattainable and leads us to try to approach it by working more and spending more,” Tatzel said. “Cooling the consumption-driven economy, working less and consuming less are better for the environment and better for humans, too.”
Presentation: “Consumer Well-Being & Environmental Well-Being: A Surprising Compatibility” (PDF, 305KB) Miriam Tatzel, PhD, Empire State College, State University of New York, paper session 3182, Saturday, Aug. 9, 11-11:50 a.m. EDT, East Salon D, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Pl., NW, Washington, D.C.