Psychology of consumer behavior

Psychology of Consumer Behaviour

The relationship between money-making motives and subjective well-being

There is presently much controversy regarding the motives behind making money and the concept of subjective well being. Most people associate finances with positive feelings and thus come to focus on making as much money as possible regardless of the risks involved. The masses needs to understand that people are not necessarily interested in money as an object, as they are actually certain that finances are likely to satisfy a series of their needs, thus meaning that people want to achieve particular states of minds and believe that having money is the only method of doing this.

Although it is difficult to determine the exact effects that money has on happiness, studies have shown that "within nations people's finances correlate with their reported well-being, but that richer nations show no greater happiness than poorer ones" (Buunk & Gibbons, 1997, p. 331). People have the tendency to compare themselves with individuals from the community that they live in and the individuals who experience better financial conditions are thus likely to be happier. This means that many people are not satisfied with having money, as they actually want to have more money than the persons that they interact with in order to be happy. As long as other people represent the standard within a particular community, half of the respective community is likely to feel satisfied with its financial condition while the other half is probable to feel unhappy (Buunk & Gibbons, 1997, p. 331).

People are generally inclined to believe that the importance that someone attaches to finances has a negative effect on subjective well being. However, most individuals tend to ignore the motives behind making money and only focus on the negative aspects of the process. It seems perfectly normal for an individual to be unhappy as long as he or she has someone to compare him or herself with when considering financial status. The respective person basically needs to gather power, to display his or her superiority, and to overcome his or her self-doubt. Considering the contemporary society, it is very probable that "finances correlate with well-being within countries because they are a valued resource in many cultures, and people make evaluative judgments on themselves compared to others around them on this resource" (Diener & Sandvik & Seidlitz & Diener 1992, p. 195).

Conditions today are tragic because people who have comparable amounts of money can be more or less happy depending on their background and on the finances owned by individuals around them. Happiness is a debated topic, as it is difficult to determine whether one should associate it with a series of basic needs that always remain the same or whether it can only be achieved through acting in accordance with particular standards that change depending on time and culture (Diener & Sandvik & Seidlitz & Diener 1992, p. 196).

Most studies regarding the relationship between subjective well being and money making motives are not necessarily conclusive, as they fail to provide the masses with a general image concerning this issue. People need to understand that economic well being differs from subjective well being. Even with this, these two concepts are interconnected and can influence each-other. In order to understand matters from a general point-of-view, one needs to focus on examining results from areas that have not been studied. When considering conditions in Mexico, it appears that people are relatively similar to the general public, as they are also inclined to believe that additional income increases the probability of them being happy. "This fact could explain the importance that people place on increasing their income level, and it could possibly explain the relative sense of dissatisfaction once a higher income level is achieved" (Fuentes & Rojas 2001, p.1). Conditions in Mexico make it possible for one to understand more concerning the relationship between subjective well-being and money-making motives, considering that the economic environment in the country is more diverse in comparison to First-World countries.

Although people normally consider that money is one of the principal purposes for the existence of happiness, this concept is actually difficult to verify and happiness is largely unexplainable when being analyzed from this perspective. Individuals are focused on working as effective as possible with the purpose of being able to purchase things that they would not have access to if their incomes were to be lower. Economists fail through associating the concept of subjective well-being with finances and believe that countries where economic growth is higher are more likely to have happier residents. Individuals are actually happier when they look at life and assess the objectives that they reached and the intensity of the emotions that they felt. By achieving personal aims, by being provided with what they expect from life, and by having access to the means necessary for them to do so, people are more likely to feel happy. Even with this, this does not actually mean that people feel better if they have access to money (Fuentes & Rojas 2001, p. 4).

The quality of one's feelings is one of the most important concepts assisting the respective individual in achieving subjective well being. As long as he or she experiences a multitude of positive feelings without using money with the purpose to do so it means that he or she can feel happy without actually spending money in the process. Surely, it would be absurd to consider that people can survive without money in the contemporary society. However, it is only safe to assume that a wealthy person is not necessarily happier than someone belonging to an inferior social class. People obtain their well being consequent to considering that their needs have been satisfied and income is not necessarily related to this idea. It is very unlikely for income and well being to be connected and it is very probable for the perception of satisfied material values and well being to be connected.