Manufacturing decline as self-fulfillment
Is the U.S. economy’s shift toward services—and away from manufacturing—a move up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
A a recently-published paper from psychologists Leaf van Boven and Thomas Gilovich at least suggests that. (read a summary here).
The study finds people are happier when they buy services—or “experiences”—rather than goods. That may mean shifts toward services are predictable in rich countries, as consumers easily satisfy basic needs and start aiming at self-actualization instead.
From the authors:
“We have shown that, for a variety of reasons, experiential purchases make people happier than material purchases . . . Our research suggests that individuals will live happier lives if they invest in experiences more than material possessions.
So why do services beat goods? The authors give three reasons:
1. Experiences are more open to positive reinterpretation later than goods—we tend to be nostalgic for even our worst vacations, for example;
2. Experiences are more central to our identities—life is literally the sum of past experiences, not past purchases; and
3. Experiences have greater “social value.” Sharing them helps us form more satisfying relationships that lead to happiness—think of the difference between a bar-room story about about your European backpacking adventure vs. your new Sony flat-screen.
Keep that in mind next time you hear complaints that our shift toward services represents a “hollowing out” of the U.S. economy.
[Link via Mahalanobis.]
Posted by Andrew on Monday March 29, 2004 | Feedback?
