If our bodies were corporations, our brains would be the big bosses in crisp black suits that hold all of the power and make the executive decisions. Our brains are so powerful— they determine our outlook on life, how we interact with the world, and how we think about objects. Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and its functions. Psychologists have scrutinized the relationship between people and objects for many years since objects play such a significant role in our society. Even thousands of years ago, before items were easily available to many people, groups of humans used the environment around them to create objects that had some sort of purpose, either for enjoyment, survival, or simply to make life easier.

So what is so fascinating about our minds when it comes to objects? Each individual perceives the world around him or herself differently, which leads to many perspectives on objects between different individuals, families, communities, and cultures. If one specific object could travel around the world and meet every culture on our planet, it would be treated in hundreds of different ways since many cultures would view the object in unique ways from another culture.

Because the mind is so complex, there are thousands of topics psychologists can study in relation to objects, including differences in cultural views on objects and materialism, attachment to objects in adults and children, and consumer psychology. Through study of these topics, psychologists have been better able to understand how the human brain works and explain why humans act the way they do towards objects.

Through researching worldviews on objects and materialism, psychologists have discovered that because cultures are so diverse, many cultures find it terribly difficult to understand other cultures’ views on objects. For example, in 1848, Native American culture was extremely different from the settlers of European descent. Over 300,000 Europeans flooded into California to look for gold, because in their culture gold was a source of wealth. However, in Native American culture, one did not become “wealthy” from obtaining objects like this. Gold had no value in their lives. Because their culture placed no emphasis on the value of gold, some tribes believed that the gold must have been a supernatural deity, since they understood and believed in the supernatural. This was the only way that they could “understand” the settlers’ obsession with gold. When we don’t understand the way another culture thinks about an object, we often project our own values and beliefs onto their thinking because it is the only thing that our mind can truly understand.

 Psychologists have also learned how different cultures view materialism and possession and which countries are the “most” materialistic. The United States seems like the most “materialistic” culture, since we are obsessed with making and spending money. However, according to a study conducted by Gülitz and Belk, there is a country that is more materialistic than the United States— Romania. It is interesting to think about Romania as a materialistic nation (since many people only think of Romania in reference to Dracula and Frankenstein). Romanians desire many household objects that we take for granted or don’t even consider having want for. This view may be because there was a debt in Romania, which led to rationing on many items. When we are denied something, psychologists have found that we tend to desire it even more.

 Happiness is really the one thing that human beings desire above all else. Through study of humans and their objects, we can learn that having more objects does not necessarily make us happier. Take Graham Hill, for example, who was miserable while surrounded by thousands of fancy objects, but is now incredibly happy leading a simple life with much less “stuff.” We live in a material world, and we are surrounded by people and advertisements telling us to buy, buy, buy! We tend to feel that if we just buy one more object, we will be happier. Companies take advantage of this belief, and have created an entire field called Consumer Psychology. Psychologists are hired by companies to tweak their advertising to make their products more appealing to consumers. However, the happiness we feel from purchasing new things is only temporary, and we soon discover that having more does not necessarily bring the happiness we desire. This can be seen through attachment to objects, which many psychologists choose to study. Attachment to objects has become such a big problem in our world today that there are psychologists that specialize specifically in excessive attachment such as hoarding.

As much as 5% of the US population has an unhealthy attachment to objects, and 4 million people in the United States are hoarders. Hoarding has recently been placed under the spotlight with the new TLC show, “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” which follows the struggles of hoarders trying to part with objects that compromise the health, happiness and order of their lives. Although these people have lots of stuff, they are not necessarily happier, and their quality of life is both low and unsafe. Psychologists have studied hoarders to find that they keep, buy, and treasure items because they feel they will need them in the future or they truly believe it has sentimental value to them. Understanding the psychology of hoarding objects has helped psychologists and a hoarder’s family members to be able to help the individual clean out his or her house and keep from hoarding again. This is very important because understanding this could help change up to 4 million people’s lifestyles, making their homes safer for them and their families.

Attachment to objects is more frequent than most people think. In fact, 70% of children are attached to a particular childhood toy or blanket. Psychologists have developed the attachment theory, which suggests that people attach to objects in order to compensate for perceived unreliable close relationships in their lives.

Objects are a huge part of our environment as humans. In order to understand the mind, we must begin to understand how we interact with objects and what effects they have on our lives. For better or worse, material things surround us. The key to happiness is to understand which objects are helpful or harmful to our mental state and how their presence influences the way we think and behave.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

“Filling the Void.” Hoarding: Buried Alive. TLC. 18 April 2010.

This television series shows various cases of hoarding. The types of materials hoarded vary from clothing, yard sale items, garbage, animals, and food. In most cases, there is a tragic event that triggers hoarding. In all cases, the lives and well-being of the hoarder and their family are compromised in the presence of so many objects.

Ger, Gülitz. Belk, R. “Cross Cultural Differences in Materialism.” Journal of Economic Psychology 17.1 (1996): 55-77. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.

http://www.provost.bilkent.edu.tr/guliz/economic_psychology.pdf

A study is conducted to examine various cultural differences in views towards materialism, possession, envy, non-generosity, and preservation. Results show that consumers from affluent Western countries and consumers from less affluent countries are not more or less materialistic than one another. Results also hint that the most socially and economically dynamic countries show the highest levels of materialism (Romania, Ukraine). Surprisingly, The United States does not have the highest level of materialism.

Hill, Graham. “Living With Less. A Lot Less.” Sunday Review: The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/living-with-less-a-lot-less.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2

A young man shares his story of how materialism consumed him. He came into a great deal of money by chance, and found himself living lavishly with an abundance of clothing, furniture, and motor vehicles. He later finds that life with less objects is more freeing and results in happiness and appreciation.

Morris, Steven. “Why children become to attached to toys and comfort blankets”. The Guardian. The Guardian, 8 Mar. 2007. Web. 31 Mar. 2013.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/mar/09/psychology.uknews

A study is conducted to test if children are more likely to choose an “original” toy that they cherish versus an identical toy that is brand new. Results show that the majority of children that came in with a toy or blanket they were attached to were likely to choose their original toy, rather than the new “duplicate” of the toy. Psychologist Bruce Hood suggests that children often anthropomorphize certain objects and give them an essence that cannot be duplicated.

Taylor, Steve. “The Madness of Materialism.” Psychology Today: Out of the Darkness. Psychology Today, 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201203/the-madness-materialism

Briefly discusses the European view on gold in the 17th century and the difficulty Native American’s had understanding why the Europeans valued it so much. The author discusses different explanations for materialism, and ultimately suggests that we feel the need to accumulate wealth and materials as a means of alleviating our inner discontents.