Place and role of material values in the life of our contemporary

Pages: 141-152  |
DOI: 10.37724/RSU.2026.1.77.013  |
EDN: —  |
UDK: 316.752

Kazantseva E.V.
Taganrog Institute of Management and Economics; Chekhov Institute of Physics and Technology (Branch) of Russian State Economic University of Economics (RINH)

Sinchuk M.A.
Taganrog Institute of Management and Economics

AbstractThe article examines the phenomenon of material values (materialism) as a significant psychological construct inthe mental structure of a contemporary person. The main purposeof the work is to describe the degree of reflectionof materialism in the leading spheres of human life:in personal reality, inthe space of family and culture. The article analyzesthe leading concepts that reveal the natureof materialism as a psychological phenomenon. Such concepts show controversial nature and ambiguity in their assessments of materialism (material values). The authors identifythe main levels of the presence of material culture: personal level,the level of the immediate social environment (family), andthe level of culture of the social community. Consideration of materialism atthe level of the personal sphere demonstrates its close connection with such personal characteristics as a tendency to Machiavellianism, narcissism, or loneliness. A number of other works emphasize connections with such characteristics as economic thinking, economic motivation,and a high level of achievement. In L. D. Shrum’s research, the nature of materialismis revealed through its “symbolic value” and its capacity to integrate intothe structure of personal identity. The works of M. Richins and L. Chaplin identify the main family conditions that contribute to the formation of materialism in children: the ability to handle money, external motivation.Active involvement of children and adolescents in the systemof commodity-money relations in a capitalist consumer society is emphasized. The phenomenonof material education, which is developed in modern conditions, is translated toa more significant level— the cultural level. Based on the analysisof foreign literature, the paper shows that material valuesare deep-rooted in the daily lifeof our contemporaries. In a comparative aspect, the main levels of formation of material values as personal correlates are considered. We show that the study of material values at the levelof culture, family and personal space will create a basis forthe development of a holistic view of the role of material in the system of personal values, motives and choices.

Keywords: individual basic values, materialism, possessiveness, personality value structure, material education, transient attachment to material objects, compulsive purchases, anthropoculture, focus on material values
Funding:
none

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