Too materialistic to get married and have children?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Demography

Background:

• Societal shifts towards materialism are prevalent in developed nations.
• Understanding psychological drivers of fertility is crucial for addressing demographic trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between materialistic values and attitudes toward marriage and procreation.
• To explore the psychological underpinnings of low fertility rates.

Main Methods:

• Development of novel materials to induce a luxury mindset and activate materialistic values.
• Path analysis to examine the influence of materialism on attitudes toward marriage and children.
• Cross-study validation in Singapore.

Main Results:

• Materialistic values were associated with more negative attitudes toward marriage.
• Negative attitudes toward marriage predicted more negative attitudes toward children.
• Increased materialism led to a decreased number of children desired.

Conclusions:

• A significant tradeoff exists between materialistic values and procreation intentions at the individual level.
• Psychological factors like materialism offer insights into socioeconomic issues such as declining fertility rates.
• Findings align with evolutionary mismatch and life history theory frameworks for understanding low fertility.