Valuing versus having: The contrary roles of valuing and having money and prestige on well-being
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Believing money or prestige is important for a good life is linked to poorer well-being, even when individuals have high income or occupational status. Actual financial and social resources positively impact life satisfaction and personal growth.
Area Of Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Well-being Research
Background
- Societal emphasis on wealth and status may influence individual well-being.
- Understanding the relationship between perceived importance of resources and actual well-being is crucial.
- Midlife represents a critical period for assessing life satisfaction and personal fulfillment.
Purpose Of The Study
- To examine the association between the perceived importance of money/occupational prestige and various well-being indicators.
- To differentiate the impact of actual resources versus the desire for resources on well-being.
- To investigate these relationships within a midlife population.
Main Methods
- Utilized data from the Midlife in the United States survey (N=3,767).
- Employed statistical analyses to correlate actual income and occupational prestige with well-being measures.
- Assessed the association between the perceived importance of money/prestige and well-being indicators.
Main Results
- Actual income positively correlated with purpose, personal growth, self-acceptance, environmental mastery, and life satisfaction.
- Perceiving money/prestige as important predicted poorer well-being across all measured indicators.
- Perceiving occupational prestige as important negatively impacted autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, and positive relations, while increasing negative affect.
Conclusions
- The desire for money or prestige, rather than their attainment, may negatively influence psychological well-being.
- Focusing on the importance of external resources can detract from overall life satisfaction and personal growth.
- Findings suggest a need to re-evaluate societal values regarding wealth and status in relation to genuine well-being.
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