Carol Scarborough

James Hunt

Scott Hoenig

South Africa

Witwatersrand Uiversity

CiteSeerX

 
 
 
 
 
ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH 
 
Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802 
 
 
The Role of Culture in the Assimilation of Materialistic Values: the Case of South African Society 
James  Hunt, Temple University, USA 
Carol   Scarborough, Rutgers Universty, USA 
Scott  Hoenig, Witwatersrand Uiversity, South Africa 
 
The concept of materialism continues to play an enduring role in the consumer literature because it is widely viewed as a driving force
in western society as well as a salient expression of an individual’s self-concept (see Richins 1999).  Anecdotally, materialism appears
to be a central concern for social commentators and scholars alike. We investigate the role that acculturation plays in the assimilation
of materialistic values in an advancing society, namely South Africa, when individuals migrate from tribal areas to modern western
cities such as Johannesburg.  In six long interviews, we uncover factors that facilitate the assimilation of materialistic values as well as
those that inhibit that process.
 
 
[to cite]:
James Hunt, Carol  Scarborough, Scott Hoenig, and Nicola Kleyn, Kerry  Chipp (2011) ,"The Role of Culture in the Assimilation
of Materialistic Values: the Case of South African Society ", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 38, eds. Darren
W. Dahl, Gita V. Johar, and Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research.
 
[url]:
http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/15979/volumes/v38/NA-38
 
[copyright notice]:
This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in
part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/.
912 / Working Papers
The Role of Culture in the Assimilation of Materialistic Values:  
The Case of South African Society 
James M. Hunt, Temple University, USA
Carol Kaufman Scarborough, Rutgers University-Camden, USA
Scott Hoenig, Witwatersrand University, South Africa
Nicola Klein, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Kerry Chip, Witwatersrand University, South Africa
Extended Abstract
The concept of materialism continues to play an enduring role in the consumer literature because it is widely viewed as a driving 
force in western society as well as a salient expression of an individual’s self-concept (see Richins 1999). Anecdotally, materialism 
appears to be a central concern for social commentators and scholars alike. As Richins (2004) notes, the topic has spawned more than 100 
empirical studies in addition to numerous articles in the popular press focusing on materialism’s role in contemporary society. However, 
much of our formal understanding of materialism comes from research conducted to define and measure the concept or studies that 
attempt to isolate its individual factors and affirm its basis in possessions. Not only has this research produced viable scales with which 
to measure materialism (Belk 1984; Richins and Dawson 1992), but it also has demonstrated the relationship between consumption 
decisions and the values the construct rests on (Belk 1985; Burroughs and Rindfleish 2002; Dittmar and Pepper 1992; Richins 1994). 
Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to the process by which materialism is inculcated from a cultural perspective. Although 
some studies have shed light on factors effecting materialistic values (Belk 1987; Churchill and Moschis 1979; Flouri 1999 Rindfleisch, 
Burroughs, and Denton 1997 research on the acculturation of materialistic values remains dormant. This is particularly surprising given 
that materialism is widely viewed as a value orientation (Burroughs and Rindfleish 2002). In a series of depth interviews in South Africa, 
we investigate what happens to the personal values associated with materialism when individuals move from one cultural setting to 
another, particularly when the new environment is considerably more materialistic than that of the original one. 
In the case of South Africa, society has been, and continues to be dominated by western culture (Klein 2007; Thomas and Bendixen 
2000), although it is far from uniform in its makeup. In fact, South African society has a fairly extensive tribal heritage, which derives 
from various subgroups such as Xhosa, Vendi, Zulu, Tsonga, and Sotho. Most of these share a patrilineal clan based system of kinship, 
resulting in strong individual values. 
As South Africa, with its western dominance, has become more economically advanced, it might be expected that it also become 
more materialistic in nature. On the other hand, given the strong set of individual values formed through a socialization process largely 
tribal in nature, it is possible that many South Africans may resist the self-centered nature of materialism (Cf., Burroghs and Rindfleish 
2002). To investigate this question, we conducted depth interviews with individuals who had migrated, for one reason or another, from 
the tribal areas to the major city of Johannesburg. We anticipated that these individuals would experience cross pressures from the conflict 
between materialism and individual values learned in the tribal socialization process. As a result, they would exhibit less receptivity to 
a materialistic value system.
Our data set regarding this question originates from six long, interviews employing the theme of value confrontation. Informants 
were individuals who had come from various tribal areas of southern Africa to Johannesburg. Interviews were conducted on the campus 
of Witwatersrand University and lasted approximately one hour each. They sought to locate individuals’ encounter with modern western 
culture in the context of personal values. 
Interviews were conducted in English and taped; transcription followed. Axial coding across transcripts was used to uncover 
common themes and patterns underlying the interviews. Themes were identified and bracketed, and coded with examples. Further 
verification, discussion, and file development remain to be completed at this point in time. However, we present our initial findings here 
from repeated readings to date. 
Emergent themes and key differences across informants are best exhibited in the responses of two of our informants–Thandi, from 
Limpopo, once called Northern Province, or the Transvaal, and Bobby from Botswanan Xhosa society. The first theme attendant to 
moving from tribal areas to Johannesburg was that of marginalization. All of our informants felt out of place in moving to a large modern 
western city. For instance, Thandi indicated that the move was “quite a challenge for me, having grown up in a slow paced life where 
you see a car once a day [and where] it is more bushy like, more homeland like, more opened. Here, you have got more buildings…” 
This is noteworthy because both Richins (1999) and Belk (1984) suggest that marginalization associated with moving encourages the 
use of possessions to regain a sense of self. A second theme was that of the use of possessions to define self. While both recognized this 
tendency in their new society at large, each responded differently. Bobby admitted that, having become more aware of possessions, he 
conscientiously attempted to change his appearance to that which was “stylish” in western terms–“the guys I wanted to relate to were 
more into All-Stars, flat shoes, etc, a more Italian style, so I cut my hair short…” On the other hand, Thandi moderated her adoption of 
western style products, eschewing western makeup and those who used it while at the same time adopting western clothing. We suggest 
that this difference is due to Thandi’s closer ties to family and tribal past, which can be seen in her response to questions about current 
associations. While she listed friends from the past and the “rurals” as close entities, Bobby was more focused on finding new friends 
who were class and brand conscious. Our final theme is valued possessions. While Thandi placed primary emphasis on house and yard, 
which, with its gardens, reminded her of her tribal setting, Bobby fixated on clothing, shoes, and designer glasses. 
In sum, our data (of which an abbreviated portion is shown here) suggest that acculturation of materialistic values in advancing 
societies such as that of South Africa occurs in variable yet systematic fashion. Individuals who have strong anchorage in personal values, 
learned through earlier socialization are able to resist the full impact of materialism and the cross pressure it brings. Those lacking in 
such moorings are more apt to absorb the full force of materialism. Although our work here is preliminary, we see little controversy or 
limitation to this proposition. 
Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 38) / 913
References
Belk, Russell W. (1984), “Three Scales to Measure Constructs Related to Materialism: Reliability, Validity, and Relationships 
to Measures of Happiness,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 11, ed. T. Kinnear, Provo, UT: Associate for Consumer 
Research, 291-97.
Belk, Russell W. (1985), “Materialism: Trait Aspects of Living in the Material World,” Journal of Consumer Research, 
12(December), 265-280.
Belk, Russell W. (1987), “Material Values in the Comics: A Content Analysis of Comic Books Featuring Themes of Wealth,” Journal 
of Consumer Research, 14(June), 26-42.
Churchill Jr., Gilbert A., and George P. Moschis (1979), “Television and Interpersonal Influences on Adolescent Consumer Learning,” 
Journal of Consumer Research, 6(June), 23-35. 
Dittmar, Helga, and Lucy Pepper (1992), “Materialistic Values, Relative Wealth and Person Perception: Social Psychological Belief 
System of Adolescents from Different Socio-Economic Backgrounds,” in Meaning, Measure and Morality of Materialism, ed. F. 
Rudmin and M. Richins, Provo, UT: Associate for Consumer Research, 40-45. 
Faber, Ronald J., Thomas C. O’Guinn, and John A. McCarty (1987), “Ethnicity, Acculturation, and the Importance of Product 
Attributes,” Psychology & Marketing, 4(Summer), 121-134.
Flouri, Eirini (1999), “An Integrated Model of Consumer Materialism: Can Economic Socialization and Maternal Values Predict 
Materialistic Attitudes in Adolescents?” Journal of Socio-Economics, 28(6), 707-24. 
Lipset, Seymour Martin (1963), The Value Patterns of Democracy: a Case Study in Comparative Analysis, University of California, 
Berkeley.
Klein, Naomi (2007) The Shock Doctrine, Henry Holt and Company, New York.
Mehta, Raj, and Russell W. Belk (1991), “Artifacts, Identity, and Transition: Favorite Possessions of Indians and Indian Immigrants to 
the United States,” Journal of Consumer Research, 17(March), 398-411.
Parsons, Talcott (1964), The Social System, The Free Press, New York.
Richins, Marsha L. (1994), “Special Possessions and the Expression of Material Values,” Journal of Consumer Research, 
21(December), 522-531.
Richins, Marsha L. (1999), “Possessions, Materialism, and Other-directedness in the Expression of Self,” in Consumer Value: A 
Framework for Analysis and Research, ed. Morris B. Holbrook, London: Routledge, 85-104.
Richins, Marsha L. (2004), “The Material Values Scale: Measurement Properties and Development of a Short Form,” Journal of 
Consumer Research, 31(June), 209-19. 
Richins, Marsha L., and Scott Dawson (1992), “Materialism as a Consumer Value: Measure Development and Validation,” Journal of 
Consumer Research, 19(December), 303-317. 
Rindfleisch, Aric, James E. Burroughs and Frank Denton (1997), “Family Structure, Materialism, and Compulsive Consumption,” 
Journal of Consumer Research, 23(March), 312-25. 
Shrum, L.J., Burroughs, J.E., and Rindfleisch, A. (2005), “Television’s Cultivation of Material Values,” Journal of Consumer 
Research, 32(December), 473-479.
Exploring the Relationship between Types of TV Programs, Advertising, and Materialism:  
A Cultivation Theory Perspective
Eda Gurel-Atay, University of Oregon, USA
Lynn Kahle, University of Oregon, USA
Karen Ring, Universal McCann, USA
Extended Abstract
Because materialism has important negative consequences, it is important to understand what causes materialism. Television 
viewership is one of the most examined antecedents of materialism. Cultivation theory (Gerbner et al. 1977) suggests that television 
programs present a distorted reality and heavy exposure to that distorted reality makes people believe that the real world is similar to 
what they see on television. For instance, television programs tend to portray a more affluent (O’Guinn and Shrum 1997) and violent 
(Gerbner et al. 1980b) world full of with doctors and lawyers (Lichter, Lichter, and Rothman 1994). 
Many television programs also portray a luxurious lifestyle, making heavy viewers have higher estimates of ownership of luxury 
products by average people (O’Guinn and Shrum 1997). Moreover, those programs show how people in those programs are happy 
with their expensive clothes, large homes, luxury cars, and other expensive possessions. Because materialism is a belief that acquiring 
possessions brings happiness and signals status and success (Belk 1984; Richins 2004) and because TV programs portray people with 
many possessions as being happy and successful, heavy viewers of TV tend to be more materialistic. 
According to the cultivation theory, TV viewing leads to distorted perceptions of reality regardless of the TV program types (Shrum, 
Burroughs, and Rindfleisch 2004). However, it is also suggested that the cultivation effect might be program-specific (Gunter 1994). 
For instance, crime-related reality programs might affect people’s perceptions of crime rates while family dramas might affect people’s 
perceptions of family relationships. Therefore, in order to examine the cultivation effect of TV viewing, it is important to consider the 
differences between TV program types (Weimann, Broisus, and Wober 1992). 


The Role of Culture in the Assimilation of Materialistic Values: the Case of South African Society

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=6C3091F0F1C3905467C4E7BB39A2D592?doi=10.1.1.1038.3148&rep=rep1&type=pdf

The Role of Culture in the Assimilation of Materialistic Values: the Case of South African Society

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

CiteSeerX