Do People Become More or Less Materialistic during Disasters? The Mediating Roles of Mortality Salience and Gratitude

Da Jiang, Shuang Liu, John Chi-Kin Lee and Liman Man Wai Li
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Da Jiang: Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Shuang Liu: Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
John Chi-Kin Lee: Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China
Liman Man Wai Li: Centre for Psychosocial Health, The Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-15

Abstract: Studies have yielded inconclusive findings regarding the relationship between disaster experience and materialism. Whereas some have found a positive relationship, others have reported a negative relationship. To clarify the mechanisms underlying these mixed findings, we proposed and examined two mechanisms, namely mortality salience and gratitude. A total of 214 participants ( M age = 42.05 years, SD = 16.49 years) were randomly assigned into either an experimental condition to experience a disaster or a control condition. Participants in the experimental condition reported a lower level of materialism than the scores of their counterparts in the control condition. Such effects were mediated by both mortality salience and gratitude. Participants in the experimental condition reported higher levels of both mortality salience and gratitude simultaneously. Mortality salience strengthened materialism, but gratitude weakened materialism. These findings highlighted the duel-existing mechanisms underlying the relationship between disaster experience and materialism.

Keywords: materialism; mortality salience; gratitude; disaster; COVID-19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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