3. Actually, Some Material Goods Can Make You Happy

            Rebecca J. Rosen, a contributor to The Atlantic wrote an article about material goods that can make people happy. She begins by saying that behavioral economists and her husband have always told people to spend their money on experiences, such as traveling or going out with friends, because after a while new shoes or a shirt will lose their charm. However, psychologists Darwin A. Guevarra and Ryan T. Howell say that not all goods should be grouped together. They say that in many studies, people are asked about material goods they bought only to have it, not in order to accomplish something greater with it. After a series of experiments, they concluded that experiential goods make people as happy as having experiences themselves. The experiment however wasn’t made only to change the categories of purchases, but to show more of how true human happiness comes and how to cultivate it. Experiences bring people greater joy because they feel like they accomplished something: talking to friends or writing, whereas only owning a thing does not. Experiential goods work in the same way, such as buying a musical instrument will allow you to master the skill, enjoy your time playing it, and connect with others while you do so. She ends by saying a better rule than “Spend your money on experiences, not things” is “Spend your money on competence, autonomy, and relatedness.”

            Rosen’s article was written in a very casual way, making the reader more interested about the topic. It was mostly informative, when she spoke about Guevarra and Howell’s experiments and the results and what sorts of material goods can make people happy. However she used personal insight, when she said her husband also tells her to “spend her money on experiences, not things.” She uses the example of playing a musical instrument to give the reader an idea of what an experiential good is, and makes them understand her point better. The concluding sentence wrapped up her whole article in an amazing way: it stated what people usually say about gaining happiness by spending money on experiences, and what the studies show also brings human happiness “spending money on competence, autonomy and relatedness.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/actually-some-material-goods-can-make-you-happy/375280/