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.”
Saturday, August 2, 2014
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.”
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