Tim Kasser
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tim Kasser (August 1, 1966) is an American
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...
and book author known for his work on
materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...
and
well-being Well-being is what is Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimately good for a person. Also called "welfare" and "quality of life", it is a measure of how well life is going for someone. It is a central goal of many individual and societal endeavors. ...
.


Career

Kasser received his Ph.D. in psychology from the
University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...
in 1994, and after one additional year of teaching at
Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...
, he accepted a position at Knox College in
Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal cit ...
, where he was a professor of psychology. He retired from Knox in 2019 and was named Emeritus Professor. He has authored over 120 scientific articles and book chapters on
materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...
, values, goals, well-being, and environmental
sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
, among other topics. His first book, ''The High Price of Materialism'', was published in 2002 (); his second book (co-edited with Allen D. Kanner), ''Psychology and Consumer Culture'', was released in 2004. In 2009 he co-authored a book (with Tom Crompton) ''Meeting Environmental Challenges: The Role of Human Identity.'' In 2013 he wrote ''Lucy in the Mind of Lennon'', a psychological biography that explores the meaning of
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
's song,
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Len ...
. Most recently, in 2018, he collaborated with the cartoonist
Larry Gonick Larry Gonick (born August 24, 1946) is an American cartoonist best known for '' The Cartoon History of the Universe'', a history of the world in comic book form, which he published in installments from 1977 to 2009. He has also written ''The Ca ...
on ''HyperCapitalism: The modern economy, its values, and how to change them''. Kasser's books have been translated into twelve languages. Since the early 2000s, Kasser has consulted with activist and civil-society organizations who work against the commercialization of children and who work towards a more inwardly rich lifestyle than what is offered by
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
. While at Knox College, Kasser lived with his wife, two sons, and assorted animals in the western
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
countryside; he now lives in the Southern Tier region of New York state.


Wellbeing

Kasser initiated a line of research showing that people who pursue intrinsic goals for personal growth, affiliation, and community feeling report higher well-being than those focused on extrinsic goals for money, image, and status.


Select publications

* Kasser, T. in Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context (Chirkov, VI; Ryan, RM & Sheldon, KM, eds), Capitalism and autonomy, 191-206 (
Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...
, Netherlands, 2011). * * Kasser, T, Cohn, S, Kanner, AD, & Ryan, RM. Some costs of American corporate capitalism: a psychological exploration of value and goal conflicts.
Psychological Inquiry The ''Psychological Inquiry'' (''PI'') is a quarterly psychology journal published by Taylor & Francis. It aims to be a forum for the discussion of theory and meta-theory, primarily in social psychology and personality. It aims to publish ideas a ...
18, 1–22 (2007). * Kasser, T, Ryan, RM, Couchman, CE & Sheldon, KM in Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World (Kasser, T & Kanner, AD, eds), Materialistic values: Their causes and consequences, 11–28 (
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
, Washington, DC, 2004).


See also

*
Anti-consumerism Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology. It has been described as "''intentionally'' and ''meaningfully'' excluding or cutting goods from one's consumption routine or reusing once-acquired goods with the goal of avoiding consumption". The ...
*
Cultural Creatives ''The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World'' is a nonfiction social sciences and sociology book by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson (born 1942). The authors introduced the term "Cultural C ...
*
Economic materialism Economic materialism can be described as either a personal attitude that attaches importance to acquiring (and often consuming) material goods, or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products. The use ...
*
Post-materialism In sociology, postmaterialism is the transformation of individual values from materialist, physical, and economic to new individual values of autonomy and self-expression. The term was popularized by the political scientist Ronald Inglehart in hi ...
* Time affluence *
Voluntary simplicity Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. In addition t ...


References


External links


Tim Kasser's personal homepage

Knox College homepage about Tim Kasser

Capitalism, Commercialism, and Children's well-being: Empirical Analyses Across Wealthy Nations
video of a talk by Tim Kasser at the 2008 summit of the
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood Fairplay, previously known as Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), is an American organization advocating for anti-commercialism as it related to children. History The group was cofounded by Susan Linn and Alvin Poussaint in 2000 ...
1966 births Living people Anti-consumerists 21st-century American psychologists 20th-century American psychologists {{US-psychologist-stub