TY - JOUR
AU - Allen, Chris T.
AB - Material possession attachment, a property of the relationship between a specific person and a specific object of possession, reflects the extent of “me-ness” associated with that possession. The two Q-methodological studies reported here investigated the nature of this me-ness (and “not me-ness”). Study 1 explores different types of attachment and how these types portray various facets of a person's life story (i.e., identity). It shows how strong versus weak attachment, affiliation and/or autonomy seeking, and past, present, or future temporal orientation combine to form qualitatively distinct types of psychological significance. Study 2 begins development of a nomological network encompassing attachment by showing how mode of gift receipt (self-gift vs. interpersonal gift), as an antecedent, influences attachment type. Study 2 also examines aspects of successful and unsuccessful gifts. Both studies demonstrate that unidimensional affect fails to adequately describe or explain attachment. Together, the two studies suggest a more parsimonious way to represent person-possession relationships than has been offered in previous studies. Moreover, the findings help delineate the boundaries of attachment (e.g., What does it mean to say a possession is “not me”?).
TI - How Is a Possession “Me” or “Not Me”? Characterizing Types and an Antecedent of Material Possession Attachment
JF - Journal of Consumer Research
DO - 10.1086/209454
DA - 1995-12-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/how-is-a-possession-me-or-not-me-characterizing-types-and-an-mYhiDVXVnQ
SP - 327
EP - 343
VL - 22
IS - 3
DP - DeepDyve
ER -