THE IMPACT OF MATERIALISM ON CREATIVITY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Materialism is defined as the importance an individual attaches to worldly possessions. Although studies have found that materialism has negative impact on well-being and strengths of human, nevertheless no study to date has directly examined the relationship between materialism and creativity. Based on indirect hints, two contradictory hypotheses were proposed for the influence of possession on creativity. According to the first hypothesis (detrimental hypothesis), materialism is harmful to creativity because possession of materials is negatively related with Openness to New Experience, a personality trait that has been consistently found associated with creativity. Whereas the second hypothesis (facilitative hypothesis) indicates that possession of materials is a reward to individuals. Also, the reward-like feeling may stimulate the release of dopamine and in turn facilitates creativity. Analyses of data derived from 50 young adults from different Asia countries supported the facilitative hypothesis. Thus, it was found that materialism positively relates to openness, which, as expected, was positively associated with (self-reported) creativity. More important, further analysis indicated that openness mediates the relationship between materialism and creativity. Therefore, the findings not only expand understanding of the influence of materialism but also shed light on the mechanism underlying the linkage between materialism and creativity. In addition, the results demonstrated the need to review possession from a positive perspective.