Self-ratings of materialism and status consumption in a Malaysian sample: effects of answering during an assumed recession versus economic growth

Consumers' self-assessments of materialism and status consumption may be influenced by external economic conditions. In this study, 239 Malaysian students were asked to describe their levels of materialism using Richins and Dawson's 1992 Materialism scale and status consumption using Eastman, Goldsmith, and Flynn's 1999 Status Consumption Scale. Half the students were told to respond assuming that they were in an expanding economy, and half as if the economy was in a recession. Comparison of the groups' mean scores showed no statistically significant differences.