Belk – the Extended Self Concept Essay Example

possessions that are inconsistent with our image of self.

But involuntary disposition (disposition is forced) will bring sorrow. Involuntary losses = loss of self= just after we attempt of self-restoration by buying again the thing or try to repair the damage. Investing Self in Objects We own ourselves = we own our labour = we own what we produce from our labour out of the un owned material of nature. We invest “psychic energy” in an object to which we have directed our effort, time and attention => those products are part of self because they have grown or emerged from the self.

Some researches:

• Practice of burying the dead with their possessions.
• Possessions survive even death suggest a strong association between self and possessions.
• Contemporary consumption also shows that the feeling of identity invested in material objects can be extraordinarily high.

2. Function of Extended Self

Having possessions ca contribute to our capabilities for doing and being (ex: gun). They are distinct but indispensable. Mastery of possessions and human Development

Function - Self Versus Environment Infant: unable to distinguish self from the environment.

Distinction: controlled objects seen as self while uncontrolled objects seen as environment

• Sense of self-developed by learning to actively control objects
• Person-object relationships= self distinct from the environment

Function - Self Versus Others -Value of things to own is far from intrinsic. Open field of rivalry: others have or want the object -The rivalry aspects of possessions: 85% of infants’ object-oriented interactions with peers involved conflict about retaining possession. Relationships with objects are always

three-way (person- thing-person) -Parents‘ control of their children's material possessions: a means of bringing about desired behaviours.

Adolescence and Adulthood - Identity seeking by adolescents: acquiring and accumulating selected consumption objects. In later teenage years: more possessions that reflect skills or level of manipulation or control. Social power and status: reasons for 40- to 50-year-olds to own personal possessions. Favourite objects by young couples: those that reflect their future plans and goals. Favourite objects by older couples: those that relate to their experiences together.

Old Age - Happier with mementos/ remembrances: Postretirement-age persons - They are past oriented - Possessions most treasured: photographs, athletic trophies, and mementos. Symbolize others - Selves to be extended beyond deaths: (Lifton 1973) Many attempting through: their children - The belief in a life after death someone's works identification with nature experiential transcendence Possessions and the Sense of Past - Possessions: convenient means of storing the memories and feelings that attach our sense of past.

The older person scans the past for evidence that he once was competent, once was loved, once commanded respect. A gift= evidence that someone loved you - Handcrafted item preferred to the mass-produced item: longer to create i. e. , more of others' selves were invested in it. Antiques are rare and potentially serve as symbols Fascination with things also involves nostalgia As we seek to extend our selves by incorporating or owning certain objects, we may still seek the sympathetic magic (contagion) of possessions that retain a part of the extended self of valued others.

Processes of self-extension

Ways of incorporating possessions into the extended self Sartre: 3 ways

that we can learn to regard an object as part of a self: - Control/mastery: appropriating or controlling an object for personal use, giving possession to others (a special form of control) - Creation: by creating it (material or abstract thought) + buying an object - Knowledge: make objects become a part of self is by knowing them by inspiring the desire to have the object: object can be a person, place, or thing Contamination

Symbolic contamination involved in involuntary incorporating another into one’s extended self (not in medical germ) (Goffman 1971); - Violation of one’s personal space - Touching & bodily contact - Glancing, looking, and staring - Nose pollution - Taking to/ addressing one - Body excreta: Corporeal excreta (foods particle, blood, semen, vomit…), odour, body heat, marking left by the body + The acquisition of possessions of another person that have been intimately associated with that person (ex: borrowing clothes to your friends). Maintain multiple level of self Levels of self:

• Individual (even if we are in a group)
• Family (house is the symbolic for family)
• Community
• Group

The share of symbolic meaning for different goods among the collectivities, group members, or members in the family… show the relationship Ownership: house, car, land… is also a part of extended self Life style: clothes, accent, grooming, and jewellery express the person belongs to which group 4. Special cases of Extended self collections Collections Cultivation of a collection is a purposeful self-defining act.

Collection is to be seen as more a part of one’s self than are isolated consumption items because of the purposefulness and

the commitment of time and energy spent in developing a collection. Collections =& compulsions VS Active collectors => addicts Money - Psychiatric patients equated money with their in-most being. - Money is endowed with magical powers. - Positive correlation between the sexual potency of businessmen and the level. - It is commonly seen as a symbol of success and power. - Those with higher incomes report higher levels of self-esteem, subjective happiness and satisfaction in life.

Compulsive bargain hunting as an attempt to restore a sense of personal adequacy among oral personality types. Or compulsive gambling is seen as another pathological use of money to seek an illusive happier self. Pets Pets are regarded commonly as representative of self and we attempt to infer characteristics of people from their pets: “ Love me, love my dog”. Some relationship between personality and choice of pets does exist in fact. Male non-owners had greater feeling of well being than male owners of pets.

Pet owner have lower ego strength than non-owners, Pet owners like people less than do non-owners Pets become a part of extended self, it is unclear that whether pet ownership brings about such self-image problems or results from them. Bode part Body parts are among the most central parts of the extended self called Cathexis. Cathexis involves the charging of an object, activity or idea with emotional energy by the individual. Our body parts are expected to be more strongly cathected than material possessions that can be more easily acquired and discarded . Some implications of extended self for consumer research Vicarious Consumption One can vicariously consume through other family members, so

that consumption that enhances their extended selves enhances one's own extended self, of which they are a part. Gift-Giving One reason we help or act generously toward another human being is because this helps ensure our own welfare. If we help another, we can feel more confident that this other will help us if and when we are in need. Another reason: making people happy makes me happy.

Care of durable Possessions

A relationship should exist between incorporation of an object into one's extended self and the care and maintenance of the object The more an object is cathected into one's extended self, the more care and attention it tends to receive. Organ Donation Research Those organs generally seen as more central to identity, sacred, emotional, mysterious, and not well understood such as eyes, brain, and heart are less likely to be approved for removal by surviving relatives. Those who are more materialistic (i. e. who attach more importance to possessions) see body organs as more central to their identities and are less willing to part with them. Product Disposition and Disuse Material possessions forming parts of our extended selves seem to form an anchor for our identities that reduces our fear that these identities will somehow be washed away. Role of extended self in generating the meaning of life The possessions incorporated in extended self serve valuable functions to healthy personalities. One such function is acting as an objective manifestation of the self.

Possessions are "good for thinking. " Individual, family, communities, nations, and other group levels of self constituted via personal archive, museum, monuments, buildings, books, music, and other created

works providing a sense of community essential to group harmony, spirit, and cooperation. In addition, natural wonders can be incorporated into extended self such that we enhance feelings of immortality and having a place in the world. Consumption provides meaning in life. Consumption is a central facet of contemporary life.

Conclusion

Section 1: considers various evidences that possessions are an important component of sense of self.

Section 2: explains what functions the extended self serves.

Section 3: examines several processes involved in self-extension.

Section 4: focuses on a number of special categories of possessions that are commonly incorporated into the sense of self.