Materialism & regulatory focus

The project concentrates on regulatory focus (promotion and prevention) as a factor having an impact on the relationships between materialism and well-being alongside two personality traits – neuroticism (emotionality) and narcissism. In an empirical study two types of materialists – one with high neuroticism and low narcissism, the other with high narcissism, and low neuroticism – were compared in relation to their regulatory orientation and well-being. Additionally, in serial mediation analyses the mediating roles of both personality traits and regulatory foci were examined. Materialists, characterised by the high level of emotionality and low narcissism, appeared to be also more prevention and less promotion-oriented than the materialists, characterised by a high level of narcissism and a low level of emotionality. Five significant indirect routes from materialism to well-being were identified. Three of them explained the negative link: the first led through emotionality and the lack of promotion focus, the second – through emotionality only, the third – through the lack of promotion only. The fourth route – through narcissism in connection with promotion focus – weakened the negative link between materialism and well-being, whereas the fifth – through narcissism only – suppressed the negative effect of materialism on well-being. The results verified the mediating effect of neuroticism and suppressing effect of narcissism on the relationship between materialism and well-being from previous research and showed that prevention focus does not have any impact on the studied relationship, but the lack of promotion focus is responsible for diminishing well-being in materialists.