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Weekly UpdatesExposure to mass media is not the only theoretical base used to explain consumption patterns among immigrants or expatriates. Scholars elucidate consumption behaviors among these consumer groups when studying family and peer influence (Childers and Rio, 1992), degree of identification with ethnic group (Robinson, 1996), economic development (Ger et al., 1993), symbolism (McCracken, 1986), and materialism (Ger and Belk, 1990, 1996). In studying the effects of an international move on consumption behaviors, materialism, a personal difference variable, offers alternative and at times contradictory interpretations to cultivation theory.
Materialism
The passion to consume evident in developed and developing nations encouraged several comparative studies of materialism across cultures (Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988; Ger and Belk, 1990; Mehta and Belk, 1991). Currently, however, only two studies explore the relationship between materialism and cultural change (Dawson and Bamossy, 1991; Ger and Belk, 1996). Materialism is defined as "the importance a consumer attaches to worldly possessions. At the highest levels of materialism, possessions assume a central place in a person's life and are believed to provide the greatest sources of satisfaction and dissatisfaction" (Belk, 1985: 270). Belk's (1984) materialism scale developed to measure this trait consists of three dimensions: possessiveness, envy and non-generosity. Taken together, these subtraits represent one's affiliation with objects, one's willingness to share/give the items in their possession, and one's feelings about the objects in others' possessions. The sum of the items from each of the three su btraits forms the overall materialism scale.
The scant research on materialism and cultural change reveals both consistencies and contradictions (Dawson and Bamossy, 1991; Ger and Belk, 1996). Materialism is neither unique to western cultures nor related to affluence (Ger and Belk, 1996). Sudden changes in consumption environments caused by drastic, internal economic transformation (i.e., former Soviet bloc nations after the fall of communism), or from recent immigration to a more developed nation, may cause escalation of consumer desires (Ger et al., 1993). Materialism of recent immigrants was not measured by Ger et al. (1993), though their cross-cultural study in 1996 found support for the idea that "cultural change and unsettled social conditions are associated with greater levels or materialism" (Ger and Belk, 1996: 72).
Contrary to these findings, Dawson and Bamossy's (1991) study of Americans, Dutch, and expatriate Americans living in the Netherlands reveals a consistently lower level of materialism for expatriate Americans (those experiencing cultural change) than for either Dutch or Americans. Dawson and Bamossy (1991) found materialism increases with length of time spent abroad and that acculturation did not explain this change since Dutch and Americans differ only minimally on materialism scores. Based on these findings, Dawson and Bamossy (1991) offer two possible explanations for their findings. First, they suggest that when the self is anchored less by material items, as in an international move, the individual may be forced to reconstruct his/her self-concept more in terms of pro social, familial, ethnic, and spiritual values. Alternatively these authors propose that materialism may follow a "U" shaped pattern as it immediately decreases after expatriation and then slowly re-establishes itself as time passes in the country of destination.
There appears to be a contradiction between (Ger et al., 1993) findings that individuals experiencing cultural change may exhibit greater levels of materialism, and Dawson and Bamossy's (1991) conclusions that materialism decreases immediately after an international move. The need for more studies of materialism during cultural assimilation and across different populations is clear. Given the studies conducted thus far (Dawson and Bamossy 1991; Ger et al. 1993; Ger and Belk 1996), it is prudent to predict a change in materialism will occur when an individual experiences an international move, but it is, perhaps, premature to propose which direction (increase or decrease) the change will take.
Research aimed at clarifying these contradictions may take several forms including longitudinal studies. Using international students facilitates this research format because of relatively easy access to subjects once they accept admission and continue their study at a university. Thus at this juncture, given the methodological suggestions in the next section, I propose a change in materialism scores will occur in subjects at various time periods in the US (i.e., upon arrival, within the first semester of study, after more than one year, Dawson and Bamossy, 1991) and at different stages of the acculturation process (Belk, 1985; Ger and Belk, 1990). Controls for personal differences such as cultural and economic distance between the US and native cultures, income levels, previous exposure to the US (visits, work, or study), age, and personal support (family - immediate and/or extended) may isolate factors influencing the direction of the change.
Proposition 5: Shifts in materialism scores (Belk, 1984) for international students will be evident as students pass through various acculturation levels and as time in the US increases.
Recalling that materialism is more than purchase volume reminds us that acculturating individuals may increase purchases in an attempt to assimilate with a new culture without increasing levels of possessiveness, envy, and non-generosity (materialism). Thus it is possible, to some extent, to observe increases in personal consumption without corresponding increases in materialism scores. The motivation for the increased purchases may, however, provide insight to connections among materialism, affluence estimates, and personal consumption. Such motivations may provide the bridge between cultivation theory and materialism. If an international student seeks to acculturate to an American way of life and uses television scenes as a source of appropriate "American" affluence and thus consumption behavior, acquiring possessions may take a central role in attempts to assimilate. In other words, if after exposure to US television an acculturating individual views accumulation and importance of possessions as an Americ an value to be emulated, she may increase her level of materialism (Faber et al., 1987).
The following story from discussions with American roommates of international students demonstrates attitudes that international students may bring to campus regarding American affluence and how such opinions influence the acquisition and significance of goods. While such qualitative data is preliminary, it clearly illustrates the connection between some dimensions of materialism (envy and possessiveness) and consequences of actions taken in an attempt to assimilate to perceptions of American culture.
My Korean roommate arrived on campus with just a few things of her own. In the beginning she often made comments about how many things I had and asked where and how I purchased them. She started completing those credit card applications that come in campus mail. The next thing I knew she started buying lots of new stuff and talking about all the new things she had. Really, she was kind of bragging about them. She even bought a car. By the end of the year she was in terrible financial debt and didn't know how to get out of it.
Given the exploratory nature of the present research, the following propositions suggest investigating all dimensions of materialism. Statistical analysis of both the subtraits and the summed scales can substantiate which elements of the materialism construct are related to affluence estimates and/or changes in consumption behavior.
Proposition 6: There will be a positive correlation between materialism scores and higher affluence estimates for international students.
Proposition 7: There will be a positive correlation between materialism scores and personal consumption for international students.
Methodological Recommendations
Since problem solving is cumulative in nature, it is only appropriate that I investigate the limitations noted by previous studies in an attempt to build a more comprehensive, reliable, and valid measure of the concepts operationalized in the present study. Limitations and areas for future research emphasized in previous studies include: sample equivalence (Wallendorf and Reilly, 1983; Dawson and Bamossy, 1991), applicability of Belk's (1984) materialism scale (Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988; Ger and Belk, 1990) and acculturation measurements (Szapocznik et al., 1978; Kara and Kara, 1996; Yu and Berryman, 1996; Lessenger, 1997) across cultures, isolation of demographic variables from cultural differences (Wallendorf and Reilly, 1983), motivations and attitudes surrounding international moves (Dawson and Bamossy, 1991; Mehta and Belk, 1991), time and monetary constraints of measuring changes over time (Dawson and Bamossy, 1991), and difficulty in comparing subjects on measurements before and after international moves (Lee, 1989; Dawson and Bamossy, 1991). I propose methodology to overcome some of these constraints and control for others.
Any study dealing with two or more cultures must first address the issue of sample equivalence. Wallendorf and Reilly (1983) note the importance of controlling for factors such as differences in income, education, age distribution and product availability before employing culture as a causal explanation in cross-cultural research. Using student populations from the same university in the proposed study allows for greater comparability of demographic variables (i.e., education level, and age). Measuring and controlling for demographic variables such as income and personal experience (i.e., previous visits to the US, career plans after studying in the US) will increase internal validity.
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