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Psychological Benefits of the “Maker” or Do-It-Yourself Movement in Young Adults: A Pathway Towards Subjective Well-Being

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Journal of Happiness Studies
Authors:
Ann Futterman Collier at University of Colorado Anschutz
Ann Futterman Collier
  • University of Colorado Anschutz
Heidi A. Wayment at Northern Arizona University
Heidi A. Wayment
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Abstract and Figures

Over the past several decades, increasing numbers of people have become involved in the do-it-yourself (DIY) or “Maker” movement, i.e., creating a wide range of products from home improvement to self-service to crafts. Little is known about the psychological benefits of these actions; there is an assumption that involvement ultimately increases quality of life. We surveyed 465 college students to describe their participation in a variety of Maker undertakings ranging from domestic arts, arts and crafts, to DIY activities, and examined four potential mediators of the relationship between a Maker identity and SWB. We inquired about the time spent engaged in the activities, reasons for involvement, as well as the immediate and long-term benefits received from Making. We found that college students spent approximately 3 h a week involved in Maker activities and that they most often engaged in domestic arts (e.g., cooking, baking, and gardening). The most important reasons provided for involvement in Maker activities were mood-repair, socializing with friends, and the ability to “stay present-focused.” Having a Maker identity was associated with subjective well-being (SWB), primarily explained by high arousal (i.e., exciting or stimulating) during Maker activities, but not positive mood. Trait rumination and reduced self-focus, or quiet ego, were also related to SWB and suggest the importance of reduced self-focus in understanding the relationship between Making and SWB. Taken together, it appears that Maker identity may be a potential pathway towards SWB.
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RESEARCH PAPER
Psychological Benefits of the ‘‘Maker’’ or Do-It-Yourself
Movement in Young Adults: A Pathway Towards
Subjective Well-Being
Ann Futterman Collier
1
•Heidi A. Wayment
1
Published online: 15 March 2017
Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017
Abstract Over the past several decades, increasing numbers of people have become
involved in the do-it-yourself (DIY) or ‘‘Maker’’ movement, i.e., creating a wide range of
products from home improvement to self-service to crafts. Little is known about the
psychological benefits of these actions; there is an assumption that involvement ultimately
increases quality of life. We surveyed 465 college students to describe their participation in
a variety of Maker undertakings ranging from domestic arts, arts and crafts, to DIY
activities, and examined four potential mediators of the relationship between a Maker
identity and SWB. We inquired about the time spent engaged in the activities, reasons for
involvement, as well as the immediate and long-term benefits received from Making. We
found that college students spent approximately 3 h a week involved in Maker activities
and that they most often engaged in domestic arts (e.g., cooking, baking, and gardening).
The most important reasons provided for involvement in Maker activities were mood-
repair, socializing with friends, and the ability to ‘‘stay present-focused.’’ Having a Maker
identity was associated with subjective well-being (SWB), primarily explained by high
arousal (i.e., exciting or stimulating) during Maker activities, but not positive mood. Trait
rumination and reduced self-focus, or quiet ego, were also related to SWB and suggest the
importance of reduced self-focus in understanding the relationship between Making and
SWB. Taken together, it appears that Maker identity may be a potential pathway towards
SWB.
Keywords Do-it-yourself movement Maker identity Subjective well-being Positive
affect High arousal mood Rumination Quiet ego
&Ann Futterman Collier
ann.collier@nau.edu
1
Department of Psychological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Student and Academic
Services Building, PO Box 15106, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5106, USA
123
J Happiness Stud (2018) 19:1217–1239
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9866-x
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... The authors developed a model that mainly focuses on the motivators of DIY activities and the description of the consumer segment that is motivated to engage in handmade activities. These types of consumers are also called "makers" defined as "people who enjoy figuring out how to create a wide range of products from home improvement to self-service to crafts" (Collier & Wayment, 2018, p. 1218. The scholarly discourse has progressively cultivated a novel lexicon through the expansion of understanding of a phenomenon denominated as "the maker's movement" (Dougherty, 2012). ...
... To ensure comprehensiveness, the obtained papers were analyzed and allowed the identification of further keywords to include in the final research: "self-production," "self-creation," "self-made," "handmade," "food production," "DIY do-it-yourself," "Ikea-effect," "craft," "product self-creation," "co-production," "maker movement." At the conceptual level, the selection of the keywords is informed by previous research on the handmade concept (Fuchs et al., 2015;Song et al., 2023), which appears to be multifaceted and encompasses notions such as production or coproduction (Troye & Supphellen, 2012), assembly or DIY (Collier & Wayment, 2018), and craft and art (Collier, 2011). The psychology and marketing literature introduced the term "IKEA effect" which was developed and researched lately by different authors (e.g., Ashtiani et al., 2021;Esenduran et al., 2022;Sarstedt et al., 2017). ...
... The largest cluster (in red) includes keywords such as "DIY" (Moisio et al., 2013;Wolf & McQuitty, 2011) and "maker movement" (Collier & Wayment, 2018;Jackson, 2010). It is important to mention that the keyword "gender" appears here, suggesting important works such as those of Wolf et al. (2015) who explored the importance of DIY activities in female empowerment. ...
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