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The Meaning of Things
Abstract
The Meaning of Things explores the meanings of household possessions for three generation families in the Chicago area, and the place of materialism in American culture. Now regarded as a keystone in material culture studies, Halton's first book is based on his dissertation and coauthored with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. First published by Cambridge University Press in 1981, it has been translated into German, Italian, Japanese, and Hungarian. The Meaning of Things is a study of the significance of material possessions in contemporary urban life, and of the ways people carve meaning out of their domestic environment. Drawing on a survey of eighty families in Chicago who were interviewed on the subject of their feelings about common household objects, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Eugene Rochberg-Halton provide a unique perspective on materialism, American culture, and the self. They begin by reviewing what social scientists and philosophers have said about the transactions between people and things. In the model of 'personhood' that the authors develop, goal-directed action and the cultivation of meaning through signs assume central importance. They then relate theoretical issues to the results of their survey. An important finding is the distinction between objects valued for action and those valued for contemplation. The authors compare families who have warm emotional attachments to their homes with those in which a common set of positive meanings is lacking, and interpret the different patterns of involvement. They then trace the cultivation of meaning in case studies of four families. Finally, the authors address what they describe as the current crisis of environmental and material exploitation, and suggest that human capacities for the creation and redirection of meaning offer the only hope for survival. A wide range of scholars - urban and family sociologists, clinical, developmental and environmental psychologists, cultural anthropologists and philosophers, and many general readers - will find this book stimulating and compelling. Translations: Il significato degli oggetti. Italian translation. Rome: Edizione Kappa, 1986. Der Sinn der Dinge. German translation. Munich: Psychologie Verlags Union, 1989. Japanese translation 2007. Targyaink tukreben. Hungarian translation, 2011.
... pszichoanalitikus véleménye szerint: "Úgy tűnik, mintha a lét igazi lényege a birtoklásban rejlene, és nem létezne az, aki nem birtokol". Ellenben a szociálkonstruktivista nézőpont alapján a "birtokolni annyi, mint létezni" (Dittmar, 1992), illetve az "az vagy, amit birtokolsz/használsz" (Csikszentmihályi & Halton, 1981) azt jelenti, hogy az ember nemcsak gondolkodó lény, hanem alkotó és használó is (Dittmar, 1992). Az alkotás és a használat folyamatai során a tárgyak, ezzel együtt a környezet is fontos részévé válik az identitásnak, a kiterjesztett én (Belk, 1988(Belk, , 1989 részeivé alakulnak. ...
A 21. század digitális korának térnyerésével az okoseszközök által nyújtott vir-tuális és kiterjesztett valóságok, mint a VR és AR (Virtual Reality és Aug-mented Reality) hatása egyre inkább érvényesül a gyermekek és szüleik éle-tében. A VR és az AR a valóság egyfajta látszólagos kibővítése, mellyel például az okostelefonok kamerájával szétnézve a valós környezetbe virtuális elemeket vetítenek. Jelen kutatás empirikus módszerekkel vizsgálja a 0–7 éves korosztály VR használati szokásait Magyarországon, ezáltal árnyalt képet adva a jelenlegi helyzetről. A szakirodalom elemzése alapján következtetések von-hatók le arról, hogy milyen mértékben lehetnek hasznosak vagy károsak e tech-nológiák a gyerekek és szüleik számára, figyelembe véve a tudományos és pszichológiai szempontokat. A gyermekek számára elkerülhetetlen az okos-eszközök használata és nem is az a megfelelő irány, hogy kiiktassuk az életükből az ilyen eszközöket. A kutatás legfőbb tanulsága, ami nemzetközi kutatások által is alátámasztott, hogy egészséges eszközhasználatra kell a gyermekeket megtanítani már a születéstől kezdve.
The objects that humans produce and own serve as a primary framework for defining their lives. The nature of these objects has changed over time, as has the interaction between humans and objects. Recently, the digital age has transformed the nature of things, and now, physical and non-physical (digital) possessions coexist. The current study, therefore, attempted to understand what physical and digital objects entail as categories of things and also the engagement of people with these objects. Data was collected from digital natives (18–27 years old) and digital immigrants (28–45 years old) as defined by Prensky (On the Horizon, 9(6), 1–6, 2001), who were residing in Delhi/NCR, India. It was collected in two phases. Phase 1 involved a qualitative survey to explore ideas related to different objects from 35 digital immigrants and 30 digital natives. Phase 2 involved an in-depth exploration of the findings from the earlier phase through semi-structured interviews conducted with 3 digital immigrants and 3 digital natives. Haase’s adaptation of Colaizzi’s method of analysis (ANS Advances in Nursing Science, 9(2), 64–80, 1987) was employed for analysis. The results revealed two theme clusters – perception of physical objects (physical occupancy, exclusive ownership, relative permanence) and perception of digital objects (internet connectivity, contrasting states of omnipresence and transience, and tangible dependency). As with physical objects, more and more objects connect to the Internet and the Internet of Things has become a reality. This study offers timely insights into the evolving relationship between people and objects.
b>Wprowadzenie . W literaturze przedmiotu można wyodrębnić trzy typy instytucji – czyli ustalonych, regularnie realizowanych wzorów ról i zachowań społecznych – służących podtrzymaniu pamięci rodzinnej. Trzecią instytucją jest tzw. rodzinna skarbnica, zawierająca pamiątki, które zawsze wiążą się z jakąś sytuacją z przeszłości: jakimś wydarzeniem czy też członkiem rodziny i dzięki nim możemy pamiętać i pamiętamy, gdyż są one „bodźcami przypominania”. Cel . Celem artykułu jest ukazanie znaczenia pamiątek rodzinnych w instytucjonalizacji pamięci rodzinnej wśród uczniów szkół średnich, nauczycieli historii oraz mieszkańców Polski. Metody i materiały . W pracy zastosowano następujące narzędzia: analiza wyników dwóch reprezentacyjnych badań ilościowych i jakościowych. Podstawową techniką badawczą były wywiady kwestionariuszowe przeprowadzone z trzema grupami respondentów – uczniami szkół średnich (N = 3718), Polakami powyżej 20. roku życia (N = 1068) oraz nauczycielami historii z szkół średnich (N = 1115). Materiał wzbogacono badaniami ilościowymi: 8 wywiadów grupowych z Polakami powyżej 20. roku życia, 8 wywiadów z nauczycielami pracującymi w szkołach średnich, a także 16 wywiadów grupowych z uczniami szkół średnich. Wyniki . Z analizy wynika, że im większe zainteresowanie oglądaniem pamiątek rodzinnych, tym większa skłonność do przypisywania sobie patriotyzmu, tym większe zainteresowanie polityką, wyższy poziom postaw obywatelskich, większy księgozbiór oraz poziom wiedzy historycznej. Dodatkowo stwierdzono zależność pomiędzy płcią, wiekiem i wykształceniem a zainteresowaniem oglądaniem pamiątek rodzinnych. Wnioski . Związek pomiędzy oglądaniem pamiątek rodzinnych a patriotyzmem, zainteresowaniem polityką, wyższym poziomem wiedzy historycznej czy też większym zaangażowaniem obywatelskim może stanowi podstawę do zakwalifikowania jednostek do „mocnych rodzin”, czyli dobrze zakorzenionych w przeszłości. Posiadanie i oglądanie pamiątek rodzinnych może być czynnikiem motywującym do zaangażowania obywatelskiego. Wspomnienia, które pojawiają się pod wpływem przeglądania (posiadania) pamiątek kształtują poczucie tożsamości i przynależności, co z kolei może inspirować do działań na rzecz dobra wspólnego.
The rapid aging of the global population has highlighted the urgent need for age-friendly technological solutions. However, our review of the existing studies revealed significant gaps between elderly users’ needs and the current smart technology products. While previous research has explored various aspects of elderly technology design, our systematic analysis indicated limitations, in terms of integrated frameworks, empirically validated interaction models, and long-term effectiveness evaluation. This study proposes a seamless technology framework for the development of elderly-centered interactive systems—named Pillow Fight—which we validated through a mixed-methods study of an innovative intergenerational gaming system. This research was conducted in two phases across 34 sites, with 1997 participants. Phase one (n = 659) established the framework’s effectiveness through systematic field testing, while phase two (n = 1338) validated its scalability and long-term benefits. The results highlight significant improvements in system usability scores (SUS), from individual use (77.85) to group activities (85.32), with intergenerational interaction achieving the highest scores (92.12). The integration of health monitoring features further enhanced learnability (94.12) usability (82.15). This study contributes to the design of technology for the elderly through (1) establishing an integrated theoretical framework for seamless technology integration, (2) developing and validating innovative intergenerational interaction models, and (3) providing empirical evidence through systematic field studies. These contributions could advance both theoretical understanding and practical applications while maintaining high user-friendliness.
This article critically examines the pervasive yet often-neglected influence of capitalism on psychological processes and human behavior. While capitalist ideologies like neoliberalism have entered the mainstream in psychology, there remains a lack of deeper engagement with the foundations of capitalism. The article argues that capitalism generates distinct cultural syndromes that emerged from the unique historical experiences of Western societies and are deeply rooted in the core principles of capitalism: profit motive, market competition, and private property ownership. The article then argues that these principles manifest as capitalist cultural syndromes termed the “gain primacy,” “zero-sum rivalry,” and “ownership” syndromes, which collectively drive a self-enhancement agenda resulting in an overarching “individualist syndrome.” It then explores how these syndromes maintain and reproduce social inequalities. By adopting a critical-historical approach, this article situates its analysis within a broader critique of capitalism, aiming to illuminate its impact on human thought, behavior, and well-being.
Public Abstract
Our thoughts, behaviors, and well-being are deeply influenced by the economic system we live in—capitalism. While psychologists have explored capitalist ideologies like neoliberalism, they often overlook capitalism’s core foundations driving inequality. This work argues that capitalism, rooted in Western colonial history, generates powerful cultural narratives prioritizing profit, competition, and private ownership. These capitalist principles manifest as pervasive societal mindsets obsessed with personal gain, viewing life as a zero-sum rivalry, and deriving self-worth from possessions. Collectively, they breed an individualistic syndrome of selfish striving at the expense of community. By understanding how these capitalist cultural forces psychologically shape us, maintaining oppressive societal hierarchies, we can reimagine economic systems that truly uplift the human spirit across all peoples and the planet we share. Unveiling capitalism’s influence is crucial to recover from its alienating effects and envision liberating alternatives.
To remain competitive in a shifting sociocultural landscape, firms often introduce new meanings—new reasons why customers use their products or services—that must be embedded into their strategy. However, customers are active participants in value creation processes, rather than passive recipients. This is especially true in services, where value is created in the interaction between provider and consumer. When designing business models, firms must thus consider customers’ meaning-making activities, which are highly subjective and influenced by cultural frames and personal characteristics. Yet, the business model literature has largely overlooked how firms design business models to articulate new meanings and shape customer perceptions. In this study, we explore the role of business model design in determining how firms articulate new meanings that customers subsequently perceive. We present a comparative case study of two store concepts developed by the same entrepreneur, both introducing the same new meanings. Through in-depth interviews with the founder and CEO, in-store observations, and archival data, we analyze their strategy for introducing new meanings. Additionally, we apply topic modeling to online reviews to examine how customers interpreted these new meanings. Our findings suggest that firms can shape customer perceptions of new meanings through business model design, particularly by leveraging value creation mechanisms tied to value delivery. This study enriches the business model design literature and connects it to the innovation of meaning discourse. It also offers practitioners insights into how to use firm strategy to convey intended meanings to customers.
This chapter presents the results of a case study on a new transportation system built in the city of Tampere, Finland, ushering in a contemporary tramway era into the city geared towards an autonomous future. The study aimed to understand the embodied experience of tram users in the context of transformation and to utilise universal fashion as a frame to enhance the understanding of the multifaceted dimensions (emotional, social) of this experience within the socio-technological context via embracing symbolic interactionism. Thematic interviews, consisting of two consecutive parts, were conducted with 30 participants. The results shed light on three aspects: 1) socio-cultural dynamics (cultural processes); 2) tangible and intangible systems of signification (expressions); and 3) multisensory experiences. The study shows that people’s interactive experiences of technology are embedded in a particular socio-material, cultural, or historical moment, a collective spirit of the times in relation to fashion-based temporality.
Belk’s ( Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168, 1988, Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 477–500, 2013) seminal work on possessions and the extended self explains how possessions form and symbolize an individual’s extended self. According to the framework, material possessions play a significant role for the extended self. In recent decades, individuals in consumer societies of the Global North have started to question their consumption patterns and their impact on the natural environment in light of the climate crisis. These individuals engage in anti-consumption practices which aim at reducing environmental impact through reducing and rejecting consumption including the acquisition of material possessions. This paper assesses if Belk’s ( Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168, 1988, Journal of Consumer Research, 40(1), 477–500 2013) framework is still applicable in the case of sustainability-concerned anti-consumers and which modifications need to be made to account for a change in consumption patterns. We propose that the self-expressive aspect of the extended self framework remains salient, as the intentional non-consumption by anti-consumers helps them distance themselves from possible undesired selves. Through a de-extension of the self, consumers rely on experiences, people and places which are central to the self rather than on material possessions. The material objects that remain parts of the extended self and that have a symbolic meaning represent their owner’s ethical and pro-environmental values and are often created through upcycling, refurbishing or acquired in second-hand or sharing markets. Since consumers increasingly consider the effects their acquisitions and actions have on the state of the Earth, they re-extend their selves to include experiences and the natural environment as a psychological possession.
Innovating product language has been proven to be an effective measure to change what products mean to customers and create new product categories. However, how to embed a new language into a product characterized by an established design has not been addressed in the past. Thus, we discuss a single case study of Videndum, a company producing premium branded tools and accessories for content creation (i.e., photography supports and accessories) that is redefining their product language and seeking to incorporate new narratives into their existing line‐up of products. Our case study is based on 18 interviews across all levels of the organization, analysis of archival data and observations to explore the actions the company is taking to change product language for their established products. Our findings show that designers can work at the level of the design principles to inform how new meanings can be embedded into signs at the product level, to build a new coherent product language. We identify two layers of design principles, value‐principles and solution‐principles, and show their different impact on product language. By doing so, we contribute to understand how companies design new product languages for established products in practice, providing managers with practical knowledge on how to perform the translation from abstract values to product features.
This article presents the findings of a scoping review looking at conceptualizations of team equity in academic literature between 2017 and 2021. A search and filter process produced a set of 42 publications containing discussion of equity or equality at the team level. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out on the data resulting in a set of seven themes characterized as facets of team equity: alignment, dialogism, heterophily, participation, power, ownership, and risk. Each facet is presented and illustrated with excerpts from the scoping review data followed by implications for the operationalization of equity at the team level. This analysis sheds light on the multi-dimensionality of equity in a team space, providing context for discussions about the difficulty of using simple quantitative measures for such a complex phenomenon. We hope the facets help researchers and practitioners use and operationalize the concept in ongoing efforts to combat historically-grounded injustices.
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