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Conceptualizing And CONCEPTUALIZING AND TESTING THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF THE MATERIALISM CONSTRUCT: CONCEPT EXPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY SCALE DEVELOPMENT by Davita Veselenak A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Summer 2006 Copyright 2006 Davita Marie Veselenak All Rights Reserved UMI Number: 1435815 UMI Microform 1435815 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 CONCEPTUALIZING AND TESTING THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF THE MATERIALISM CONSTRUCT: CONCEPT EXPLICATION AND PRELIMINARY SCALE DEVELOPMENT by Davita Veselenak Approved: __________________________________________________________ R. Lance Holbert, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Elizabeth Perse, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Communication Approved: __________________________________________________________ Tom Apple, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Daniel Rich, Ph.D. Provost ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Words cannot express how grateful I am to Dr. Lance Holbert, whose contributions to this project are outweighed only by his commitment to providing an outstanding education to all of his students. Dr. Holbert has graciously shared with me his ability to think theoretically and empirically, and beyond demonstrating what it takes to be a good researcher, has shown me by example what it takes to be an exceptional teacher. For having faith in my abilities and constantly encouraging me, and for being the best mentor I could have asked for, I thank Dr. Holbert endlessly. I would like to express how much I appreciate the insight and guidance of my committee members, Drs. Elizabeth Perse and Jennifer Lambe. I also sincerely thank the faculty and staff of the Department of Communication at the University of Delaware, for providing a superior program of study and for making graduate school an enlightening and enjoyable experience. Thank you to Kurt Braddock, Andy High, Arianna Horry, Kate Mullen, Kevin Tressler, and Jackie Winslow, for being the best cohort ever. I extend heartfelt gratitude to my parents, David and Juanita Veselenak, for their love and support, and especially, for the countless sacrifices they have made to allow me to reach this point. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................vi LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................................ix ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1 Significance of the Explication of the Materialism Construct ........................... 1 The Centrality of Materialism to Theories of Media Influence ................ 2 The Need for a Comprehensive Measure of Materialism through Concept Explication ...................................................................... 8 Meaning Analysis............................................................................................. 10 Review of Definitions of Materialism..................................................... 12 The Problem with Conceptualizing Materialism as a Value................... 16 Applying the Means-End Chain to Materialism ..................................... 20 The Means-End Chain Model ................................................................. 21 The Desired Consequences of Acquiring Material Possessions ............. 22 Social Materialism Concept Explication.......................................................... 26 Social Materialism Dimension I: Symbolic Use ..................................... 28 Social Materialism Dimension I: Consumption Style............................. 33 Nature Subdimension of the Consumption Style Dimension.................. 34 Manner Subdimension of the Consumption Style Dimension ................ 37 Hypotheses and Research Questions................................................................ 40 Construct Validation: Predictive Validity............................................... 43 Construct Validation: Convergent Validity ............................................ 48 Construct Validation: Discriminant Validity .......................................... 50 2 METHOD......................................................................................................... 52 Procedures ........................................................................................................ 52 Measures........................................................................................................... 54 3 RESULTS......................................................................................................... 57 Study 1: Initial Data Collection........................................................................ 57 Preliminary Analyses .............................................................................. 57 Zero-Order Correlations.......................................................................... 57 Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA)........................................................ 59 iv Reliability Assessment of Theoretical Constructs .................................. 63 Preliminary Scale Refinement................................................................. 64 Study 2.............................................................................................................. 66 Preliminary Analyses .............................................................................. 66 Zero-Order Correlations.......................................................................... 67 Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA)........................................................ 69 Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) with Item Retained........................ 76 Reliability Assessment of Theoretical Constructs .................................. 79 Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA)..................................................... 79 Respecification of Model ........................................................................ 83 Final Social Materialism Model.............................................................. 84 Reliability Assessment and Zero-Order Correlations for Final Model........................................................................................... 88 Construct Validation: Predictive Validity............................................... 88 Construct Validation: Convergent Validity ............................................ 93 Construct Validation: Discriminant Validity .......................................... 95 4 DISCUSSSION .............................................................................................. 162 Appendix A INITIAL 21 SCALE ITEMS FOR SOCIAL MATERIALISM SCALE ....... 178 B ABBREVIATED ITEMS FROM DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS TABLES AND CORRELATION MATRICIES WITH CORRESPONDING MEASUREMENT ITEMS .......................................... 180 C ABBREVIATED ITEM CONTENT FROM FACTOR ANALYSES TABLES WITH CORRESPONDING MEASUREMENT ITEMS............... 183 D 19 SOCIAL MATERIALISM SCALE ITEMS REMAINING AFTER FIRST ROUND OF ELIMINATING ITEMS................................................ 187 E FINAL 11-ITEM SOCIAL MATERIALISM SCALE .................................. 189 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 191 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Study 1 Descriptive Statistics for Social Materialism Items................... 98 Table 2 Study 1 Intercorrelations Between Social Materialism Scale Items ....... 99 Table 3 Study 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Loadings for Nature Items ...................................................................................................... 105 Table 4 Study 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Pattern Matrix Loadings for Manner Items ................................................................... 106 Table 5 Study 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Structure Matrix Loadings for Manner Items ................................................................... 107 Table 6 Study 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Pattern Matrix Loadings for Symbolic Use Items ........................................................ 108 Table 7 Study 1 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) Structure Matrix Loadings for Symbolic Use Items ......................................................... 109 Table 8 Study 1 EFA Pattern Matrix Loadings for Consumption Style Items ...................................................................................................... 110 Table 9 Study 1 EFA Structure Matrix Loadings for Consumption Style Items ...................................................................................................... 111 Table 10 Study 1 EFA Pattern Matrix Loadings for All 21 Social Materialism Items.................................................................................. 112 Table 11 Study 1 EFA Structure Matrix Loadings for
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