Passion for possessions
Psychologist Anna Tomkins believes that ownership of objects plays a critical role in human identity.
Our predilection for object ownership seems to be a uniquely human trait. It is true that other primates have been observed in the wild fashioning basic tools out of sticks or stones for cracking nuts or prodding termite hills. 1Drop sentence here. Some animals, notably a number of different bird species, collect objects, but this type of collecting seems purely instinctive. In contrast, humans produce, collect, contemplate, exchange, value and even adore objects for their own sake.
Early evidence of this is a 70,000-year-old block of ochre engraved with crosses found in the Western Cape of South Africa, most likely a piece of art or possibly a sacred object. It’s clear that a considerable amount of time and effort must have gone into making it. 2Drop sentence here. After all, the hours devoted to creating them would mean less time available for activities vital for survival such as foraging or hunting.
Needless to say, we live in a very different world today. Manufacturing technologies have all but replaced the need for us to make our own things, and we are said to live in a disposable age. Nevertheless, we still retain a need for ownership, and forge emotional attachments with objects that extend far beyond their functional use or market value. It’s a phenomenon that appears early in development. 3Drop sentence here. These precious items, no matter how tatty they become, are considered unique and irreplaceable: they cannot be swapped for identical copies or newer versions, and bonding with more than one item is rare.
Probably all of us own things to which we are sentimentally attached for one reason or another. However, possessions have another purpose – they can also serve as an expression of personality, taste or status. 4Drop sentence here. Advertisers have been exploiting this for years. They understand that consumers identify with brands and that creating a strong brand image for a product will make it more saleable.
Professor of Marketing Russell W Belk, of York University in Canada, calls this materialist perspective the ‘extended self.' According to this theory, someone’s possessions are a very important part of their sense of identity. This explains why some of us react to the loss of, or damage to, our belongings as if it were a personal tragedy. 5Drop sentence here. However, on a psychological level, it is perfectly rational.
In my lab, we are investigating children’s attitudes toward ownership. We know that young children see ownership as limited to their own possessions, whereas adults respect the belongings of others. We are trying to clarify exactly when in childhood the more mature understanding of ownership develops. 6Drop sentence here. Understanding this matters because our deep-seated human need to own things is a crucial psychological process that shapes the way we view ourselves and others.