Materialism, Defensive and Assertive Self–Presentational Tactics, and Life Satisfaction

To learn how materialism is related to defensive and assertive self–presentational tactics, and how such tactics might mediate the established link between materialism and life satisfaction, 277 undergraduates completed a battery of questionnaires. We expected that materialism would be positively related to the use of defensive self–presentational tactics, and that defensive self–presentational tactics, in turn, would mediate the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. Zero–order correlations generally supported these expectations. Moreover, results of structural equation modeling suggested that it was primarily the defensive self–presentational tactic of self–handicapping that mediated the relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. We discuss our findings with respect to the protective penchant of materialistic individuals.