Tim Kasser

Professor and Chair of Psychology

General Interests
"My primary interest concerns people's values and goals, and how they relate to quality of life. Over the last decade I have been especially focused on studying 'materialistic values,' i.e., being wealthy, having many possessions, being attractive, and being popular.

My colleagues and I have found that when people believe materialistic values are important, they report less happiness and more distress, have poorer interpersonal relationships, contribute less to the community, and engage in more ecologically damaging behaviors. My research has recently been investigating how values relate to well-being in various nations around the world, as well as what leads some people to become especially focused on different types of values."

Years at Knox: 1995 to present.

Education
Ph.D., Psychology, 1994, University of Rochester.
M.A., Psychology, 1990, University of Rochester.
B.A., Psychology with Honors, summa cum laude, 1988, Vanderbilt University.

Teaching Interests
Personality, dreaming, Clinical and Abnormal Psychology, alternatives to consumerism.

Recent Recognition
Awards
Associate Editor at the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2006-2009.

Distinguished Research Fellow for "Substantial Research Contributing to a Better Understanding of Quality of Life Issues," from the International Society for Quality of Life Studies, 2003.

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book, for The High Price of Materialism, American Library Association, 2002.

Philip Green Wright / Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching, 2000.

Grants
2007 Primary Investigator of a grant from the Marjorie Weil and Marvin Edward Mitchell Foundation: "How Can Families Help Children Develop Healthy Financial Habits?"

Primary Investigator, "What Makes for a Merry Christmas?" Positive Psychology Network Grant, 2001.

Co-investigator, "Risk and Protective Factors in Adulthood," (Arnold Sameroff, primary investigator), National Institute of Mental Health Grant, 2000.

Co-principal investigator, "Psychological and Ecological Well-Being: The Role of Values and Lifestyle," (Kirk Warren Brown, co-principal investigator), Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Grant, 2000.

Fellowships
2007 ESRC-SSRC Collaborative Visiting Fellowship, University of Surrey, UK.

Recent Accomplishments
Publications
"Shifting Values in Response to Climate Change." In 2009 State of the World: Into a Warming World. Edited by R. Engelman, M. Renner, & J.Sawin. New York: W. W. Norton & Co (2009): 122-125.

"Time Affluence as a Path Towards Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practices: Empirical Evidence from Four Studies." Co-authored with K.M. Sheldon. Journal of Business Ethics 84.2 (2009): 243-255.

"When What One Has Is Enough: Mindfulness, Financial Desire Discrepancy, and Subjective Well-Being." Brown, K.W., Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., Linley, P. A., & Orzech, K. Journal of Research in Personality 43 (2009): 727-736.

Meeting Environmental Challenges: The Role of Human Identity. Crompton, T., & Kasser, T. Goldalming, UK: WWK-UK, 2009.

"Cultural Values and the Well-Being of Future Generations: A Cross-National Study." Kasser, T., Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, In press, 2009.

"Materialism and Relationships." In H. Reis & S. Sprecher (eds.), Encyclopedia of Human Relations, Sage Publications (2009): 1075-1076.

"Some Benefits of Being an Activist: Measuring Activism and its Role in Psychological Well-Being." Klar, M., & Kasser, T. Political Psychology 30 (2009): 755-777.

"Pain and Insecurity, Love and Money." Psychological Inquiry 19 (2008): 174-178.

"Psychological Threat and Extrinsic Goal Striving." Co-authored with K.M. Sheldon. Motivation and Emotion 32 (2008): 37-45.

"Some Costs of American Corporate Capitalism: A Psychological Exploration of Value and Goal Conflicts." Co-authored with S. Cohn, A. Kanner, and R. Ryan. Psychological Inquiry 18 (2007): 1-22.

"Psychology and American Corporate Captitalism: Further Reflections and Future Directions." Co-authored with A. Kanner, S. Cohn, and R. Ryan. Psychological Inquiry 18 (2007): 60-71.

"The Ethical Problems of a Materialistic Value Orientation for Businesses (and Some Suggestions for Alternatives)." Co-authored with M. Vansteenkiste, and J. Deckop. Edited by J.R. Deckop. Human Resource Management Ethics (2006): 283-306.

"DEFRA Project 3b: Sustainable Development and Well-being: Relationships, Challenges, and Policy Implications." Co-authored with N. Marks, S. Thompson, R. Eckersley, and T. Jackson. A report by the Center of Well-Being, NEF (New Economics Foundation) for DEFRA (Department of Education, Food, and Rural Affairs), 2006.

"Materialism and Its Alternatives." Edited by M. Csikszentmihalyi & I. S. Csikszentmihalyi. A Life Worth Living: Contributions to Positive Psychology: 200-214, Oxford University Press, 2006.

"Guns, Testosterone, and Aggression: An Experimental Test of a Mediational Model." Coauthored with J. Klinesmith and F. T. McAndrew. Psychological Science 17 (2006): 568-571.

"Does Autonomy Increase with Age? Comparing the Goal Motivations of College Students and Their Parents." Coauthored with K. M. Sheldon and L. Houser-Marko. Journal of Research in Personality 40 (2006): 168-178.

"Are Psychological and Ecological Well-being Compatible? The Role of Values, Mindfulness, and Lifestyle." Coauthored with K.W. Brown. Social Indicators Research 74 (2005): 349-368.

"The Structure of Goal Contents Across 15 Cultures." Coauthored wih A. Ahuvia, J.M. Fernandez-Dols, F.M.E. Grouzet, Y. Kim, S. Lau, R.M. Ryan, S. Saunders, P. Schmuck, and K.M. Sheldon. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 89 (2005): 800-816.

"Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety?" Co-authored with Knox Student Nancy Curry '04. Art Therapy, 2005.

Az Anyagiassag Sulyos Ara. Budapest Hungary: Ursus Libris, (Translation of Kasser, T. The High Price of Materialism), 2005.

"Doing one's duty: Chronological age, felt autonomy and subjective well-being." Coauthored with Kennon M. Sheldon and other colleagues at the University of Missouri-Columbia. European Journal of Personality, 2005.

"Frugality, Generosity, and Materialism in Children and Adolescents." What do Children Need to Flourish?: Conceptualizing and Measuring Indicators of Positive Development. Edited by Kristin Moore and Laura Lippman. Springer, 2005.

"Personal Aspirations, the 'Good Life,' and the Law." Deakin Law Review special edition on happiness and the law, 2005.

"Why Do Adolescent Girls Idolize Male Celebrities?" Co-authored with Knox student Yuna Engle '04. Journal of Adolescent Research 20 (2005): 263-283.

"The Good Life or the Goods Life? Positive Psychology and Personal Well-Being in the Culture of Consumption." Positive Psychology in Practice. Edited by P.A. Linley and S. Joseph. New York: Wiley (2004): 55-67.

"The Independent Effects of Goal Contents and Motives on Well-being: It's Both What You Do and Why You Do It." Coauthored with K.M. Sheldon, R.M. Ryan, and E.L. Deci. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 30 (2004): 475-486.

Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World. Co-editor A.D. Kanner. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association, 2004.

"On Time, Happiness, and Ecological Footprints." Coauthored with K.W. Brown. Take Back Your Time!: Fighting Overwork and Time Poverty in America. Edited by J. DeGraaf. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2003): 107-112.

"Self-concept, Aspirations, and Well-being in South Korea and the United States." Coauthored with Y. Kim and H. Lee. Journal of Social Psychology 143 (2003): 277-290.

The High Price of Materialism. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002.

"Sketches for a Self-Determination Theory of Values." Handbook of Self-Determination Research. Edited by E.L. Deci and R.M. Ryan. Rochester: University of Rochester Press (2002): 123-140.

"Materialistic Values and Well-being in Business Students." Coauthored with A. Ahuvia. In European Journal of Social Psychology 32 (2002): 137-146.

"The Dreams of People High and Low in Materialism." Coauthored with V.G. Kasser. Journal of Economic Psychology 22 (2001): 693-719.

"Goals, Congruence, and Positive Well-being: New Empirical Support for Humanistic Theories." Co-authored with Ken Sheldon. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 2001.

"What is Satisfying about Satisfying Experiences?" Coauthored with K. Sheldon, A. Elliot and Y. Kim. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001.

"Two Versions of the American Dream: Which Goals and Values Make For a High Quality of Life?" Advances in Quality of Life Theory and Research. Edited by E. Diener and D.R. Rahtz. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer (2000): 3-12.

"Of Wealth and Death: Materialism, Mortality Salience, and Consumption Behavior." Coauthored with K.M. Sheldon. Psychological Science, 2000.

"Reproductive Freedom, Educational Equality, and Females' Preference for Resource Acquisition Characteristics in Mates." Co-authored with Knox student Yadika Sharma '97. Psychological Science 10 (1999): 374-377.

 

"Pursuing Personal Goals: Skills Enable Progress, but Not All Progress is Beneficial." Coauthored with K.M. Sheldon. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 24 (1998): 1319-1331.

Presentations
"Consumer culture and children: Are our kids getting creamed by commercialism?" to day care providers at the 2008 Early Child Care Mini-conference at Clinton Community College, Clinton, Iowa, 2008.

"Capitalism, commercialism, and children's well-being: Empirical analyses across wealthy nations" at the 2008 Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood Summit held in Brookline, Massachusetts, 2008.

"A self-determination theory perspective on goals and values: Intrinsic versus extrinsic aspirations" at the 1st conference for the Society for the Study of Motivation, in Chicago, Illinois, 2008.

"A revolution of values: Psychological research on materialism and its alternatives" as the banquet speaker at the 56th Annual Conference of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 2008.

"Transport in an oil and climate constrained world" and "Beyond Growth: Well-being in a low carbon economy" at the Labour & the Conservative Party Fringe Conferences in the UK, 2008.

"Can Buddhism and Consumerism Harmonize? A Review of the Psychological Evidence" at the International Conference on Buddhism in the Age of Consumerism at the College of Religious Studies, Mahidol University, Nakornpathom, Thailand, 2008.

"Values, Happiness, and the Environment" to the Quad-Cities Sierra Club, 2007.

"Personal aspirations, mental health, and the transition to adulthood: Shifting from self-interested to pro-social goal pursuits" at the 3rd Conference on Emerging Adulthood in Tucson, Arizona, 2007.

"Correlates of longitudinal changes in materialism between 18 and 30 years old" at the 2nd Midwest Materialism Conference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, 2007.

"Materialism and its alternatives" as keynote speaker at the 22nd Annual University of Scranton Psychology Conference, 2007.

"The good life or the goods life? Psychological Explorations of Values and Well-being" as invited speaker in The Humanities Project's series on Nature and Pursuit of Happiness at the University of Rochester, 2007.

"A revolution of values: Materialism and its alternatives" as a keynote address at the International Conference on Policies for Happiness, Siena, Italy, 2007.

"Time affluence and well-being" as part of a workshop sponsored by the CreaM Economic Center at the University of Cassino, Italy, 2007.

"Materialism and its Alternatives" at the Brown Symposium XXVII at Southwestern University. This year the Symposium's topic was "GNP or Gross National Well-being?"

"The ethics of marketing to children" and "Is ethical business possible? Perspectives from materialism research" at Temple University's Fox School of Business, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2006.

"Materialism and its Alternatives: The science of human flourishing" as the Leona E. Tyler Lecture in Individual Differences at the University of Oregon, 2006.

"Materialism and its alternatives" at the University of Sussex and the University of Bristol (both in the UK) and at Pazmany Peter Catholic University and the University of Vesgpiem (both in Hungary), 2005.

Material and time affluence as predictors of well-being" at the University of Exeter (UK) and at Eotvos Landos University (Hungary), 2005.

"The costs of capitalism: How materialism diminishes quality of life" at Corvinus University (Hungary), 2005.

"Personal aspirations and quality of life" at Semmelweis University (Hungary), 2005.

 

 

Campus & Community Involvement
Member, Presidential Task Force on Sustainability.

Associate Editor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Personality Processes and Individual Differences. Consulting editor.
Consulting editor, Psychological Inquiry.

 

What Students Say
"Tim Kasser is a challenging professor and a great person. He is always more than willing to help any student who needs his help, as long as the student is willing to ask for help. Tim treats his students like adults and expects the same type of respect and consideration. He knows how to apply his knowledge to real world examples to help his students learn and understand."
-Rhonda Moravek, Psychology Major

Contact
309-341-7283
tkasser@knox.edu