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

Professional 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."

Teaching Interests
Personality, dreaming, clinical and abnormal psychology, alternatives to consumerism

Recent Scholarly Achievements
Publications
Presentations
Recognitions
Grants
Involvement

Publications

"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." Co-authored with J. Klinesmith and F. T. McAndrew. Psychological Science, 17, 568-571, 2006.

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

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

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

"Can coloring mandalas reduce anxiety?" Co-authored with 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." Co-authored 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." In 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: 263–283, 2005. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Materialistic Values and Well-being in Business Students." Co-authored with A. Ahuvia. In European Journal of Social Psychology 32: 137–146, 2002.

"The Dreams of People High and Low in Materialism." Co-authored with V.G. Kasser. Journal of Economic Psychology 22: 693–719, 2001.

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

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

"Of Wealth and Death: Materialism, Mortality Salience, and Consumption Behavior." Co-authored 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: 374–377, 1999.

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

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

"Self-Determined Teaching: Opportunities and Obstacles." Co-authored with E.L. Deci and R.M. Ryan. Teaching Well and Liking it: Motivating Faculty to Teach Effectively. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 57–72, 1997.

"Aspirations and Well-being in a Prison Setting." Journal of Applied Social Psychology 26: 1367–1377, 1996.

"Further Examining the American Dream: Differential Correlates of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals." Co-authored with R.M. Ryan. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 22: 281–288, 1996.

Presentations
"Materialism and its Alternatives." Talk, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois.

"Materialism and its Alternatives." Presentation, Brown Symposium XXVII, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas.

"Using Generosity to Decrease Financial Desire." University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"Materialism and Well-Being." University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"The Benefits of Being an Activist: Activism and Psychological Well-Being." Poster Presentation with Malte Klar, Psychology and Social Justice Conference, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts.

"The Impact of Media on Children." Workshop, Quad Cities Day Care Providers via Community Child Care Resource and Referral.

"Materialism and its Alternatives: The Science of Human Flourishing." Lecture, University of Oregon.

"Activism and Human Flourishing: The Benefits of Being an Activist." Poster Presentation with Malte Klar, Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology, Barcelona, Spain.

"The Ethics of Marketing to Children." Fox School of Business, Temple University, 2006. 

"Is Ethical Business Possible? Perspectives From Materialism Research." Fox School of Business, Temple University, 2006. 

"Material and Time Affluence as Predictors of Subjective Well-being." First Midwest Materialism Conference, University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign; University of Exeter, United Kingdom; Eotvos Landos University, Hungary; 2005.

"Building Resilience to Consumer Culture through Community Involvement." Summit of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC), Washington D.C., 2005.

"Starting a Local Chapter of CCFC: Methods of Bringing Our Movement to Communities." Co-authored with Kathy Bowman. Summit of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Washington D.C., 2005. Talk was later broadcast on C-SPAN.

"Material and Time Affluence as Predictors of Subjective Well-being." Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism class, University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, 2005.

"Materialism and its Alternatives." Workshop for professors and graduate students, University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, 2005.

"Materialism and its Alternatives." Departments of psychology and natural resources, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, and the Department of Management at University of Michigan–Dearborn, 2005.

Two workshops on "Material and Time Affluence as Predictors of Subjective Well-being," as well as on a paper concerning whether psychological well-being and ecologically responsible behavior can be complementary, to "Consumption Junction" group of professors and graduate students, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, 2005.

"Can the World Survive Capitalism?" Presentation, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"Materialism and its Alternatives." Presentation, Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"The Costs of Capitalism: How Materialism Diminishes Quality of Life." Presentation, Corvinus University, Hungary.

"Personal Aspirations and Quality of Life." Presentation, Semmelweis University, Hungary.

"The Need for Safety/Security." Second International Conference on Self-determination Theory, Ottawa, Canada, 2004.

"Scientific Support for the Compatibility of Psychological and Ecological Well-being." Center for Humans & Nature, Chicago, Illinois, 2003.

"An Empirical, Existential Research Program on Materialistic Values," First International Conference on Experimental Existential Psychology, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2001.

"Cross-cultural Investigations of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aspirations: Matching Goals to Inherent Needs." First Annual Meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Nashville, Tennessee, 2000.

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

First Conference of the International Society of Quality of Life Studies, 1997.

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.

Co-recipient of a grant from the Grass Foundation to purchase equipment that measures human psychophysiological activity, 1997.

Involvement
Associate Editor, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Personality Processes and Individual Differences. Consulting editor, 1999–2004.

Consulting editor, Psychological Inquiry 

 

Contact
309-341-7283 
tkasser@knox.edu 

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