Consumer Minimalism

Have you ever wondered whether you classify as a minimalist? In recent years, popular media has fueled interest in consumer minimalism as an attractive way of living. Through rigorous decluttering and living with fewer material possessions, living as a minimalist promises various individual benefits such as saving time and resources.

The research paper Minimalism in Material Possessions: Theory and Measurement (2020) by Lisa Eckmann and Jan R. Landwehr identifies the various costs of possessions (e.g., physical, financial, cognitive) as a major driver of minimalism in consumption and introduces the 9-item Minimalism in Material Possessions scale to measure individual differences in the preference for a low quantity of material possessions. Across four studies, the authors develop the scale according to established scale development procedures and show that it reliably measures the preference for minimalism in material possessions and is distinct from related scales. Furthermore, Eckmann and Landwehr demonstrate that a high minimalism preference is associated with actually owning fewer material possessions; the higher the preference for minimalism, the lower the number of material possessions.

If you want to know more, you can access the research at the following link: https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v48/acr_vol48_2656928.pdf