The impact of materialist values and symbolic consumption behavior on life satisfaction

This thesis investigates the impact of consumers' materialistic value and symbolic consumption behaviors on individual life satisfaction. The primary aim of the study is to identify the relationships between materialistic values and symbolic consumption and their influence on life satisfactin, thereby contributing to the literature on the psychosocial dimensions of consumer behavior. The research was conducted with a sample group of 750 participants, utilizing a descriptive research design, one of the quantitative research methods. Data were collected through a survey method frequently employed in social sciences. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS 25.0 software. Correlation and regression tests were used to look at the data from online surveys. The study also compared variables based on demographic factors. The results showed that materialistic values have a negative and significant effect on life satisfaction (B= -0.324, p<0.01). The "happiness" part of materialistic values had the strongest negative impact on life satisfaction (r= -0.536, p<0.01). Symbolic consumption did not have a strong effect on life satisfaction overall, but the "lifestyle" part of symbolic consumption showed a positive and significant effect (B= 0.316, p<0.01). Also, there is a positive connection between materialistic values and symbolic consumption (r= 0.342, p<0.01), especially in the "self" part (B= 0.312, p<0.01).