This research paper sought to ascertain the importance of values among different groups of individuals, differentiated by gender, age, and ethnicity. The paper contributes to understanding materialism among different cultures. It provides a broader perspective on how those living in one very strong materialistic culture are more vs. less materialistic. A social influence perspective is applied. The paper also provided a broader perspective on materialism, by considering all cultures in a metropolitan area that is composed of a melting pot of cultures. While one research survey mechanism was used to identify a variety of elements that are related to individual materialism, this research incorporated not only one reliable research measure tool from the past, but also a more recently developed and validated research measure. Findings suggest that attitudes toward materialism directly affect consumer behavior and thus, marketing strategy.

1. Fournier, S., & Richins, M. L. (1991). Some theoretical and popular notions concerning materialism. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality 6(6), 403-414.
2. Gregoire, C. (2014). The psychology of materialism, and why it's making you unhappy. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/15/psychology-materialism_n_4425982.html target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/15/psychology-materialism_n_4425982.html</a>
3. Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E., & Sheldon, K. M. (2004). Materialistic values: Their causes and consequences. In T. Kasser, & A. D. Kanner (Eds.), Psychology and consumer culture (pp. 11-28). Washington, D.C. : American Psychological Association.
4. Moore, K., Berger, P. D., & Weinberg, B. D. (2013). Issues for exploration of differing values among sub-groups of young-adult consumers. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(5), 35-39.
5. Richins, M. L., & Dawson, S. (1992). A consumer values orientation for materialism and its measurement: Scale development and validation. Journal of Consumer Research, 19 (3), 303-316. DOI : <a href=http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1086/209304 target="_blank">http://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1086/209304</a>
6. Trinh, V. D., & Phau, I. (2012). A new set of measurements for the materialism scale. 2012 ANZMAC Annual Conference Proceedings, University of South Australia, Australia.
7. Veblen, T. (1899). The theory of the leisure class: An economic study of institutions. MacMillian Press: New York.