Social comparison, imitation of celebrity models and materialism among Chinese youth

Gerard P. Prendergast and Kara Chan

Materialism is an important issue, especially among young people, and especially in a Chinese context.

Social comparison, imitation of celebrity models and materialism among Chinese youth

Kara Chan and Gerard P. PrendergastHong Kong Baptist University

INTRODUCTION

Materialism is defined as the degree to which a person believes that the acquisition and possession of material objects are important to achieve happiness in life or are an indicator of his or her success in life (Richins & Dawson 1992). Longitudinal studies among college and high-school students indicate dramatic increases in the endorsement of materialistic values (Korton 1999), and recent research shows that 95% of adults consider children to be overly focused on consuming and...

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