Unpredictable indulgence: how childhood unpredictability and deprivation influence adult materialism

Abstract

Evolutionary mismatch perspectives suggest that some behaviors that benefitted humans in evolutionary contexts may be maladaptive in modern society. One example is spending behavior, which previous research has found to vary by life history strategy. Life history theory is an evolutionary theory that proposes that the levels of harshness and unpredictability in childhood environments shape behavior throughout life. Recently, researchers have incorporated the threat-deprivation model of childhood adversity to better understand the individual and interacting long-term effects of adverse experiences. While this integration of evolutionary and developmental perspectives opens a wealth of potential research paths to better understand the intricacies of how people function in modern society, inconsistencies in measurement and methodology have resulted in diverse findings. This project seeks to contribute to this growing body of work by expanding on previous findings concerning spending behavior and life history strategy, as well as comparing different measurements of unpredictability and deprivation. In line with the results of previous studies, I propose that individuals with high levels of childhood deprivation and unpredictability will have a greater desire to conspicuously consume, while individuals who experienced low levels of each will result in a greater desire to save money. Analysis found that in the economic threat condition, low levels of deprivation predicted higher levels of saving when unpredictability was low, but not when it was high. Future research can continue to delve into the nuances of dimensional measures as well as explore the role of threat in adult behavior.