Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Children, Ownership and Possessions: The Origins

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Consumer Psychology

Abstract

In this later chapter Brian Young shifts to the latter part of the cycle of consumption when purchase has been made and goods enter the world of the child to be consumed and consequently affect his or her identity. A sense of ownership emerges remarkably early. We also explore the world of gift giving where children have a significant role to play especially during the various festivals in the year. Transition objects, small toys like teddies you used to own as very young child, provide a fascinating side-trip and we end in the familiar world of adolescence with their tribes and fashions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams, G. R., & Marshall, S. K. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person in context. Journal of Adolescence, 19, 429–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, G. S., Flynn, F. J., & Norton, M. I. (2012). The gifts we keep on giving: Documenting and destigmatizing the regifting taboo. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1145–1150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aitkenhead, D. (2012, November 25). Michael Heseltine: ‘I would have liked to be prime minister’. The Guardian. Retrieved December 14, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/nov/25/michael-heseltine-would-have-liked-prime-minister.

  • Belk, R. W. (1979). Gift-giving behavior. In J. Sheth (Ed.), Research in marketing (pp. 95–126). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. W. (1988). Possessions and the extended self. Journal of Consumer Research, 15(2), 139–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. W., Bahn, K. D., & Mayer, R. (1982). Developmental recognition of consumption symbolism. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 4–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R., Mayer, R., & Driscoll, A. (1984). Children’s recognition of consumption symbolism in children’s products. Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 386–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, B. (1971). Class, codes and control: Theoretical studies towards a sociology of language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Blake, P. R., & Harris, P. L. (2009). Children’s understanding of ownership transfers. Cognitive Development, 24, 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollas, C. (1978). The transformational object. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 60, 97–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond, M. H. (Ed.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of Chinese psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–25). New York: Greenwood. Retrieved November 19, 2017, from https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/bourdieu-forms-capital.htm.

  • Bradford, T. W. (2009). Intergenerationally gifted asset dispositions. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(1), 93–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bronstein, A. A. (1992). The fetish, transitional objects, and illusion. Psychoanalytic Review, 79(2), 239–260.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaplin, L. N., & Lowrey, T. M. (2010). The development of consumer-based consumption constellations in children. Journal of Consumer Research, 36, 757–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York: Scribner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curry, O., Roberts, S. G. B., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2013). Altruism in social networks: Evidence for a ‘kinship premium’. British Journal of Psychology, 104, 283–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, T. (2000). What children understand about consumption constellations: Differences across three age groups. Advances in Consumer Research, 27, 72–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, M., & Isherwood, B. (1978). The world of goods: Towards an anthropology of consumption. New York: W. W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, E. W., Huntsinger, J., Lun, J., & Sinclair, S. (2008). The gift of similarity: How good and bad gifts influence relationships. Social Cognition, 26(4), 469–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliott, R., & Leonard, C. (2004). Peer pressure and poverty: Exploring fashion brands and consumption symbolism among children of the ‘British poor’. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3(4), 347–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Falshaw, L. (2013, July 7). Holly Willoughby class argument with Katie Hopkins on This Morning. Retrieved November 25, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izW_IZeBHhE.

  • Franks, D. D., & Gecas, V. (1992). Autonomy and conformity in Cooley’s self-theory: The looking-glass self and beyond. Symbolic Interaction, 15(1), 49–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelman, S. A., Manczak, E. M., & Noles, N. S. (2012). The nonobvious basis of ownership: Preschool children trace the history and value of owned objects. Child Development, 83(5), 1732–1747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobara, M. (2003). Prevalence of transitional objects in young children in Tokyo and New York. Infant Mental Health Journal, 24(2), 174–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horton, H. (2017, January 4). Wigbert, Npeter and Figgy: Tatler lists best posh baby names for 2017. The Telegraph, News. Retrieved November 25, 2017, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/04/wigbert-npeter-figgy-tatler-lists-best-posh-baby-names-2017/.

  • Jung, M. H., Nelson, L. D., Gneezy, A., & Gneezy, U. (2014). Paying more when paying for others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(3), 414–431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). User of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, 59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kerrigan, F., & Hart, A. (2016). Theorising digital personhood: A dramaturgical approach. Journal of Marketing Management, 32(17–18), 1701–1721.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieras, J. E., Tobin, R. M., Graziano, W. G., & Rothbart, M. K. (2005). You can’t always get what you want: Effortful control and children’s responses to undesirable gifts. Psychological Science, 16(5), 391–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kunz, P. R., & Woolcott, M. (1976). Season’s greetings: From my status to yours. Social Science Research, 5, 269–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, T. (2015, August 5). The Simpsons Bowling Ball (when someone gets you a present that’s meant for themselves). Retrieved December 13, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03N2uIoXptU&list=RD03N2uIoXptU&t=26.

  • List of Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom by education. (2017, October 18). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved November 26, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom_by_education&oldid=805969560.

  • McAlister, A. R., & Cornwell, T. B. (2010). Children’s brand symbolism understanding: Links to theory of mind and executive functioning. Psychology and Marketing, 27(3), 203–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McConnell, A. R. (2011). The multiple self-aspects framework: Self-concept representation and its implications. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(1), 3–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCracken, G. (1988). Culture and consumption. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier, B. P. (2016). Bah humbug: Unexpected christmas cards and the reciprocity norm. Journal of Social Psychology, 156(4), 449–454.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mumsnet (2011, August 7). People selling war medals!!!!! Retrieved December 14, 2017, from https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1274814-people-selling-war-medals.

  • Navarro, Z. (2006). In search of a cultural interpretation of power: The contribution of Pierre Bourdieu. IDS Bulletin, 37(6), 11–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ng, I.-C. (2001, January 19). A rough guide to lai see. South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 11, 2017, from http://www.scmp.com/article/337135/rough-guide-lai-see.

  • Office for National Statistics (GB). (2016). Frequency of internet use in England, 2012 to 2016. London: ONS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piacentini, M., & Mailer, G. (2004). Symbolic consumption in teenagers’ clothing choices. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3(3), 251–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rossano, F., Fiedler, L., & Tomasello, T. (2015). Pre-schoolers’ understanding of the role of communication and cooperation in establishing property rights. Developmental Psychology, 51(2), 176–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saad, G., & Gill, T. (2003). An evolutionary psychology perspective on gift giving among young adults. Psychology & Marketing, 20(9), 765–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silverstone, R. (1993). Television, ontological security and the transitional object. Media, Culture and Society, 15(4), 573–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slepian, M. L., & Galinsky, A. D. (2016). The voiced pronunciation of initial phonemes predicts the gender of names. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 110(4), 509–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, M. R., & Assael, H. (1987). The Forest or the trees? A gestalt approach to symbolic consumption. In J. Umiker-Sebeok (Ed.), Marketing and semiotics: New directions in the study of signs for sale (pp. 189–218). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, M. R., & Buchanan, B. (1991). A role-theoretic approach to product symbolism: Mapping a consumption constellation. Journal of Business Research, 22(2), 95–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomsen, T. U., & Zaichkowsky, J. L. (2015). Gifting from the closet: Thoughtful or thoughtless? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 32(6), 450–458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuten, T. L., & Kiecker, P. (2009). The perfect gift card: An exploration of teenagers’ gift card associations. Psychology & Marketing, 26(1), 67–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tynan, C., Pereira Heath, M. T., Ennew, C., Wang, F., & Sun, L. (2010). Self-gift giving in China and the UK: Collectivist versus individualist orientations. Journal of Marketing Management, 26(11–12), 1112–1128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wacquant, L. (2005). Habitus. In J. Beckett & Z. Milan (Eds.), International encyclopedia of economic sociology. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, M. K., & Chan, C. (2015). Gift giving. In M. I. Norton, D. D. Rucker, & C. Lamberton (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of consumer psychology (Chapter 15). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watkins, L., Aitken, R., Thyne, M., Robertson, K., & Borzekowski, D. (2017). Environmental influences on pre-schooler’s understanding of brand symbolism. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 35(7), 907–922.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winnicott, D. W. (1953). Transitional objects and transitional phenomena. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 34(2), 89–97.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winnicott, D. W. (1971). Playing and reality. London: Tavistock Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, P., Hogg, M. K., & Vanharanta, M. (2012). Consumption narratives of extended possessions and the extended self. Journal of Marketing Management, 28(7–8), 936–954.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodward, I. (2011). Towards an object-relations theory of consumerism: The aesthetics of desire and the unfolding materiality of social life. Journal of Consumer Culture, 11(3), 366–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Business School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

    Brian M. Young

Authors
  1. Brian M. Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian M. Young .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Young, B.M. (2018). Children, Ownership and Possessions: The Origins. In: Consumer Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90911-0_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation