) and Tolman (1932), this premise has led moti-vation researchers to explore the psychological value people ascribe to goals (e.g., T. Kasser & Ryan, 1996; Vroom, 1964), people’s expectations about attaining goals (e.g., Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978;

, parental values are the primary means of socializing adolescents to specific values (Kilby 1993). For example, adolescents that value material posses-sions more than they value self-acceptance, affiliation, or commu-nity feelings are associated with more materialistic and less sup-portive parents (Kasser

the cultures in terms of specific goals are also discussed. Recent work in the United States has suggested that some of the goals proferred by free-market economy cultures as worthwhile are actually associated with lower levels of well-being when they are highly valued. For example, Kasser and Ryan (1993, 1996

(Verstuyf, Vansteenkiste, & Soenens, 2012). Finally, a relatively more extrinsic goal pursuit was found to yield social costs as well: It predicted poorer quality friendships and love relations (Kasser & Ryan, 2001), less ecological engagement (Brown & Kasser, * Corresponding author.

this message, the mass media creates a dream world in which wealth and the attainment of good looks are glorified as indicators of hap-piness and success (Kasser, Cohn, Kanner, & Ryan, 2007). In line with the exponential growth of consumer culture over the past decades, psychologists have become

ABSTRACT Two studies examined the effect of Extrinsic Value Orientation (Kasser & Ryan, 1993, 1996) upon harvesting strategies and personal profit within commons dilemmas, in which individual and group interests can be at odds. At an individual or within-group level of analysis, extrinsically

for themselves and others? ‘‘Beneficial’ ’ goals were defined as goals typically associated with subjective well-being (SWB) and with prosocial behavior—specifically, we focused on the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic goal contents (Kasser & Ryan, 1996). In three studies, participants tended

, poets, and philosophers throug-hout history have cautioned, the breathless pursuit of material wealth may leave one disappointed, depressed, or yes, even dead (Kasser and Ahuvia 2002; Kasser and Ryan 1993; Eckersley 2006).

/extrinsic-goals distinction of Kasser and Ryan (1993) is investigated. This approach points to a second kind of discrepancy between decision utility and experienced utility of income and implies that life satisfaction depends on absolute rather than relative income. It has some potential, but, in its present stage, it yields