Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural?
Metropolitan areas tend to be materialistic/consumerist, and materialism/consumerism is usually considered immoral. Some literature argues that in cities, in general, there is more vice and immorality. In this study, we empirically explore the relationship between urbanness and materialism/immoralit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Societies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/5/123 |
| _version_ | 1797469973491220480 |
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| author | Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn |
| author_facet | Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn |
| author_sort | Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Metropolitan areas tend to be materialistic/consumerist, and materialism/consumerism is usually considered immoral. Some literature argues that in cities, in general, there is more vice and immorality. In this study, we empirically explore the relationship between urbanness and materialism/immorality using 1972–2018 US General Social Survey. We find much support for a hypothesis that urbanness is associated with higher materialism and immorality. Seven out of eight measures show some evidence of more materialism/immorality in large cities, and four measures remain significant even in the most oversaturated models. However, we caution, as it is one of the first quantitative studies in the area, that the evidence is provisional. While there is a lot of theory, more empirical quantitative research is needed. The study is associative, not causal, and results may not generalize outside of the US. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:30:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f019c35b185f4137b7a9458b5145bef9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:30:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-f019c35b185f4137b7a9458b5145bef92023-11-24T02:32:59ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982022-08-0112512310.3390/soc12050123Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural?Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn0Department of Public Policy and Administration/Faculty of Arts and Sciences-Camden, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden, NJ 08102, USAMetropolitan areas tend to be materialistic/consumerist, and materialism/consumerism is usually considered immoral. Some literature argues that in cities, in general, there is more vice and immorality. In this study, we empirically explore the relationship between urbanness and materialism/immorality using 1972–2018 US General Social Survey. We find much support for a hypothesis that urbanness is associated with higher materialism and immorality. Seven out of eight measures show some evidence of more materialism/immorality in large cities, and four measures remain significant even in the most oversaturated models. However, we caution, as it is one of the first quantitative studies in the area, that the evidence is provisional. While there is a lot of theory, more empirical quantitative research is needed. The study is associative, not causal, and results may not generalize outside of the US.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/5/123urbanismurbannesscitiesurban–ruraldeviancemorality |
| spellingShingle | Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? Societies urbanism urbanness cities urban–rural deviance morality |
| title | Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? |
| title_full | Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? |
| title_fullStr | Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? |
| title_short | Materialism and Immorality: More Urban than Rural? |
| title_sort | materialism and immorality more urban than rural |
| topic | urbanism urbanness cities urban–rural deviance morality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/5/123 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adamokuliczkozaryn materialismandimmoralitymoreurbanthanrural |