Tim Kasser

Tim Kasser (August 1, 1966) is an American psychologist and book author known for his work on materialism and well-being.

After receiving his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Rochester in 1994, Tim Kasser accepted a position at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he is currently a professor of psychology.

He has authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters on materialism, values, goals, well-being, and environmental sustainability, among other topics. His first book, The High Price of Materialism, was published in 2002 (ISBN 978-0262611978); his second book (co-edited with Allen D. Kanner), Psychology and Consumer Culture, was released in 2004. In 2009 he co-authored a book (with Tom Crompton) Meeting Environmental Challenges: The Role of Human Identity. He co-authored an article with Tom Crompton of WWF-UK entitled Human Identity: A Missing Link in Environmental Campaigning on climate change denial. Additionally, he wrote Lucy in the Mind of Lennon, a psychological biography that explores the meaning of John Lennon's song, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

In the last several years, he has become increasingly involved with activist groups who work against the commercialization of children and who work towards a more inwardly rich lifestyle than what is offered by consumerism. He lives with his wife, two sons, and assorted animals, including a donkey named Earl, in the western Illinois countryside.

Select publications

• Kasser, T. in Human Autonomy in Cross-Cultural Context (Chirkov, VI; Ryan, RM & Sheldon, KM, eds), Capitalism and autonomy, 191-206 (Springer, Netherlands, 2011).
• Kasser, T, Crompton, T, and Linn, S. Children, commercialism and environmental sustainability. Solutions 1(2), 14–17 (2010).
• Kasser, T, Cohn, S, Kanner, AD, & Ryan, RM. Some costs of American corporate capitalism: a psychological exploration of value and goal conflicts. Psychological Inquiry 18, 1–22 (2007).
• Kasser, T, Ryan, RM, Couchman, CE & Sheldon, KM in Psychology and Consumer Culture: The Struggle for a Good Life in a Materialistic World (Kasser, T & Kanner, AD, eds), Materialistic values: Their causes and consequences, 11–28 (American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 2004).

See also

• Economic materialism
• Cultural Creatives
• Post-materialism
• voluntary simplicity

External links

• Tim Kasser's personal homepage
• Knox College homepage about Tim Kasser
• Capitalism, Commercialism, and Children's well-being: Empirical Analyses Across Wealthy Nations video of a talk by Tim Kasser at the 2008 summit of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood