Status and Subjective Well-Being

The purpose of this study was to investigate the link between status, consumption, and life satisfaction. A nationally-representative survey of U.S. residents was fielded to extend sociological research on styles of cultural consumption to consideration of consumption more generally. The research examines how processes of social comparison and reference groups might vary by social location across a range of visible, positional goods and how styles of consumption and reference groups affect life satisfaction. Information on respondents’ cultural consumption and on a range of socio-demographic characteristics was also collected.

This study is supported by funding from the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University-Bloomington.