Examining Materialistic Values of University Students in Thailand

The purposes of this study were to classify university students in terms of their materialism and to compare the difference in certain attributes among the segments. Student attributes taken into consideration included father's educational level and occupation, money received from family, family communication and susceptibility to peer influence. In this survey research, questionnaires were used to collect data from 620 students ranging from 18 to 21 years old in Bangkok. Cluster analysis was used where students could be classified into three clusters: those who believe that money is the center of life (centrality); those who believe that money is a measure of success in life (success); and those who believe that money makes a happy life (happiness). Students from the three clusters appeared to be of different attributes. Those in the centrality group are from poorer family while those in the success cluster are from a family with better financial status, and those in the happiness cluster are more susceptible to peer influence than the other two groups. The implications of the study were discussed as a concluding remark.