Leaf Van Boven

Who they are

This page records only his role as stated by the university and the content of the cited paper. Biography beyond that is not given here.

Key papers

To do or to have? That is the question (2003), with Gilovich. The paper asked whether experiences make people happier than material possessions. In two surveys, respondents from various demographic groups said that experiential purchases, those made with the primary intention of acquiring a life experience, had made them happier than material purchases. In a laboratory experiment, participants felt more positive after thinking about an experiential purchase than after thinking about a material one. In another experiment, people were more likely to expect experiences to make them happier when they took a distant rather than a near perspective. The authors proposed three explanations: experiences are more open to positive reinterpretation, they are a more meaningful part of a person's identity, and they contribute more to social relationships.

Key ideas

The experiential advantage has held up in later work, with conditions. A 2009 study found that it applies when a purchase goes well, while a bad experience can leave people less happy than a disappointing object, because people adapt more slowly to experiences. A 2020 meta-analysis of 141 studies supported the advantage, estimated that about a third of the effect may reflect publication bias, and found it smaller for negative and solitary experiences and for consumers with fewer resources.

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