Purchasing happiness: exploring language as a behavioral measure of well-being

More than a decade of research examining the relationship of subjective well-being (SWB) and purchase choices has found that discretionary income spent on experiential purchases (e.g., dining out, concerts, vacations, etc.) increases happiness more than material purchases (e.g. clothing, accessories, electronics, etc.), referred to as the Experiential Advantage. However, nearly all studies have measured SWB with measures of self-report. The main aim of this study was to investigate the support for the Experiential Advantage using both self-reported SWB and a behavioral measure of SWB (i.e., positive language use). Our results found that participants (N= 131) self-reported more happiness with their experiential purchases than with material purchases, and this effect was mediated through the use of more social words used to describe experiential purchases. However, there was no difference in the behavioral measure of SWB between the two purchase types. These findings add nuance to past research suggesting that subjective well-being is a multifaceted construct comprised of both subjective and behavioral aspects.