title: Wanting, having, and satisfaction: examining the role of desire discrepancies in satisfaction with income.
abstract: In 3 studies, the authors tested the predictors of income satisfaction, examining whether discrepanc between the things people have and the things they desire predict satisfaction. Study 1 manipulated the desirability of items that can be purchased with participants' income, and showed that their satisfaction with that income depended on the desirability of these items. Study 2 demonstrated that whether people's income enabled them to purchase the things they desired influenced their satisfaction with income. Study 3 found that the effect of comparisons with a person's past on income satisfaction is completely mediated by one's desires; and the effect of social comparison on income satisfaction is partially mediated by desires. Thus, desires play a pivotal role in determining people's satisfaction with income.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61820, USA.
authors.forename: Emily Crawford
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Solberg
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diener
authors.forename: Derrick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wirtz
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lucas
authors.forename: Shigehiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oishi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D007182:Income; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012938:Social Perception