What should we get for our kids this holiday? As children get older, giving them something they can experience (live through) instead of material things makes them happier, according to new research led by Lan Nguyen Chaplin, associate professor of marketing at the University of Illinois Chicago.
The research, published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, compared the level of happiness children derive from material goods with the level of happiness they derive from experiences.
Across four studies with children and adolescents, Chaplin and her collaborators demonstrated that children ages 3-12 derive more happiness from material things than from experiences. However, older children derive more happiness from their experiences than from their possessions.
“What this means is, experiences are highly coveted by adolescents, not just expensive material things, like…
