James A. Roberts

Shiny Objects

Why We Spend Money We Don't Have in Search of Happiness We Can't Buy

Talking Points

James Roberts is a Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Baylor University in Waco, Texas where he has been a faculty member since 1991. His research on compulsive buying, credit card abuse, and the way that materialism affects our quality of life has been featured everywhere from ABC World News Tonight, NPR and The New York Times, to USA Today and Cosmopolitan. A primary focus of Dr. Roberts’ work over the last ten years has been the psychology of consumer behavior. His goal is to explore how materialism affects our quality of life. Dr. Roberts is a nationally recognized expert on consumer behavior and has been quoted extensively in the media.

Description

Roberts is a leading expert on consumer spending and SHINY OBJECTS unpacks the mysteries of materialism and its devastating impact on our quality of life. In Shiny Objects, Roberts tells the story of how the American Dream has changed over the years: a vision once rooted in equal opportunity and hard work is today more of a flashy, get-rich-quick American Daydream.  He also reveals a direct link between how much we spend (and how much time we devote to spending) and the negative impact on our happiness. The data shows that increased spending leads to: reduced work productivity; relationship stress and divorce; increased levels of personal insecurity and fear; a decrease in our ability to set life goals; financial hardship; even obesity. Lastly, the book offers practical, helpful advice for how to correct this materialistic trend in our own lives.

Shiny Objects is replete with engaging anecdotes, charts, graphs, and self-quizzes for the media and will help the reader assess the good, bad, and the ugly about their own spending habits and how to make a change for the better. New data about recent spending trends during this current economic crisis will be released concurrent with publication for the media and will include Roberts’s predictions about what recent consumer spending patterns can tell us about the future.