Experts at Empire State College

Miriam Tatzel
Professor of Psychology
New City, NY

Expertise

• Consumer Psychology
• Money and Materialism (including healthy materialism)
• Happiness studies
• Quality of life issues
• Cognitive and physiological bases of obesity
• Positive psychology

Profile

Miriam Tatzel’s research focuses on the psychological aspects of money and materialism in relation to well-being, and the relationships among materialism, money-related behavior, and well-being. Tatzel considers herself as part of a larger scholarly movement, namely, quality-of-life studies. “It is usually assumed that economic prosperity is a primary aim of government and of individuals, too. But research on well-being challenges this assumption. Once basic needs are met, increase in wealth has but a small influence on happiness and well-being. Moreover, holding material values and having strong financial aspirations are found to be negatively related to well-being,” she has said.

Tatzel earned her Ph.D., from Columbia University, Graduate Faculties, Department of Social Psychology, and her M.B.S. in psychology Queens College of the City University of New York. Prior to coming to Empire State College she was a professor at Hunter College.

Publications
Tatzel, M. (2003b). The art of buying: Coming to terms with money and materialism. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4(4), 405-435.

Tatzel, M. (2003a). [Review of Sirgy, J. M. (2001), Quality of life research: An ethical marketing perspective]. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4(2), 235 – 239.

Tatzel, M. (2002). “Money worlds” and well-being: An integration of money dispositions, materialism and price-related behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23(1), 103-126.

Tatzel, M. (2002, November). Educational planning in the first learning contract: Is it a good idea? Institutional research reported in All About Mentoring, 24, 57-58.

Tatzel, M. (2001). “Money worlds” and consumer well-being. An integration of money dispositions, materialism and spending. In H. E. Spotts, H. L. Meadow & S. Grzeskowiak (Eds.), How to measure quality of life in diverse populations: Procedings of the fourth conference of the International Society of Quality-of-Life Studies. (pp. 84-85). ISQOLS.