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This paper builds on Sirgy’s theory of materialism by integrating exposure to materialistic advertising and social influence into a more comprehensive model. The data collected in Bosnia-Herzegovina showed that exposure to materialistic advertising and social influence contributes to materialism. Materialism, in turn, leads to the use of all types of standards of comparison (affective- and cognitive-based expectations) to make judgments about the standard of living. As the use of these standards of comparison increases, people start to evaluate their standard of living more negatively and these negative evaluations of the standard of living lead to a dissatisfaction with life.