The Independent Effects of Goal Contents and Motives on Well-Being: It’s Both What You Pursue and Why You Pursue It

The assertion that both the content of goals and the motives behind goals affect psychological well-being has been controversial. Three studies examined this issue directly, showing that both what goals people pursue (i.e., whether they strive for extrinsic vs. intrinsic goal contents) and why peopl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPersonality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 475 - 486
Main Authors Sheldon, Kennon M., Ryan, Richard M., Deci, Edward L., Kasser, Tim
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States SAGE Publications 01.04.2004
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Goals
Happiness
Humans
Male
Mental Health
Motivation
Objectives
Prospective Studies
Self Concept
extrinsic goals
autonomous motivation
subjective well-being
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Summary:The assertion that both the content of goals and the motives behind goals affect psychological well-being has been controversial. Three studies examined this issue directly, showing that both what goals people pursue (i.e., whether they strive for extrinsic vs. intrinsic goal contents) and why people pursue them (i.e., whether they strive for autonomous vs. controlled motives) make significant independent contributions to psychological well-being. The pattern emerged in between-person and within-person studies of cross-sectional well-being and also emerged in a year-long study of prospective change in well-being. Implications for prescriptive theories of happiness are discussed.
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ISSN:0146-1672
1552-7433
DOI:10.1177/0146167203261883