Pursuing Pleasure or Virtue: The Differential and Overlapping Well-Being Benefits of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives

Journal of Happiness Studies

Volumn 11, Issue 6, 2010, Pages 735-762

  Huta, Veronika ^a   Ryan, Richard M ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA   (Canada)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER   (United States)

Author keywords

Elevation; Eudaimonia; Hedonism; Pleasure; Virtue; Well being

Indexed keywords

EID: 78249238179     PISSN: 13894978     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10902-009-9171-4     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. Aristotle. (2001). Nichomachean ethics. In R. McKeon (Ed.), The basic works of Aristotle (pp. 928-1112). New York: The Modern Library.
2. Battista, J., & Almond, R. (1973). The development of meaning in life. Psychiatry, 36, 409-427.
3. Bostic, T. J., Rubio, D. M., & Hood, M. (2000). A validation of the subjective vitality scale using structural equation modeling. Social Indicators Research, 52, 313-324.
4. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2007). Multilevel modeling of motivation. In A. D. Ong & M. H. M. Dulman (Eds.), Oxford handbook of methods in positive psychology (pp. 530-541). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
5. Compton, W. C., Smith, M. L., Cornish, K. A., & Qualls, D. L. (1996). Factor structure of mental health measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 406-413.
6. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Collins.
7. Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Rathunde, K. (1993). The measurement of flow in everyday life: Toward a theory of emergent motivation. In J. E. Jacobs (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation 1992: Developmental perspectives on motivation (pp. 57-97). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
8. Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105-1117.
9. Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
10. Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276-302.
11. Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective wellbeing in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389.
12. Fowers, B. J., Mollica, C. O., & Procaccu, E. N. (2009). Constitutive and instrumental goal orientations: Pathways to eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. Manuscript submitted for publication.
13. Frankl, V. E. (1963). Man's search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. New York: Washington Square Press.
14. Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226.
15. Haidt, J. (2000). The positive emotion of elevation. Prevention and Treatment, 3.
16. Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, R., & Black, W. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice-Hall, NJ: Upper Saddle River.
17. Huta, V. (2007). Pursuing pleasure versus growth and excellence: Links with different aspects of well-being. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 68(1-B), 649.
18. Kahneman, D. (1999). Objective happiness. In D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwartz (Eds.), Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology (pp. 3-25). New York: Russell Sage.
19. Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (Eds.). (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
20. Kashdan, T. B., Biswas-Diener, R., & King, L. A. (2008). Reconsidering happiness: The costs of distinguishing between hedonics and eudaimonia. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3, 219-233.
21. Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17, 297-314.
22. Keyes, C. L. M., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C. D. (2002). Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 1007-1022.
23. King, L. A., & Napa, C. K. (1998). What makes a good life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 156-165.
24. Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005a). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803-855.
25. Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005b). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111-131.
26. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Harper & Row.
27. McCullough, M. E., Pargament, K. I., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.). (2000). Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford Press.
28. McGregor, I., & Little, B. R. (1998). Personal projects, happiness, and meaning: On doing well and being yourself. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 494-512.
29. Moskowitz, D. S., Brown, K. W., & Cote, S. (1997). Reconceptualizing stability: Using time as a psychological dimension. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6, 127-131.
30. Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full life versus the empty life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 6, 25-41.
31. Raudenbush, S. W., Bryk, A. S., & Congdon, R. (2004). HLM 6 for windows [computer software]. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International, Inc.
32. Reker, G. T., & Fry, P. S. (2003). Factor structure and invariance of personal meaning measures in cohorts of younger and older adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 977-993.
33. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166.
34. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2008). From ego depletion to vitality: Theory and findings concerning the facilitation of energy available to the self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 702-717.
35. Ryan, R. M., & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. Journal of Personality, 65, 529-565.
36. Ryan, R. M., & Huta, V. (2009). Wellness as healthy functioning or wellness as happiness: The importance of Eudaimonic Thinking. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 202-204.
37. Ryan, R. M., Huta, V., & Deci, E. L. (2008). Living well: A self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 139-170.
38. Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.
39. Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (1998). The role of purpose in life and personal growth in positive human health. In P. T. P. Wong & P. S. Fry (Eds.), The human quest for meaning: A handbook of psychological research and clinical applications (pp. 213-235). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
40. Schmutte, P. S., & Ryff, C. D. (1997). Personality and well-being: Reexamining methods and meanings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 549-559.
41. Schooler, J. W., Ariely, D., & Loewenstein, G. (2003). The pursuit and assessment of happiness can be self-defeating. In I. Brocas & J. Carrillo (Eds.), The psychology of economic decisions. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
42. Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.
43. Seligman, M. E. P., Rashid, T., & Parks, A. C. (2006). Positive psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 61, 774-788.
44. Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive psychology progress: Empirical validation of interventions. American Psychologist, 60, 410-421.
45. Sheldon, K. M., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). Is it possible to become happier? (And If So, How?). Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1, 129-145.
46. Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80-93.
47. Steger, M. F., Kashdan, T. B., & Oishi, S. (2008). Being good by doing good: Daily eudaimonic activity and well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 22-42.
48. Thompson, A., & Bolger, N. (1999). Emotional transmission in couples under stress. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 38-48.
49. Thrash, T. M., & Elliot, A. J. (2003). Inspiration as a psychological construct. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 871-889.
50. Urry, H. L., Nitschke, J. B., Dolski, I., Jackson, D. C., Dalton, K. M., Mueller, C. J., et al. (2004). Making a life worth living: Neural correlates of well-being. Psychological Science, 15, 367-372.
51. Vittersø, J. (2003). Flow versus life satisfaction: A projective use of cartoons to illustrate the difference between the evaluation approach and the intrinsic motivation approach to subjective quality of life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 141-167.
52. Vittersø, J. (2004). Subjective well-being versus self-actualization: Using the flow-simplex to promote a conceptual, clarification of subjective quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 65, 299-331.
53. Vittersø, J., Søholt, Y., Hetland, A., Thoresen, I. A., & Røysamb, E. (2009). Was hercules happy? Some answers from a functional model of human well-being. Social Indicators Research. doi: 10. 1007/s11205-009-9447-4.
54. Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678-691.
55. Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., & Conti, R. (2008). The implications of two conceptions of happiness (hedonic enjoyment and eudaimonia) for the understanding of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 41-79.