Executive functioning and the pursuit of happiness

Abstract

Executive functioning and happiness are each associated with successful learning and other desirable individual and societal outcomes; however, it is unclear whether a relation exists between them. Executive regulation of happiness pursuits in daily life, operationalized as hedonic (e.g., pursuing pleasure) and eudaimonic (e.g., pursuing personal growth) motives for action, may be a way the constructs relate to each other. In this initial investigation, we aimed to explore whether objectively measured executive functioning skills relate to happiness motives. A sample of 119 college students completed six objective neuropsychological measures of executive functioning and self-reported levels of hedonic and eudaimonic motives for action in daily life. Correlation and regression analyses examined the relations among temporal discounting and two latent executive functioning factors (inhibitory control and working memory) with hedonic and eudaimonic motives, as well as their interaction. Results suggested a possible association between higher levels of eudaimonic motives and preference for higher delayed rewards, as well as poorer working memory. Further analyses suggested that endorsing high levels of eudaimonic and hedonic motives simultaneously (i.e., the “full life”) was associated with poorer inhibitory control and working memory performance, whereas endorsing low levels of both simultaneously (i.e., the “empty life”) was associated with a preference for more immediate monetary rewards. Findings are discussed in the context of goal conflict and risk assessment among individuals who endorse the “full life”. Overall, these findings suggest that complex relations may exist between executive functioning and trait-level happiness pursuits, and have implications for possible interventions aimed at enhancing happiness-related motives and cognitive processes to facilitate learning. Given the exploratory nature of the present study, further investigations are necessary.