Identity Contributions to a Life Well-Lived: A Study of the Relationship of Eudaimonic Well-Being to Intrinsic Motivation for Identity-Related Activities

Abstract

ABSTRACT Within Eudaimonic Identity Theory, a central question pertains to what criteria can be used to determine which, among the potential identity-related goals, values, beliefs, and roles a person might choose, represent the “better” choices that one can enact. Eudaimonic Identity Theory proposes that one such criterion is the extent to which identity-related activities are intrinsically motivated. In the present study, a sample of 607 adults completed brief forms of the Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being and the Personally Expressive Activities Questionnaire. The former is a person-level measure of well-being, whereas the latter assesses aspects of the identity-related activities in which the person engages. Four predictors of intrinsic motivation were assessed: (a) self-determination, (b) the balance of the challenges presented by an activity with the skills one brings to it, (c) self-realization values, and (d) engaged performance in the form of effort. In addition, four types of subjective experiences associated with intrinsic motivation were assessed: (a) interest, (b) flow experiences, (c) feelings of personal expressiveness, and (d) enjoyment. Using multilevel modeling, findings provided consistent support for the hypothesis that eudaimonic well-being was predictive of intrinsic motivation, in terms of both the conditions leading to such motivation and the associated subjective experiences. In addition, the greater the number of predictor variables present at a high level, the higher the level of eudaimonic well-being reported.