•In adulthood, most individuals narrate the good life in terms of virtue.•Self-defining memories vary when considering one’s own mortality.•Rigorous, reliable method for narrative analysis of ...universal virtues introduced.
How the good life manifests in one’s narrative identity may be shaped by their consideration that their life story will have an ending. This study takes a eudaimonic approach, investigating human virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) as central to the good life. Since reflection on life’s finitude may depend on age, three adult life phases were sampled (young, middle-aged, and older adults). Narrative identity was tapped through a self-defining memory (SDM) as well as descriptors of the SDM provided in line with one of two conditions: (i) Current-SDM, according to classic SDM instructions, or (ii) Memorialize-SDM, according to instructions prompting them to consider death, and how they want to be remembered. SDMs were content-analyzed for total virtues present, and type of virtue present. Two-way ANOVA showed more virtues, in total, were narrated in Memorialize-SDMs than Current-SDMs, regardless of participant age. Humanity and Courage & Justice occurred more frequently than other virtues in the SDMs. Narrative examples of virtue are presented and discussed. Findings suggest that, compared to those considering only their current life circumstance, individuals considering their death more frequently refer to having a virtuous, good life.
Understanding the transactions that occur between humans and their environments requires research focused on phenomena that explain behavioral patterns, particularly values that serve as guiding ...principles in life. Mounting evidence has suggested that pro-environmental behavior is motivated by the long-term goal of living a meaningful life, as reflected by Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia. However, the relationships among value concepts, particularly eudaimonic values, remains unclear despite the fundamental role that these constructs play in explaining why people make behavioral decisions. We conceptualized eudaimonic values with guidance from Self-Determination Theory to understand how a suite of values affected pro-environmental behavior reported by recreational anglers (n = 1,103) across five US states (Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Indiana) in the Great Lakes region. Results from a latent variable path model showed that eudaimonic values were strong predictors of biospheric, altruistic, egoistic, and hedonic values, which in turn, influenced self-reported behavior among recreational anglers who were at risk of spreading aquatic invasive species. These findings suggest that eudaimonic values are an antecedent to values-behavior relationships and can improve the predictive capacity of models being developed to inform management strategies for minimizing human activities that are contributing to the unintentional spread of aquatic invasive species.
•Eudaimonia can be operationalized as a higher order value focused on living a meaningful life.•Eudaimonic values do not directly predict pro-environmental behavior.•Eudaimonic values are antecedents to other value concepts.•Values are a basis for understanding behavior related to biological invasions.•Fishery managers across five U.S. states would benefit from knowledge of angler values and behavior.
Research has shown that seeking fun and enjoyment (i.e., hedonic reasons) motivates playing digital games. However, recent scholarship revealed that gaming also evokes eudaimonic entertainment ...experiences, such as meaningfulness and being moved. Yet, it is unclear whether players turn to games to have such eudaimonic experiences. Hence, the present study explored potential eudaimonic gaming motives in an online survey among fans (N = 894) of five yet-to-be-released games. Specifically, it was examined whether eudaimonic motives, derived from gaming research and scholarship in positive psychology, complement an existing scale measuring gaming motives. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (split-half method) demonstrated that “Eudaimonia” represents a distinct reason to play—alongside the well-known motives of “Absorption” and “Social Interaction.” Moreover, the Eudaimonia motive for using the five games was positively related to general eudaimonic orientations in life and trait-like eudaimonic game preferences. The results suggest that digital gaming may also be eudaimonically motivated.
In recent years, participation in flamenco, as a cultural art form, has gained momentum within Spain and internationally. Engagement in flamenco music and dance workshops in Spain has also become an ...increasingly significant tourism activity. Despite this trend, little research has looked into the nature of leisure experiences of flamenco. This paper seeks to address this knowledge gap by exploring how tourists experience flamenco music and dance courses in the city of Seville. Through a grounded theory research strategy in which in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 participants, the study reveals that four key themes characterise tourists' experiences of flamenco. These are: the social and physical environment, which refers to physical flamenco spaces in Seville and tourists' interactions with instructors and peers; secondly, the experience of challenge, characterised by hardship and sacrifice in the pursuit of flamenco; thirdly, activation of the sensual body or a sense of arousal; and lastly, an intrinsic and deep desire for self-discovery. The study demonstrates that the flamenco tourist experience strongly contributes to self-realisation and fulfilment of those who engage in it, or in other words, that the flamenco tourist experience is eudaimonic in character. The interview findings were linked to literature on self-realisation, self-fulfilment, true self, stress-related growth and related eudaimonic themes. Eudaimonia, or a sense of personal expressiveness and self-realisation, has not been previously established in this context. Therefore, the research findings provide a theoretical understanding of what a eudaimonic tourist experience of dance and music may look like.
Pleasantness and meaningfulness are sometimes seen as opposing pursuits. Yet past research has found that the pursuit of meaning often leads to pleasure. In four longitudinal studies-three ...observational, one experimental, ranging from 5 weeks to 18 months-we investigated an inverse process, whereby specific kinds of pleasant states can foster a sense of meaning in life. We hypothesized that perceptions of positivity resonance, a form of coexperienced positive affect characterized by mutual care and synchrony, are experienced as particularly meaningful in the moment and, over time, build social resources (e.g., supportive relationships and communities) that foster an enduring sense of meaning in life. Results indicate that perceived positivity resonance is associated with perceived meaning both between- and within-persons, links that emerge independently of overall pleasant emotion and social interaction quantity. Perceived social resources mediate between-persons links, and changes in perceived social resources mediate longitudinal links. Overall, these findings suggest that coexperienced, caring, and synchronous pleasant states may be uniquely suited to cultivating a person's sense that life is meaningful.
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In the midst of a global pandemic, psychology has a duty to identify dispositional or character traits that can be cultivated in citizens in order to create resiliency in the face of profound losses, ...suffering and distress. Dispositional joy holds some promise as such a trait that could be especially important for well-being during the current pandemic and its consequences. The concept of the Joyful Life may operate as bridge between positive psychology and humanistic, existential, and spiritual views of the good life, by integrating hedonic, prudential, eudaimonic and chaironic visions of the good life. Previous phenomenological research on state joy suggests that momentary states of joy may have features that overlap with happiness but go beyond mere hedonic interests, and point to the experience of a life oriented toward virtue and a sense of the transcendent or the sacred. However, qualitative research on the Joyful Life, or dispositional joy, is sorely lacking. This study utilized a dialogical phenomenological analysis to conduct a group-based analysis of 17 volunteer students, who produced 51 autobiographical narrative descriptions of the joyful life. The dialogical analyses were assisted by integration of the Imagery in Movement Method, which incorporated expressive drawing and psychodrama as an aid to explicate implicit themes in the experiences of the participants. The analyses yielded ten invariant themes found across the autobiographical narrative descriptions: Being broken, being grounded, being centered, breaking open, being uplifted, being supertemporal, being open to the mystery, being grateful, opening up and out, and being together. The descriptions of a Joyful Life were consistent with a meaning orientation to happiness, due to their emphasis on the cultivation of virtue in the service of a higher calling, the realization of which was felt to be a gift or blessing. The discussion examines implications for future research, including the current relevance of a joyful disposition during a global pandemic. Due to the joyful disposition’s tendency to transform suffering and tragedy into meaning, and its theme of an orientation to prosocial motivations, the Joyful Life may occupy a central place in the study of resiliency and personal growth in response to personal and collective trauma such as COVID-19.
Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, and King (2008) provide a wide-ranging critique of eudaimonic theory and research. In this paper, I question whether the timing of their analysis is appropriate given that ...work on eudaimonic constructs has begun only recently. In an effort to increase the clarity regarding points at issue, both conceptual and operational definitions of hedonia and eudaimonia as two conceptions of happiness are analyzed along with definitions of four conceptions of well-being (subjective, hedonic, psychological, and eudaimonic), and both hedonism and eudaimonism as ethical philosophies. Responses are provided to numerous points in the Kashdan et al. (
2008
) critique including their claims that work from a eudaimonic perspective (1) does not fully capture the philosophical roots of eudaimonia, (2) is overly abstract, (3) lacks clarity at the point of operationalization and measurement, (4) is overly complex thus preventing meaningful scientific inquiry, (5) provides evidence only for quantitative, not qualitative, differences, (6) is potentially elitist, and (7) misrepresents the moral standing of hedonia and eudaimonia. Evidence is presented in support of the view that hedonia and eudaimonia represent inter-related but reliably distinguishable and qualitatively distinct conceptions of happiness making independent contributions to an array of outcome variables. A set of recommendations is advanced as to how theory-building and empirical research can be strengthened in light of the multiple conceptualizations of happiness and well-being now current in the literature.
In this contribution, we draw on findings from a non-formal, community music project to elaborate on the relationship between the concept of
, as defined by Seligman, the interactive dimensions of ...collective free improvisation, and the concept of collaborative creativity. The project revolves around The Ostend Street Orkestra (TOSO), a music ensemble within which homeless adults and individuals with a psychiatric or alcohol/drug related background engage in collective musical improvisation. Between 2017 and 2019 data was collected through open interviews and video recordings of rehearsals and performances. Participant data was analyzed through inductive analysis based on the principles of grounded theory. One interesting finding was the discrepancy in the participant interviews between social relationships indicative of a negative affect about social group interaction versus strong feelings of group coherence and belonging. Video recordings of performances and rehearsals showed clear enjoyment and pleasure while playing music. Alongside verbal reflection through one-on-one interviews video recordings and analysis of moment-to moment observations should be used, in order to capture the complexity of community music projects with homeless people. The initial open coding was aligned with the five elements of the PERMA model. Overall, we observed more focus on Relationship (sense of belonging), Engagement (flow in rehearsals and performances) and Meaning (belonging to something greater than yourself) and less on Positive Emotion and Accomplishment (goal setting).
To inform consumption choices bring people greater happiness, it is necessary to identify the types of consumption with greater happiness-generating potential. Using an experimental design, this ...research demonstrates that tourism experiences tend to cultivate happiness better than possessions, by empirically testing a potential underlying mechanism of such superiority—tourism’s potential to cultivate eudaimonia (i.e., the more enduring form of happiness that accounts for the bigger picture beyond the self) without explicit eudaimonic motives. The mechanism can aid the identification of forms of consumption that maximize happiness. This research makes multi-faceted contributions to the tourism and consumption literature on eudaimonia and happiness promotion, including how its revealed potential in implicitly cultivating eudaimonia renders tourism a better consumption choice than material possessions for happiness maximization. Practically, the study suggests how tourism experiences can be designed and marketed to capitalize on the eudaimonic potential.
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