Happiness as a Motivator

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1093-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Haase ◽  
Michael J. Poulin ◽  
Jutta Heckhausen

What motivates individuals to invest time and effort and overcome obstacles (i.e., strive for primary control) when pursuing important goals? We propose that positive affect predicts primary control striving for career and educational goals, and we explore the mediating role of control beliefs. In Study 1, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career goals in a two-wave longitudinal study of a U.S. sample. In Study 2, positive affect predicted primary control striving for career and educational goals and objective career outcomes in a six-wave longitudinal study of a German sample. Control beliefs partially mediated the longitudinal associations with primary control striving. Thus, when individuals experience positive affect, they become more motivated to invest time and effort, and overcome obstacles when pursuing their goals, in part because they believe they have more control over attaining their goals.

2017 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan WANG ◽  
Zhenchao LIN ◽  
Bowen HOU ◽  
Shijin SUN

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Adam Wilt ◽  
Jessie Sun ◽  
Rowan Jacques-Hamilton ◽  
Luke D. Smillie

Extraverts report higher levels of authenticity and extraverted behavior predicts increased feelings of authenticity. Why? Across three studies, we examined positive affect as a mediator of the associations between extraversion and authenticity. In Study 1 (N = 205), we tested our mediation model at the trait level. Study 2 (N = 97) involved a ten-week lab-based experience sampling protocol, whereas Study 3 (N = 147) involved a preregistered week-long daily-life experience sampling protocol. These studies allowed us to test our mediation model at the state level. Positive affect explained moderate to very high proportions of the effects of extraversion on authenticity (Study 1 = 29%, Study 2 = 38%, Study 3 = 87%). We interpret these findings through the lens of cybernetic self-regulation, feelings-as-information, positive psychology, and humanistic perspectives, and propose that increased PA could also explain why extraversion is connected with other eudaimonic components of wellbeing.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Lei Ren

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between challenge-hindrance stressors and employees’ career initiative while incorporating the mediating role of positive affect and the moderating role of job autonomy.Design/methodology/approachFive proposed hypotheses were tested using path analysis with two waves of data collected from 136 part-time MBA students.FindingsThe findings show that challenge stressors indirectly facilitate career initiative, whereas hindrance stressors indirectly inhibit career initiative, both with positive affect as mediators. Job autonomy enhances the direct relationship between positive affect and career initiative, as well as the indirect relationships among challenge/hindrance stressors, positive affect and career initiative.Originality/valueThe study brings a new perspective to understanding why an employee conducts career initiative, thereby widening the scope of the antecedents of career initiative. The study discloses positive affect as the mediator that transmits the opposite effects from challenge-hindrance stressors to career initiative. It also identifies job autonomy as an important boundary condition for positive affect to exert its influence on career initiative, as well as challenge-hindrance stressors that influence career initiative via positive affect.


Appetite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 158 ◽  
pp. 105001
Author(s):  
Ti Hsu ◽  
Catherine A. Forestell

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