‘tional eo hen dosage oer ery he Amer Poo rt A Dark Side of the American Dream: Correlates of Financial Success as a Central Life Aspiration ‘Tim Kasser and Richard M. Ryan Aspiring for financial success isan important aspect of capitalist cultures. Three studies examine the hypothesis that values and expectancies for wealth and money are nepatvely associated with adjust ‘ment and well-being when they are more central toan individual than other selfrelevant values and ‘expectancies. Studies | and 2 use 2 methods 1o show that the relative centrality of money-reated values and expectancies is negatively related to college students’ well-being and mental health, Study 3, using a heterogeneous noncollege sample, extends these findings by showing that a high centrality of aspirations for financial success is associated with interview ratings of lower global adjustment and socal productivity and more behavioral disorders. Discusion is focused on the {eleterious consequences of materialistic worldviews and the need to examine diferntial eects oF content regarding goals and values. Financial success has long been a core component of the American dream, and many of the values modeled and encour- ‘aged by modern society suggest that success and happiness de- ppend on procuring monetary wealth (Derber, 1979). Yet folk- lore and table side discussion often suggest that a darker side lurks bebind the American dream. Pursuing material wealth is sometimes viewed as empty or shallow and as precluding in- vestment in one's family and friends, sef-actualization, and. contributions to the community. Suspicion about the worth of material pursuits is echoed in some humanistic theories. Both Rogers (1963) and Maslow (1954), for instance, consider humans to be energized by an, actualizing tendency and believe that well-being occurs to the extent people can freely express their inherent potentials. In situations of conditional positive regard (Rogers, 1963) or force ful external demands (Maslow, 1956), however, individuals of- ten forego their own actualization to attain repard or outcomes from others. Similarly, Fromm (1976) distinguished between a ‘or consummatory orientation and a “being” or expe- riential orientation to life. He considered the former as reflect- ing alienation from the actualizing tendencies of the self. Inas- ‘much as money represents an external incentive for behavior that is contingently given, these theories suggest the pursuit of ‘Tim Kasserand Richard M. Ryan, Department of Psychology, Uni versity of Rochester, ‘Studies 1 and 2 were supported in part bya grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HDI9914) tothe Homan Motivation Program of the University of Rochester. Study 3 ‘was supported in part by Grant MH18922 from the National Insitute fof Mental Health 10 the Human Motivation Program and Grant {58113087 from the W. T. Grant Foundation to Clara P. Baldwin, De- partment of Psychology, University of Rochester. The authors thank Cynthia Powelson, Scott Righy, and Elizabeth ‘Whitehead for their assistance. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tim Kasser, Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Roches- ter, New York 14627. 410 ‘money may distract from actualization and be associated with ‘greater distress. Deci and Ryans (1985b, 1991) self determination theory of ‘motivation also suggests some specific risks involved in being, overly reward oriented. Deci and Ryan (1985b) argued that the pursuit of extrinsic rewards per se is neither positive nor nega- tive; however, excessive concentration on external rewards can distract people from intrinsic endeavors and interfere with per- sonal integration and actualization. Individuals who are espe- cially focused on gaining external rewards or approval have ‘been described as control oriented, a personality style charac- terized by a focus on external sources of regulation for behavior and attitude adoption (Deci & Ryan, 1985a, 1987). Higher control orientations have been shown in past research to be associated with les self-actualization, more concern with what others think, and less emotion-behavior congruence (eg., Deci & Ryan, 1985b; Koestner, Bernieri, & Zuckerman, 1992). Self- determination theory might assume, therefore, that persons who view money and wealth as central values are likely to be both more control oriented and less psychologically integrated ‘Accontrasting view to these humanistic perspectives on finan cial success may be derived from some behavioral approaches. For example, Bandura(1977, 1989) proposed that when people feel selfefficacious about obtaining external rewards, beter ad- Jjustment should result, particularly ifthe outcome is viewed as important (Locke & Latham, 1990). Similarly, other cogni- tive-behavioral theories emphasize that optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991) regarding outcome attainment should be positively associated with psychological well-being, Such theories do not suggest, however, that the relative valuing Of certain types of outcomes may have harmful consequences, even if one is optimistic or confident regarding their attain- ‘ment. Despite humanistic and behavioral theories’ characteriza- tion of materialistic values and expectations in varied ways, there is surprisingly little emphasis in goal-construct research ‘on how the content of one’s goals may be associated with psy~ chological outcomes. Goal constructs such as personal strivingsASPIRING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS au (Emmons, 1986, 1991, 1992), personal projects (Little, 1983; Omodei & Wearing, 1990; Ruehlman & Wolchik, 1988), current concerns (Klingler, 1977), life tasks (Cantor, Norem, Niedenthal, Langston, & Brower, 1987; Cantor et al. 1991), and possible selves (Markus & Ruvolo, 1989) have been asso- ciated with adjustment indices such as daily positive and nega- tive affect, depression, life satisfaction, delinquency, and physi- cal health. Generally speaking, however, the aim of most stud- ies has been to demonstrate that individuals who expect positive Future outcomes on centrally valued life domainsexpe- ‘ence greater well-being and less distress. ‘Two studies, however, reported findings that point toward examination of financial success as 2 potentially deleterious ‘goal, First, Emmons (1991) found that personal strivings for ower (desires to control, impress, or manipulate others) were associated with more negative affect and more distress. Second, ‘Cantor et al. (1991) found that sorority women who appraised life tasks high on a dimension of outcome evaluation (i.e. were extrinsically motivated for that task) reported decreased emo- tional involvement and less positive affect in daily life. These studies begin to suggest that goals dependent on external re- wards or the contingent reactions of others may be associated. with lower well-being, as suggested by humanistic theories. ‘The current study specifically focuses on the relative central- ity of financial success in comparison with other life domains. We predicted that having the goal of financial success per se would not be associated with psychological outcomes. Rather, wwe expected that individuals who aspire toward financial suc ‘cess more than other life domains will evidence negative out- ‘comes. Specifically, people who value or expect to attain finan- cial success more than affiliation, community feeling, or self- acceptance are predicted to have negative profiles on variables associated with psychological adjustment. Additionally, such individuals will be more likely to evidence a control orientation, (Deci & Ryan, 1985a) than will those who espouse less central- ity for financial success within their system of goals. To test these hypotheses, we developed two methods for as- sessing goals. One was a repeated rank order procedure con- cerning several “guiding principles,” including family, money, and broader social values. A second, more extensive measure of “aspirations” was also developed. This measure involved rating aspirations on two dimensions: (a) their personal impor- tance and (b) the likelihood they will be realized. These dimen- sions were chosen to remain consistent with related research on goal constructs (eg, strivings and life tasks) and expectancy valence theory (Lewin, 1938; Vroom, 1964). Four goal contents were included in the aspirations measure for comparative purposes. 1. Selfacceptance assesses aspirations for individual psycho- logical growth, self-esteem, and autonomy. Research on values thas found the related domains of self-direction and maturity (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987, 1990) and personal growth and in- ner harmony (Braithwaite & Law, 1985). Rokeach (1973) also has similar goals represented in his values survey. Richards (1966) identified a goal item called personal happiness, and Novacek and Lazarus (1990) found that people's commit ‘ments included a personal growth component. Furthermore, Maslow (1954) included the related aspirations of esteem and. self-actualization in his need hierarchy. 2. Affiliation aspirations concern family life and good friends. Research on goal-elated topics has found similar do- ‘mains in various contexts, labeled affection-support (Pervin, 1983), affiliation (Novacek & Lazarus, 1990), and interper sonal concern (Wicker, Lambert, Richardson, & Kahler, 1984). Additionally, Braithwaite and Law (1985) assessed values for secure and satisfying interpersonal relationships. Theoretically, Deci and Ryan (1991; Ryan, 1993) viewed relatedness as an intrinsic need, and Maslow (1954) included love needs in his, hierarchy, 3. Community feeling aspirations concern making the world ‘a better place through one’s actions. Research has identified rosocial values (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987, 1990) and altruism, commitments (Novacek & Lazarus, 1990) as relevant value domains. The concept is also of great importance in Adlerian, thought (Adler, 1927) and is mentioned by Maslow (1954) asa characteristic of selfactualizing people. 4. Financial success refers to the aspiration to attain wealth and material success, Researchers have identified getting ahead, (Braithwaite & Law, 1985) and economic status (Wicker et al., 1984) as common personal goals. In Masiow’s (1954) theory, financial success can be seen as partially satisfying lower order needs for physiological processes or security, or as intertwined with esteem needs. At an empirical level, considerable research, hhas demonstrated that money and other rewards can decrease intrinsic motivation (eg., Ryan, Mims, & Koestner, 1983; Schwartz, 1990). Aspiring for financial success over other do- ‘mains may therefore actually detract from well-being, because it represents a primarily extrinsic motivational orientation that, ccan oppose autonomy and actualization (Ryan, 1993), ‘The studies that follow investigate the relationships between, ‘well-being and the relative centrality of these four domains of aspirations. The primary predictions in Study I were that indi- viduals who rank financial success above afliation, selF-accep- tance, or community feeling values would show less self-actu ization and vitality. They should also be more control oriented (Deci & Ryan, 19852), which is a broader personality factor that likely includes such extrinsically oriented goals. In addi- tion, whereas general optimism regarding the overal likelihood, of attaining aspirations (ie, ignoring domain) should be asso- ciated with greater well-being (Bandura, 1977; Scheier & Carver, 1985, 1987), high expectations regarding financial suc- cess relative to other life domains are predicted to be inversely related to positive psychological outcomes. Study 2 extends these hypotheses to measures of depression and anxiety, and. Study 3 examines financial success and other aspirations in a high-risk, heterogencous sample using non-self-eport out ‘come measures. Thus, the thrust of the predictions in all three studies is that values and expectations regarding financial suc- cess aspirations will be associated with poorer adjustment ‘when these goals exceed values and expectations in other life domains, Study 1 Method Subjects Subjects were 118 introductory psychology students who partic- pated to full a class requirement, Demographics were as follows412 TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M. RYAN gender: 42 men and 76 women; ethnicity: 84 Caucasian, 20 Asian, 6 Hispanic, 3 African-American, and 5 other. Procedure Subjects completed a packet of questionnaires in groups of 10 oF ‘more inthe presence of a trained research assistant. Measures Aspiration Index. Subjects rated 21 aspiration itemson two dimen- sions: (a) personal importance and (b) tbe chances of attaining ther in the future. Responses foreach dimension were on S-point scales: for importance, 1 = not at all, 5 = very important for chances, 1 = very ‘ow, 5» very high. Four domains of aspirations were assessed: el-ac- ceptance (four items), afiiation (sx items), community feeling (sx items), and financial success (five items). (See Appendix for items) ‘Scores for life domains were obvained by computing the mean of tems ‘on a particular dimension (ie. importance or chances; overall scores were obtained forthe importance and chances dimensions by averag- ng across the four domains for that dimension, ‘A nomothetic procedure in which subjects were presented with fu- ture states was implemented rather than having subjects produce their ‘own aspirations, because this latter method may be more influenced by social desirability, thereby allowing subjects to omit some aspirations (Rokeach, 1973, p. 27). Additionally, because one criticism of Ro- keach's (1973) widely used Value Survey has been the abstract nature ‘ofthe values (Braithwaite & Scot, 1991), aspirational items were con= siructed such that they were not far removed from daly life, but were neither so specific as to be applicable to only a few people. ‘Alpha coeficients for this sale in the current study ranged from 80 {or affiliation to 64 for selFacceptance on the chances dimension; on ‘he importance dimension, alphas ranged ftom .82 for financial success to 58 for sel acceptance. Guiding principle ranking. A rank ordering procedure was imple- ‘mented a5 a second means of assessing the relative importance of se- lected values. Subjects were presented with thee ses of five values and asked to rank order the values within a set on the bass of how much, they were guiding principles in their lives. The five values in each set tapped money, family security, global welfae, spirituality, and hedon- ism. Only money (eg. achieving financial succes) family security (ecg. a stable home life), and global welfare (e., world peace) are of imerest here, corresponding to financial sucess, afilation, and com munity feling domains, respectively. Cronbach alphas across the three Sets of rank orderings were global welfare ~ 75, money ~ 72, and family security = 68. Seif Actualization. This 15-tem questionnaire (Jones & Crandall, 1986) is widely used to measure selEactualization, which Maslow (1954) considered to be the highest level of well-being for humans. Some characteristics of self-actualizing people include efficent percep tion of reality, problem centeredness, autonomy, sense of social inter- fst, and engagement in deep interpersonal relationships. Subjects re- sponded ona 4-point Likert-type seal (1 » agree, 4= disagree. Jones, and Crandall (1986) reported adequate intertem and test-retest reli- ability: additionally, they reported construct validity information, in- ‘ludingeriterion-oniented valcity with the Personal Orientation Inve: tory (Shostrom, 1964), a more extensive measure ofthe self-actualiza- Vitality. This 7-item measure (Frederick & Ryan, 1993) taps vital- ‘ty, “ap animating energy, manifest in both physical and mental do- ‘mains that is characterized by the experience of aliveness and vigor.” ‘Sample items include: “I feel alive and vital” and "I don't feel very energetic” (reversed. The measure has demonstrated reliability and has been positively asociated with seesteem and seiEsctualization and negatively associated with depression and anxiety in both adult land college student samples. Items are rated on a S-point scale, from rot at al true to very true, Reibiity (alpha) was .83 in the current sample General Causality Orientation Scale. Subjects answered three ques tions foreach of 12 vignettes regarding how likely they were to interpret eventsin cerain ways. The three questions corresponded toauionomy, control, and impersonal causality orientations. Only the control scale, Which had an alpha of 71, was of interest here, A S-point scale was used for each question, This measure has been shown to relate negatively to selfactualization and positively to Type A personality, among other constructs (see Deci & Ryan, 1985a), and has been used in a wide variety of personality and applied research, Results Preliminary Analyses Separate multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAS) were run to examine sex differences on the four importance and four likelihood variables representing each aspirational do- ‘main. Overall effects were significant in both analyses: F(4, 113) = 6.62, p <.0O1, for importance; and 4, 113) = 3.80, p < .01, for likelihood. Follow-up 1 tests revealed significant ‘gender differences on all four ofthe importance scores and on ‘wo of the four likelihood scores. Means and standard devia- tions are reported in the first section of Table 1. As indicated, men rated the importance of financial success as higher than did women, whereas women rated the importance of alflia- tion, self-acceptance, and community feeling as higher than ddid men. Women viewed the attainment of financial success as less likely than did men, but viewed their community feeling aspirations as more likely to be realized than did men. ‘To examine the interaction of sex and aspiration scores in the prediction of the dependent measures, regression analyses were run entering gender, overall aspiration score for a dimen- sion, aspiration score for a particular domain and dimension, interaction of sex and particular aspiration, and the dependent variable (ether self actualization or vitality). Of the 16 possible interactions, none was significant at p <.05. Asa result, subs2- ‘quent analyses collapse across sex. Intercorrelations were next computed among the four do- mains of aspirations fora particular dimension. For the impor- tance dimension, financial success correlated positively with aflliation (r= 21, p <.05), negatively with community feeting (r= ~.22, p < 05), and nonsignificantly with self-acceptance Correlations among the importance of self-acceptance, aflia- tion, and community feeling were al significant and positive (rs ranging between 43 and .59). For the chances dimension, significant and positive intercorrelations were evident for all domains (rs ranging between .23 and .57) except for the corre- lation between financial success and community feeling, Primary Analyses To examine the relationship between aspirational content and well-being, a number of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on the self-actualization and vitality measures. First, the overall aspiration score for a dimension was entered.ASPIRING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS 413 Table | ‘Means, Standard Deviations, and t-Test Comparisons for Men and Women on Aspirations: Studies 1-3 Mea Women Aspiration [sO ane D ! Study 1* SAL 4600 0st 47032-2120 Ar 46 08548028 =2.3200 ca 41053 4406309008 SI 40 04) 3508S 2766 sac 41053 4) sk 023 AEC 4300061 4500p L718 38056 41088 2280 is gees 66 Maeuee 2.3 Aneee ©S2/RRRdEe2 2% SAL 3903138046 ABT 38036 © 39027073 a 330061 = 34a? 1.08 FSI Be tri EN 20 8 KS) SAC 33 ods 33050 LIT AFC P= tie ste yi tre) cre 3103632082063 FSC 32038290872 6a Study 3° Sal 7-16 S22 1.9800 AFL Bs 26 1462 2.568 cH Ua 2202322 =e FSI 96 20082 092 SAC BE 16 166 180° ARC D9 28 BR 22 D8 cE ws 21 sd 269 FSC 8607S 20 033 *affort= 116. *dffor= 131. *dfforr= 138 Nowe SAI ~ self-acceptance importance; AFI ~ affition impor- tance; CFI = community feeling importance; PSI ~ financial success Importance; SAC — selfacceptance chances, AFC afiiation chtnees; CFC ~ commurity feeling chances; FSC financial success chances, Sp<.t0, mp <05, p< 01 ‘Then, the aspiration score for a particular domain and dimen- sion was entered individually at Step 2, after controlling for the overall score. So, for example, the sel-actualization score was regressed onto the overall importance score; then a partial correlation was obtained for the importance of community fee!- ing aspirations. Tn this way the influence of one’s relative valu- ing (oF likelihood estimates) in a given domain could be evalu- ated. ‘The semipartial correlations (betas) resulting from these anal- yses are reported in Table 2, along with the zero-order correla- tions. The overall importance score was not significantly re- lated to either dependent variable. The importance of selFac- ceptance was positively associated with self-actualization, and ‘the importance of afiiation was positively associated with tality. Importance ratings of community feeling aspirations ‘were positively related to both dependent variables. As pre- dicted, this general pattern was reversed for financial success: ‘The importance of financial success aspirations was negatively associated with both self-actualization and vitality. ‘The averall likelihood of attaining one’s aspirations was posi- tively related to self-actualization and vitality. After controlling, for this overall likelihood score, higher likelihoods of self-ac- ‘ceptance were associated with greater self-actualization and vi- tality, and higher likelihoods of community feeling were asso- ciated with more self-actualization. Conversely, higher chances of attaining financial success aspirations were related to less selfactualization and vitality One possible explanation for the findings on the financial ‘sucess domain is that they mask a quadratic effect in which a ‘moderate, optimal level of aspirations relates most strongly to well-being. To investigate this possibility, we conducted regres: sion analyses that entered a variable coding such an effect after, ‘we controlled for the overall score and the linear effect (Cohen, & Cohen, 1983). For bath the importance and chances dimen- sions, the quadratic variable did not add significant amounts of variance to either dependent variable, ‘A second analytic strategy directly contrasted subjects who differed in their ratings of the relative centrality of the four aspirational contents. Raw scores for variables were converted, to scores; groups were then formed on the basis of an individ- uual’s score for two domains, For example, subjects whose 2 scores were higher for the importance of community feeling, than financial success were compared with subjects for whom the reverse was true. This allowed assessment of the relative centrality (Rokeach, 1973) of aspirations within a person. Re- sults of tests are presented in Table 3.'Ifself-acceptance was a ‘more central aspiration than financial suecess in terms of im portance, greater selF-actualization was reported. When the im- portance of afiliation was more than that of financial success, greater vitality, less control orientation, and marginally greater self-actualizatio were reported. Individuals who felt commu- nity feeling was more important than financial success showed greater selfactualization and vitality and less control orienta- tion. ‘Analogous centrality analyses were next conducted with groups formed on the basis of aspiration likelihood scores. If the chances of self-acceptance were higher than financial suc- cess, subjects reported more selfactualization and vitality and. less control orientation. People who rated the likelihood of at- taining affiliation higher than financial success also reported, less of control orientation. People who rated the likelihood of community feeling higher than financial success had greater selfactualization, less control orientation, and marginally ‘more vitality. Simple Pearson product-moment correlations were next computed between the three rank-order guiding principles and. the three dependent variables. Although global welfare and fam- ily security were unrelated to any of the adjustment measures (allps> 10), having money asa more important guiding princi- "The tests are not reported for comparisons among theseif.accep- tance afiliation, and community feeling domains because ofthe arke ‘numberof analyses in this study and because they are not of primary Interest to the study414 TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M, RYAN ‘Table 2 ‘Semipartial and Zero-Order) Correlations Between Aspirations, SelfActualization, and Vitality: Study I (n~ 118) Selfactalization Vitality Aspiration 8 : 8 Average aspiration importance 07 SelF-acceptance importance agree a0 a ‘Affiliation importance 16 2 2 ‘Community feling importance 3200 20 2 Financial sucess importance a ee <3 Average aspiration chances Selfacceptance chances, aon ast ‘Ailiation chances Dee 12 am ‘Community feling chances a 06, ‘ee Financial succes chances plein life was associated with less self actualization (r 21,p << 01), less vitality (r = ~.23, p < 05), and greater control, orientation (r = .35, p <01). Centrality analyses were next ‘conducted with groups formed on the basis of family security, ‘money, and global welfare guiding principles. Table 4 reports these results. If money was more of a guiding principle than family security, less vitality and greater control orientation were reported. People who rated money as more important than global welfare reported less self-actualization and greater control orientation, Table3 7 250 2 Brief Discussion Study | supported the prediction that domains of aspirations differentially relate to psychological well-being, above and beyond general aspirations. The relative strength of aspirations {or self-acceptance and community feeling were generally asso- ciated with greater self-actualization and vitality, whereas an ‘emphasis on fimancial success aspirations was related to lower psychological adjustment. Similarly, expectancies of attaining financial success predicted more negative outcomes on self-ac- ‘Means, Standard Deviations, and Dichotomous Standard Score Group Comparisons for Aspirations on Self-Actualization, Vitality, and Causality Orientation: Study 1 Self actualization Vitality Control orientation Aspiration MSD ‘ ie Somer MSD ‘ SAI 08033 305 «382075 1613.08 S219 FSI 289032 361 088 318047 AFL 304038164 = 390067251" 297 044 285 Ft 293029 337 074 322 03t CH BLL 033 3st 394 065 2.76" 2880.44 —4ageere FI 290 O31 357 076 326 o4T SAC 308034 3.280" 387 0.74 233 2.99 05) 2.898 FSC 289 030, 337 088 32 046 AFC 303033143, 316 0.73 O83 302 048 L990" FSC 294 031 366 0.70 320 053, CFC 30603525 384 071 176" 296 049 ~3.30800 FSC 291031 361072 3250.46 Note Subjects whose selFacceptance scores were higher than financial success scoresare the SA group; subjects for whom the reverse was true are the FSI group. This patter i followed throughout the table. SAT= selfacceptance importance; FSI = fnancial success importance: AFI ~ afliation importance; CEL= community feling importance; SAC ~ selEacceptance chances, AFC = afiliation chances; CPC ~ community feeling chances; FSC = financial success chances. sped. Mp0. “p< OI, p<.001ASPIRING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS ais Table 4 “Means, Standard Deviations, and t-Test Comparisons of Self Actualization, Vitality, and Control Orientation Between Subjects Who Place Higher Value ‘on Family Versus Money and on Global Welfare Versus Money: Study 1 Self-actualization Value eumniso Mea Family 300 034 064 3.79 ‘Money 293 034 332 Global welfare 306036202" 3.77 Money 293031 B71 Vitality Control orientation sb tM sD t 067 237" 308 049-210" 094 337 Ost O71 049 294 046-3574 074 326 0.49 ‘Note. The label represents the goal on which a subject was higher. pe0s. pel tualization and vitality when overall expectancy levels were controlled. Furthermore, people who held financial success asa ‘more central aspiration than other domains showed a greater tendency to be control oriented, ‘Two analytic strategies and two methodologies were imple- ‘mented to verify the results, and findings were largely support ive of the predictions. The sample size, however, was rather small and, because new items were developed in this study, findings that capitalize on chance may be an issue. Addition- ally, psychological adjustment was assessed using only a narrow band of outcomes. Therefore, a second study using a larger sample and more varied outcome measures was con- ducted in an attempt to replicate and extend the findings of Study 1 Study 2 Method Subjects Prtcipants were 198 students taking an upper level psychology course who recived extra course credit for filling out a number of ‘questionnaires, Thirty-three percent ofthe sample was male, and the mean age was 20 years. OF individoals who completed the ethnicity item, 142 were Caucasian, 13 were Aftican-American, 2 were Asian, 6 ‘were Hispanie, and 4 were other, Procedure Seven diferent packets of questionnaires were available throughout ‘the semester. Participants came at scheduled times to complete the packets. Because subjects did not have to complete every packet, sam ple sizes differ across measures. Measures Aspiration Index. The same aspiration items as in Study 1 were used here, except ratings used a4-point scale, omitting a midpoint (n= 198) Cronbach alphas forthe chances dimension ranged from .72 for self acceptance to 81 for community feling for the importance di- ‘mension, selPacoeptance was again lowest, .71, whereas community feeling was again highest, 86. Guiding Principle Ranking. The same method as in Study 1 was ‘used here (n = 139). Alphas were again adequate: global welfare = 85, family security =.73, money ~ 76. ‘SelfActualizarion. The same 1S-tem measure (Jones & Crandall, 1986) as in Study 1 was used here (n= 198). Vitality, Te ame seven item measure (Fredrick & Ryan, 1993) asin Study 1 was again used (n= 198). Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression Inventory (CES~ 1). This 20item measure asks subjects to report on a 4point sale how often they have experienced certain depressive symptoms in the past week (Radloff, 1977; n= 119). The CES-D has been used in both Clinical and nonclinical samples to assess depression, resulting in high interitem and test-retest reliabilities (Raloff, 1977), ‘State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The 20 iters ofthis measure that tap anxiety asa relatively stable personality trait were used here Spiel- berger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970; = 117). Respondents rated on a point scale how they generally fel and whether they experience various symptoms of anxiety. Spiclberger etal. (1970) reported ade- ‘quate validity and reliability data in their manual Results Preliminary Analyses We used ¢ tests to first examine sex differences in aspirations, which are reported in the second section of Table 1. Men viewed their chances of attaining financial success as higher than did women. Men were also marginally higher in ratings of the importance of financial success and the chances of self:ac- ceptance. No other f tests were significant Interactions between sex and aspirations were also exam- ined: Only 2 of the 32 interactions reached significance. In- creases in the chances of community feeling were more strongly associated with self-actualization for men than for ‘women. High importance of afliation was related to less self> 2 This sample was large enough to conduct exploratory factor analy- ses, Scree tests for both dimensions suggested a four factor solution. Loadingsof the items after oblimin rotation were largely supportive of the a priori domains. Community feeling and financial success were ‘most consistent; some erossloading did occur between selFaccen- tance and afiliation, however.416 TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M. RYAN actualization for women than for men. This low number of significant interactions and the fact that neither concerned fi- nancial success led us to collapse across sex in further analyses, Intercorrelations were computed among the aspirational variables for the two dimensions. The importance of financial success was positively correlated with affiliation (r = .22, p < (01), but nonsignificantly related to the other domains. Corre- lations among the importance scores for the other three do- ‘mains were significantly positive (rs ranging between .28 and 60). For the chances dimension, all correlations were signifi- cantly positive (rs ranging between 23 and .52)except between financial success and community feciing (r ~ 08). Primary Analyses ‘We used the same plan of analyscs asin Study 1 in Study 2 Regression results are presented in Table 5. The importance of ‘overall aspirations was positively associated only with vitality High importance of self-acceptance aspirations was related to greater self-actualization and less anxiety. High importance of affiliation was related to less anxiety and marginally less de- pression. The importance of community feeling aspirations was marginally positively associated with vitality. As in Study 1, high importance of financial success aspirations was related 10 ess self-actualization and vitality, the last marginally. Addi- tionally, high importance for the financial success domain was associated with more depression and more anxiety. For regressions with the chances dimension, the overall score was positively associated with self-actualization and vitality and negatively associated with depression and anxiety. High chances of self-acceptance were related to greater self-actualiza- tion and vitality and to less anxiety. Chances of affiliation were Table 5 negatively associated with anxiety and depression, the last mar- ginally. Finally, high chances of financial success were related. to less self-actualization and vitality and to more anxiety. (Quadratic efects forthe financial success domain were again tested for both dimensions of this aspiration. As in Study I, these variables did not account for a significant amount of variance in any of the dependent measures, We conducted / tests to compare individuals whose standard scores (z scores) were higher on financial success versus the other aspiration domains. As reported in Table 6, ifthe impor- tance of either self-acceptance or affiliation was greater than, financial success, more sef-actualization and less anxiety were reported. People who rated community feeling higher in im: portance than financial success reported greater vitality, less anxiety, marginally more selfactualization, and marginally less depression, Similar 1 tests were accomplished using = scores for the ‘chances dimensions of the aspirations scale. If self-acceptance ‘chances were higher than financial success chances, more self- ctualization and vitality and less depression and anxiety were reported. Those rating the chances of affiliation higher than financial success evidenced more vitality and less anxiety. ‘Simple correlations with the guiding principle procedure re- vealed results very similar to those in Study 1. Family security and global welfare values were not significantly related to well- being, but placing money high in the rank ordering was asso- ciated with less vitality ("= —.21, p<.05), more depression (r= 28, p <.01), and more anxiety (r= .22, p <.05). The correla- tion with self-actualization was negative but nonsignificant, ‘Weagain conducted tests, using groups formed from the guid ing principle procedure; these are presented in Table 7. Rating ‘money as more ofa guiding principle than family security was associated with more anxiety and marginally less self-actualiza- tion. Subjects who rated money as more central than global Semipartial and Zero-Order) Correlations Between Aspirations ‘and Various Psychological Outcomes: Study 2 Salf-actalization Vitaliy (= 194) i 7, a eee peat) 14 04 ‘1 06 her -2eee 16" agree fame 3grmne 06 3 la 04 2603 i333 -mipartits control for overall score. AVI Depression Guy w Anxiety 1, Tyger agen 7 nas aoe 08 average aspiration importance; SAI = self-acceptance importance; AFI ~ affiliation importance; CFI ~ community feeling importance: FSI ~ financial success importance: AVC = average aspiration chances; SAC ‘selfacceptance chances; AFC = afliation chances, CC= community feeling chances; FSC - financial sucess chances Spel. pes. = p=0t sep <.001,ASPIRING FOR FINA! ‘Table 6 .NCIAL SUCCESS any ‘Means, Standard Deviations, and Dichotomous Standard Score Group Comparisons ‘for Aspirations on Psychological Outcomes: Study 2 Self actualization Vitatity Depression Anicty Aspiration MSD ' Msp __ MSD o sar 357 (al) 24m 34s (74) Let (52) 134186 (53) 2.20" ESL 34s 38) 334 (66) 82 (60) 209 (39) ar 357 (39) 206" 3.47 (73) 125 166 (49) 157187 (55) 1.82" Psi 346 (an) 334 (09) 182 (60) 206 (58) cr 356 (43) LTS* «350 (76) 208" 1.66 (50) 897% 87 (52) 2 FSI 346 (37) 329 (63) 186 (61) 209 (61) SAC 365 (32) 20" 3.69 (63) agate 158 (51) 175 (50) 3.ggeeee FC 341 (42) 321 (68) ras (37) 21s (37) AFC 355° (39) 137 354 (63) 276 168 (51) 137654) 2.27 FSC 347 (41) 327 (75) 12 (61) 210 (39) CFC 381 (4H) 002 345 (75) 1.06 1D (5) 052496 (52) -033 FC 351 G36) 335 (65) L859) 200 (62) ‘Nate. The label isthe aspiration on which a subject was higher. SAI = sel affliation importance, CFI = com feeling chances, FSC ~ financial success chances oe peos. pe Ol, ep =-001 ‘welfare had marginally less self-actualization and marginally more depression, Brief Discussion ‘Study 2 replicated and extended the differential findings be- ‘ween aspirational content and measures of psychological well- being and distress. The relative centrality of self-acceptance and affiliation aspirations was related to less anxiety and de- pression, and the self-acceptance domain predicted greater self: actualization. The deleterious concomitants of aspiring for f= ‘nancial success more than other goals were again evident in Study 2, insofar as tis pattern predicted more negative psycho- logical outcomes. The guiding principle methodology and ‘group / test analyses provided further support for these results Some results were admittedly weaker than in Study I. although these were largely for domains other than financial success. Although Studies 1 and 2 provide strong evidence for the primary hypotheses, three weaknesses are still evident. First, operationalizations of well-being and distress relied exclusively on self-report questionnaire methods, leaving open the possibil- ity that results are due primarily to response biases. Second, both studies were conducted with college students at a private university, limiting generalizability. Third, other components of well-being have yet to be explored. Therefore, we conducted a third study with a much more heterogenous sample of young adults, Study 3 also examines well-being in terms of inter- viewers’ ratings of global functioning, social productivity, and ‘symptoms of behavioral disorders. The hypotheses for Study 3 ‘are essentially the same as before: Aspirations for financial sue- cess should relate to poorer adjustment if they exceed aspira- tions for other target domains. munity feling importance; SAC ~ selfacceptance chances; AFC \cacceptance importance; FSI financial success importance; AFI afiliation chances, CFC ~ community Study 3 Method Subjects ‘One hundred fifty-seven 18-year-lds participated in a follow-up to the Rochester Longitudinal Study (Baldwin et al, 1993; Sameroff, Seifer, & Zax, 1982), of which 140 (74 men and 66 women) were used in Study 3 The other 17 subjects were dropped from analyses because ‘of missing data, One subject was also dropped from only the behavior disorders analyses because of mising data ‘Of the 140 subjects, 67% were Caucasian, 31% Aftican-American, 19% Hispanic, and 1% other. Thirty-four percent ofthe teenagers had an {ith grade or les education, 49% were seniors high school, and 17% ‘were freshonen in college; 21% had dropped out of high schoo! at some point. Only 55% of the teenagers lived with two parents, and 163 of the ‘teenagers currently had or were expecting a child oftheir own. Regard ing the subjects risk status, 67% oftheir mothers were diagnosed with some psychiatric disorder atthe time ofthe subject's birth; 46% of the ‘mothers held unskiled or semiskilledjobs;and 17% ofthe mothers had ‘not completed high school Procedure All faalis were contacted by a research assistant and scheduled 10 be interviewed. In most, but not all cass, both the teenager and the > Study 3 is drawn from data collected as part of larger longitudinal study. The variables reported inthe present article wee elected from ‘hat study onthe basis oftheir relevance tothe current hypotheses and do not reflect the aims or purposes of that lager study. Our thanks to {Al Baldwin, Clara Baldwin, Arnold Sameroff, Ron Seifer,and Mel Zax for allowing us to use this data forthe current article.418 Table 7 ‘TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M, RYAN ‘Means, Standard Deviations, and t-Test Comparisons of Psychological Outcomes Between Subjects Who Place Higher Value on Family Versus Money and on Global Welfare Versus Money: Study 2 Selfactuaizaion Vitality Depression Anxiety Value MSD MSD sD Family 253 041 171 339 0.72 0.17 168 O58 141 189 058 Money 340 031 337 086 187 04s 219 043 Global 258 045 1.96 340 083 0.28 161 O54 -1.70" 187 O58 ~1.20 Money 345 0:33, 337038 180056 200035 ‘Note. ‘The label represents the goal on which a subject was higher. pei pes ‘mother came tothe university together. After completing consent pro ‘dures, the teenager and the mother were separated tobe interviewed {or approximately hr. A large numberof questionnaires were given to both mother and teenager, most of which are not of interest to the present study. The teenager was interviewed by two people, an experi- enced clinician and a graduate student in clinical psychology. After the interview, subjects were paid $25 for their time. Measures Aspiration Index. A shorter version of the aspiration index than that used in Studies 1 and 2 was used here. Fourtecn items assessed the same four domains with afew changes in items for the affiliation and ‘community feling domains (see the Appendix). Items were again rated ‘on 4-poin scales, Alphas were adequate: For the chances dimension, alphas ranged between .54 for selfacceptance and .69 for financial succes; for importance, aiphas ranged between 54 for self-acceptance and 71 for nancial sucess* Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). This 100-point sale (Shaffer et al, 1983), based on Axis V ofthe Diagnostic and Statistical ‘Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ere; DSM-TILR; American Psy chiatric Association, 1987), yields a global rating of severity of impair ‘ment and socal functioning. The CGAS provides anchors and descrip- tions for every 10-point span and has demonstrated interrater and test retest reliability, in addition to various validity coefficients. In this sample, the CGAS was completed (in most cases) by the two inter~ viewers, who fled out the scale independently onthe basis of diferent ‘observations of the child, The two inlerviewers in this study agreed Rete ea Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents, Version R-A (PICA). This structured interview (Herjanic & Reich, 1982; Reich Herjanic, Welner, & Gandhy, 1982) is designed to obtain DSM-IIF-R siagnoses fora large numberof categories. Reliblity and validity have been examined for various versions of the DICA by comparing chil: ren's reports of symptoms with parents’ reports and clinicians’ diag ‘noses; examining chiliren after a major food; and interviewing chil ren raised by alcoholic, ansocial, and bipolar disordered parents. Although many diagnoses are tapped by the DICA, the current study ‘examines only oppositional and conduct disorders. Rather than cate sorizing children into diagnostic groups, a quantitative behavior dis- forder score was computed reflecting the mean number of postive symptoms reported by the child during the clinical interview in the categories of oppositional and conduct disorders. Items included difi- culties with authorities, “mouthing of” school disciplinary problems, fighting, vandal, stealing, and so forth Community Mental Heath Interview (CMHI). This structured in terview (ide, Lipp, Butters, & Ciario, 1983) was also given tothe teem agers by the clinician. Although the CMHI taps a large number of ‘aspects of adjustment, this study computed a social productivity score ‘on the bass othe teenager's responses to questions concerning schoo and job productivity, participation in clubs and organizations, olun- teer work, and hobbies. Results Preliminary Analyses ‘Sex differences in aspirations were first examined with f tests and are reported in the third section of Table 1. Women rated both the importance and chances of community feeling and affiation higher than did men. Women also scored higher ‘than men on the importance of self-acceptance and marginally higher on the chances of self-acceptance. No other sex differ- fences were significant. The interaction of aspirations and ‘gender was again examined and did not account for a signifi cant amount of variance for any aspiration or dependent vari- able, Intercorrelations for the aspiration variables were again ‘computed. All correlations for the importance scores on the four domains were significantly positive (rs ranging between 17 and .42), The same results occurred for the scores on the likelihood dimension (rs ranging between .19 and .37) Primary Analyses ‘The results of regression analyses are reported in Table 8. ‘The overall importance score for aspirations was unrelated to “Exploratory factor analyses were again conducted, Sree tests ug ested fourfacor solution, Items loaded as predicted forthe impor- tance dimensions, but some crose-loading did occur for the chances dimension, Note also that item changes for afiliation make this do- ‘main primarily reflective of intimate family relationships rather than broader friendships.ASPIRING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS Table 8 419 Semipartial and Zero-Order Correlations Between Aspirations. ‘and Incerview-Rated Adjustment Indices: Study 3 Global functioning Social productivity 140) Behavior disorders Aspiration 8 r avr os SAL ee -19% AF 23 09 oa 16 1g Fs aoe ee ave is" sac ho 1 -12 ARC 0s at 1 04 05 = 06, cre 10 6 1a 2 16 ase FSC 2 04 0 ‘as 9 OL ‘Nate. Semipartialscontro for overallscores. AVI = average aspiration importance; SAI self-acceptance importance: AFI = afflition importance, CFI community feeling importance, FSI = financial success importance; AVC ‘average aspiration chances; SAC ~ self-acceptance chances; AFC = afiiation chances: CEC= community feeling chances; FSC ~ financial success chances, Speld, pes, <0 ‘any of the outcome variables. After this score was controlled for, however, high importance of self-acceptance was asso- ciated with greater global functioning and fewer behavioral problems. Importance of affiliation was positively associated. ‘with global functioning and social productivity, the latter mar- ginally so, High importance of community feeling was related to fewer behavioral problems. As predicted, high ratings of the ‘importance of financial success were related to lower global , lower social productivity, and mote behavior Table 9 Regarding the regressions for the chances dimension, the ‘overall score was associated with marginally greater global functioning and marginally fewer behavioral problems. The ‘chances of self-acceptance were marginally related to less social, productivity. The chances of both alfiliation and community feeling were unrelated to any of the dependent variables. High likelinood of attaining financial success aspirations, however, ‘was associated with lower global functioning and marginally more behavioral problems. ‘Quadratic variables for the domain of financial success were Means, Standard Deviations, and Dichotomous Standard Score Group Comparisons for aspirations: Study 3 Giobal functioning sb M 1S 185 7 148 167 147 300%" 2 152 160143 203 487 467 472 482 AFC 477 FSC 375 cre 481 FC 472 2ss 31-26 =a3Ite so 31 261 34-29 3.se 49°30 os 1243273740 30 so 34 96 061 37-29 2.2006 100 47 91 006 38 33135 10s 440027 m2 086 3729-191 93 463 ‘Nate. As before, the label represents the goal on which 2 subject was higher. SAI = seifacceptance Jmportance; PSI ~ financial success importance; AFT = afliation importance; CFI community feling importance; SAC = self acceptance chances; FSC financial success chances; AFC ~ affiliation chances, CFC community fel Spo. p< 08, chances p01420 investigated in regression equations, but were not significant, Centrality analyses (dichotomous comparisons based on standard scores) are reported in Table 9. Individuals who rated either self-acceptance or afliation as more important than f= nancial success had greater global functioning, greater social productivity, and fewer behavioral problems. If community feeling importance was higher than financial success, fewer be- havioral problems and greater global functioning were in evi- dence, ‘When the chances of selfacceptance were higher than finan- cial success, fewer behavioral disorders and marginally higher global functioning were rated. Comparisons between the chances of community feeling and financial success revealed the same pattern, although both results only approached signifi- cance. General Discussion Financial success was investigated as an aspiration or life ‘goal that may be negatively associated with psychological ad- justment when it predominates over other life goals. Theorists such as Rogers (1961), Maslow (1954), Fromm (1976), and Deci and Ryan (1985b) implied that when goals regarding ex- trinsic rewards or the contingent approval of others are more central to an individual than are goals concerning intrinsic ac- tualizing tendencies, lower well-being and greater distress may ‘occur. Aspirations for financial success were assumed to repre- sent such extrinsic, contingent pursuits, consistent with Dect and Ryan's (1987) demonstrations that money can decrease intrinsic motivation and Fromm’s (1976) suggestion that a focus on “having” or consuming reflects alienation from ac- tualizing tendencies. ‘Three studies were conducted that supported this differential prediction between psychological adjustment and the content of aspirations, both in terms of the relative personal impor- tance of the aspiration and its perceived likelihood of attain- ‘ment. More specifically, whereas the relative centrality of aspi- rations for self-acceptance, affiliation, and community feeling ‘were associated with greater well-being and less distress, this pattern was reversed for financial success aspirations. Highly central financial success aspirations in the first two studies were associated with less selfactualization, tess vitality, more de- pression, and more anxiety. In addition, individuals who fa vored financial success over other goals were shown to have a higher control orientation, that is, to be more influenced by ‘and attuned to external factors in the organization of their mo- tives (Deci & Ryan, 1985a). Comparable results were obtained ina third heterogeneous adolescent sample when interview rat- ings of global functioning, social productivity, and symptoms of behavior disorders were assessed. Thus, less adjustment was consistently evidenced for individuals who held financial suc- cess as a more central aspiration than self-acceptance, afiia- tion, or community feeling. Finally, a rank-order methodology sed in two studies Further demonstrated the deleterious conse- quences of having money as an important guiding principle in ite ‘The proposed negative relationship between the centrality of financial success aspirations and well-being appears applicable to the results of Emmons (1991) and Cantor et al. (1991). To TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M. RYAN review, Emmons (1991) found that negative affect and distress ‘were associated with higher strivings for power, which reflect desires to control, impress, or compete with others. Cantor et al. (1991) showed that less emotional involvement and positive affect were reported for subjects who had a heightened concern, for the outcomes associated with life tasks, Strivings for power and life tasks high in outcome evaluation have in common @ focus on extrinsic rewards and the contingent reactions of others. ‘One process that could account for the insalubrious effects of fhnancial-success goals is that individuals aspiring for wealth ‘may be more likely to focus on contingent, external goals and fleeting, superficial satisfactions unrelated to inherent needs, Consequently, they may ignore or be distracted from the in- trinsic actualizing and integrating tendencies that support per- sonality growth and well-being (Kasser, 1992), Propensitiesto- ‘ward relations with others, self-examination, or investment in social concerns may thus be supplanted by materialistic occu- paations, to the detriment of the self and its development. A related explanation may also be applied: Individuals disposi- tionally high on broad factors such as neuroticism, or those with low security and sense of well-being, may be more prone to view money as a means of selfenhancement, A cycle may then be initiated that maintains, or possibly deepens, the orig nal sense of contingent worth. Longitudinal studies and exami nation of the antecedents of value acquisition may clarify these Cognitive-behavioral theories can explain how the overall expectation of attaining aspirations is associated with well-be~ ing on the basis of self-eficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1977, 1989) or ‘optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1985; Seligman, 1991). However, the finding that both valuing and expecting to attain financial success aspirations are associated with worse psychological ad- jjustment seems inconsistent with such perspectives. This is be- ‘cause cognitive-behavioral theories suggest that adjustment ‘occurs when people believe they can attain valued goals and sewards in the future, regardless of the content of the goal. The present studies show that high relative expectations concerning financial success are associated with worse adjustment. Other cognitive theories might attempt to explain the current results on the basis of unrealistic optimism, in effec, that financial success i relatively difficult to realize and, there~ fore, that high aspirations reflect an unrealistic belief about, probable attainment, This explanation seems untenable for three reasons, however. First, analyses examining quadratic ef fects did not Support the possibility that an optimal, moderate level of aspiring for financial success was related to well-being, ‘as might be suggested by work on unrealistic optimism. Sec- ‘ond, unrealistic optimism concerns only the likelihood of fu- ture events and cannot therefore explain why ratings of the importance of financial success aspirations relate negatively to adjustment. Finally, Taylor (1989) suggested that unrealistic ‘optimism i generally associated with greater well-being, which of course is inconsistent with the results regarding financial success in these three studies. ‘Some limitations of this research warrant discussion. First, all data for each study were collected at one time and the stud ies are correlational in nature, so conclusions cannot be madeASPIRING FOR FINANCIAL SUCCESS 421 regarding causal explanations between adjustment and aspira- tions. Second, the findings of Studies 1 and 2 rely primarily on seffreport data; although Study 3 did use interviewer ratings of well-being, future studies with multiple methodologies are ‘warranted. Third, all three samples examine individuals in late adolescence and young adulthood, in the last 3 years of U.S. history, limiting the generalizability of the results. Data from. these three studies suggest that the emphasis in American cul- ture on financial success may in fact be detrimental to its younger citizens’ psychological well-being, but more studics, are needed to determine the robustness of this phenomenon in, different cultures, economic climates, and developmental epochs. The examination of only one aspiration negatively related to well-being is another obvious weakness of the study. If other extrinsic aspirations based in a “becoming for the other” are {dentfied, and this pattern of results replicated, further support, ‘ill be gained for a humanistic perspective on goals and aspira- tions. Work isin progress examining other life domains. Tn summary, the results ofthese three studies begin to dem- ‘onstrate that not all goals are equivalent in terms of their rela- tionship to well-being. When goals for financial success ex- ceeded those for affiliation, self-acceptance, and community feeling, worse psychological adjustment was found. This pat- tem of results was predicted on the basis of a number of the- ories (eg., Deci & Ryan, 1985b; Fromm, 1976) and occurred ‘over three samples of young adults, representing range of socioeconomic and “at-risk” groups. Additionally, multiple ‘means of assessing and analyzing both aspirational centrality and well-being were used. The findings suggest that the explana. tory ability of goal constructs could be improved by assessing the life domains of strivings, life tasks, and so forth, in terms of their relationship to organismic tendencies. Research on the structure of human values (eg, Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987, 1990) could also examine correlates with well-being. Finally, the data suggest that, relatively speaking, the desire for money does not necessarily bring happiness instead, too much emapha- sis on this aspect of the American dream may be an organismic nightmare. References ‘Adler, A (1927). Understanding human nature. New York: Greenberg. ‘American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical ‘manual of mental disorders (3rded, rev.) Washington, DC: Author. Baldwin, A. L., Baldwin, C.P, Kassr, T, Zax, M,, Samerof, A, & ‘Seifer, R. (1993). Contributions to mental health in an 18-year-old Tongitudinal sample. Manuscript submitted for publication. Bandura, A. (1977). SeiFeficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behav ioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-125, ‘Bandura, A. (1989). SelEregulation of motivation and action through “internal standards and goal systems. In I. Pervin (Ed, Goal con ‘cepts in personality and social psychology (pp. 19-85). Hillsdale, Nb Eribaum Braithwaite, V.A., & Law, H. G. (1985), Structure of human values: “Testing the adequacy ofthe Rokeach Value Survey. Journal of Per sonality and Social Psychology, 49, 250-263. Braithwaite, V. A, & Scott, W. A. (1991). Values, In J, P. Robinson, 'P.R Shaver, & LS. Wrightman (Eds), Measures of social psycho- logical attitudes. Vo, 1. Measures of personality and social psycholog ‘eal attudes (pp. 661-753).San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace Jovano- ich, Cantor, N., Norem, J.K., Langston, C.A., Zitkel, 8, Fleson, W.,& ‘Cook-Flanagan, C.(1991), Life asks and daily life experience. Jour ral of Personality, $9, 425-481, Cantor, N., Norem, J.'K., Niedenthal, P. M., Langston, C. A. & ‘Brower, A. M. (1987). Life tasks, selGconcept ideals, and cognitive strategies in a life tanstion, Joumal of Personality and Social P= chology, $3, 178-1191, Cohen, J, & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple reression/corelation ‘analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed). Hillsdale, NE: Exe baum. DDeci, EL & Ryan, R. M. (19853), The general causality orientations ‘scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Per- sonality, 19, 109-134 Desi, EL, & Ryan, RM. (19858) Inerinsic motivation and sel-deter: ‘mination in uman behavior. New York: Plenum Press. Desi, E,L,, & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 1024-1037. Desi EL, & Ryan, R. M, (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality, In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska sympo- slum on motivation: Vo. 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237— 288), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Derber,C. (1979). The pursuit of attention: Power and individualism in ‘everyday life. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Emmons, . A (1986), Personal strvings: An approach to personality ‘and subjective well-being. Journal of Personality and Socal Psyc (299; 52, 1058-1068. ‘Emmons, R. A (1991), Personal striving, daily ife evens, and psycho logical and physical well-being. Journal af Personality, 59, 453-472. -Emamons, R.A. ([992), Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal stiv- ‘ng level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Socal Psychology, 62, 292-300. Frederick, C. M., & Ryan, RM. (1993). 4 theory and measure of ‘tality Unpublished manuscript, University of Rochester, Roches- ter, New York Fromm, E. (1976) To have orto be? New York: Harper & Row. Herjanic,B, & Reich, W. (1982). Development ofa stuetured psyhiat Fic interview for children: Agreement between child and parent on individual symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10 307-326 he, D.N,, Lipp, D. 0, Butters, E. A. & Ciarlo, J, (1983), Develop- ‘ment and validation of the adolescent community mental health ‘questionnaire. Denver, CO: Mental Systems Evaluation Project. Jones, A. & Crandall, R (1986) Validation ofa shor index of self. ac ‘talization, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 63-73 Kasser, T. (1992). The valuing process: A study of favorite songs and ‘the inncr experience of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia, our. nal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 22, 51-65 Klinger, E.(1977). Meaning and void: Inner experience and the incen: ‘aves in people's lives. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press Koesiner, R. Bernie, F, & Zuckerman, M. (1992) Selfregulation ‘and consistency between attitudes, traits and behaviors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 52-59, Lewin, K. (1938). The conceptual representation and measurement of ‘psichological forces. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Little, B. R. (1983), Personal projects: A rationale and method for ‘investigation. Environment and Behavior, 18, 273-309.422 TIM KASSER AND RICHARD M. RYAN Locke, . A., Latham, G. P.(1990).4 theory of goa seting and task performance. Englewood Cts, NI: Preaice Hal Markus, H.1,& Ruvolo, A (1989), Possible selves: Personalized repre- ‘sentations of goals. In L. Pervin (Fa), Goal concepts in personality ‘and social psychology (pp. 211-241). Hillsdale, NI: Eebaum, Maslow. A. H. (1954) Motivation and personality: New York: Hasper & Row. Masiow, A. H, (1956), Defense and growth, Merrill Palmer Quarterly 3, 36-87 Novacek, J. & Lazarus, RS, (1990) The structure of personal com- mitments, Journal of Personality, 58, 693-115, ‘Omodet, M.M.,& Wearing, A. J.(1990), Need satisfaction and involve ‘ment in personal projects: Toward an integrative model of subjective wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 162 769, Pervin, L.A. (1983). The stasis and flow of behavior: Toward a theory ‘of pols. In M. M. Page (Ed), Nebraska symposium on mativation (pp. 1-83) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Radlof |. (1977). The CES-D scale: A sereport depression sale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measure- ment, 1, 385-401, Reich, W., Herani, B, Welner, Z, & Gandhy, P. R.(1982). Develop: ‘ment ofa stuctured peychiatrc interview for children: Agreement on iagnosis comparing child and parent interviews. Journal of Abmor- ‘mal Child Psychology, 10, 325-336, Richards, 1. M (1966). Lifegoals of American college freshmen. Jou nal of Counseling Psychology. 13, 12-20. Rogers, C. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifin, Rogers, C. (1963). The actualzing tendency in relation o “motives and fo consciousness, In M. R Jones (Ed), Nebraska symposium on ‘motivation (Vol. 11, pp. 1-24). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Pres. Rokeach, M, (1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press Ruhlman, LS, & Wolehik, S.A. (1988)-Personal goals and interper ‘sonal support and hindrance as factors in psychological distress and well-being Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 293- 301 Ryan, R. M, (1993). Agency and organization: Intrinsic motivation, ‘autonomy and the self in psychological development. In J. Jacobs, (Ed), Nebraska symposium on motivation (Vol. 40, p. 1-56). Lin: coln: University of Nebraska Press, yan, RM, Mims, V., & Koestnes, R, (1983). Relation of reward ‘contingency and interpersonal context to trinsic motivation: A re- view and tst using cognitive evaluation theory. Journal of Personal ity and Social Psychology: 48, 796-150, Sameroff, A.J, Seifer, R, & Zax, M. (1982). Farly development of children ask for emotional disorder. Monographs ofthe Society for Research in Child Development, 47(7, Serial No. 199), Scheie, M.F., & Carver, C. S. (1985). Optimism, coping and health ‘Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology. 4, 219-287 Scheer, M. F, & Carver, C. 8. (1987). Dispositional optimism and ‘Physical well-being: The inluence of generalized outcome expectan- es on health. Journal of Personality, 55, 169-210. Schwartz, B. (1990), The creation and destruction of value. American Pryehologs. 45, 7-15, Schwartz, S:, & Bilsky, W. (1987). Towanda universal psychological, ‘ructure of human values. Journal of Personality and Social Psycho gy; 53, $50-562, Schwartz, S.H.,& Bilsky, W. (1990). Toward a theory ofthe universal ‘content andstrictureof values: Extensions and crose-culturalepica- tions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 878-891. Seligman, M. E. P. (1991), Leamed optimism. New York: Knopf. Shaifr, D., Gould, M.S, Brasc,., Ambrosini P., Fisher, ., Bid H, & Aluwatlia, S.(1983). A children’s global asessment scale(CGAS). Archives of General Psychiatry, 40, 1228-1231 Shostrom, E. L, (1964), A test for the measurement ofselF-actalica- ‘on. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 24, 207-218 Spielberg, C.D, Gorsuch, RL, &Lushene, R. (1970). Test manual {forthe State-Trat Anxiet) Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psy- chologsts Press. ‘Taylor S. E (1989) Positive dlusions. New York: Harper. Vroom, V.H. (1964). Work and motivation. New York: Wiley. Wickes, F.W., Lambert, F.B., Richardson, F.C, & Kahler, (1984) (Categorical goal hierarchies and classification of human motives, Journal of Personality, 52, 285-305, ‘Appendix Aspiration Items Used in the Three Studies Self-Acceptance = You wil be the one in charge of your life * artheend of your life you will ook back on your life as meaning and complete. = You wil deal effectively with problems that come up in your life + You will know and accept who you really are. Aliiation. * You will ave good friends that you can count on * You will have people who care about you and are supportive. * You will know people that you can have fun with, * You will have a couple of good friends that you ean talk to about personal things © You will share your life with someone you love. * You wil be married to one person for life. You will have children ‘Community Feeling. * You will work to make the world a better place. * You wall help others improve their hives. *You will help people in need. + You will donate time or money to charity © You will work for the betterment of society += Yous will teach others the things that you know. ® You will participate in socal or political movements. Financial Success * You will buy things just because you want tnem. * You will be financially successful = You wil be your wn boss. + You will have a job with high socal status You will have a job that pays well “Items used in Studies | and 2. ems used in Study 3 Received July 27, 1992 Revision received February 16, 1993 ‘Accepted February 20, 1993