Well-being and meaningfulness in life are linked to the relative value that individuals place on various life goals or aspirations. The variation in the pursuit of these goals depend mainly on personality differences. This study investigated the relations between personality traits and aspirations and their effect on subjective well-being and meaningfulness. A questionnaire with four measures targeting the respective variable of interest were used. Data were analyzed through correlation analysis and multiple regression. Results showed strongest correlation for intrinsic aspirations with openess and agreeableness, and extrinsic aspirations with agreeableness. For well-being, the strongest predictors were extraversion and neuroticism, while aspirations showed no significant effect. For meaningfulness, openness and agreeableness had positive and negative effects respectively, whereas both intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations showed positive effect. In summary, personality traits seems to be a better predictor than aspirations of the effect on well-being. The valence of an aspiration however, indicate a clearer path towards meaningfulness than the categorization of aspirations per se. The findings support theories of affect and self-determination, but future replications are needed in order to clarify more distinct patterns.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:su-195213 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Kousis, Alexandros |
| Publisher | Stockholms universitet, Psykologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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