Throughout history, two conceptions of happiness have been advocated. The hedonic ideal, which often predominates in modern Western societies, advocates enjoyment and avoidance of pain. The eudaimonic view argues that fulfillment comes from personal growth and excellence. This research was among the first empirical comparisons of eudaimonic and hedonic pursuits in terms of their actual relationships with happiness. / One study was conducted with a single questionnaire (117 participants) and a second used detailed experience-sampling (100 participants). In the majority of analyses, hedonic activity was linked with greater positive affect and lower negative affect than eudaimonic activity was, while eudaimonic activity was associated with greater meaning in life and higher personal expressiveness (i.e., authenticity, involvement, fulfillment, and feeling alive). These results suggest that positive and negative affect (more emotional and visceral) could be called hedonic well-being, while meaning and personal expressiveness (subtler, require thought, and involve feeling more integrated and right than good) might be called eudaimonic well-being. The findings also underline the limitations of assessing only hedonic happiness, as is usually done---it can lead to inaccurate conclusions about the benefits of eudaimonic pursuits. / The results also suggested a trade-off in time between the benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic activities. The links between hedonic activity and well-being were strongest during the activity but often weakened with time. In contrast, the links between eudaimonic activity and happiness were weakest during the activity but became stronger with repeated eudaimonic efforts. People with frequent eudaimonic interests were also happier during many activities, even hedonic ones, than those with few eudaimonic projects; such increased enjoyment was not experienced by people with frequent hedonic pursuits. These results are consistent with theories that hedonic activities produce immediate satisfaction but that it fades with time, whereas eudaimonic strivings are challenging but increase well-being in the long run. Eudaimonic activities may promote well-being by building personal capital, e.g., coping skills, improved life circumstances, and deeper appreciation of life experiences. / These findings suggest that the modern preoccupation with enjoyment and comfort is an incomplete ideal. People probably need significant eudaimonic pursuits to experience meaningful and lasting fulfillment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.85919 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Huta, Veronika |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Psychology.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002271939, proquestno: AAINR21656, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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