According to Deci and Ryan (1985) the innate nature of the human self is proactivity and agency. Thus, human beings are intrinsically motivated to develop their potentials, pursue their interests, master their internal and external environments and relate to others in the social world. However, dissatisfaction in life and work prevails, failure at self-regulation is rampant, and one out of seven people needs psychotherapy. In an attempt to understand the discrepancy between real life examples and the theoretical portrayal of the human self as proactive and agentic, a causal model was proposed. This model posited that when the basic innate need for relatedness is not met the proactive self is impaired and as a result positive human functioning is impaired. Before this model could be tested however, the proactive self must be first defined. In the first study (N = 375) the proactive self was defined as a second-order factor composed of three lower-order factors (Intrinsic motivation, organismic integration, and self as CEO) all reflecting the notion of the self as the origin of behavior. A second-order CFA lent empirical support to the proposed definition of the proactive self. In the second study (N = 395), the definition of the proactive self was cross-validated in a second independent sample. Furthermore, SEM analyses supported and validated the model postulating causal relations among the need for relatedness, the proactive self, and positive human functioning. In the third study (N = 392) both the definition of the proactive self and the model postulating causal relations between relatedness, proactive self, and positive human functioning were cross-validated. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are addressed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/8913 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Haddad, Najwa K. |
| Contributors | Pelletier, Luc G., |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 219 p. |
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