Previous research found that aspirations to financial success
related
inversely to self-actualization and that aspirations to community
involvement
related positively to self-actualization. We argue that diverse
reasons
can underlie both of these aspirations, leading to more complex
predictions.
We assessed both self-determining and controlling reasons for each
class
of aspiration, along with the aspirations themselves. Initial
regression
analyses replicated the earlier findings. Subsequent analyses
found
that endorsement of self-determining reasons for either class of
aspiration
related positively to self-actualization and that endorsement of
controlling
reasons for either class of aspiration related inversely to
self-actualization.
In the analysis involving community feeling, the aspiration itself no
longer
retained predictive power. In the analysis involving financial
success,
however, the aspiration retained an independent predictive role.
Carver Home
Graduate
Carver, C. S., & Baird, E. (1998). The American dream
revisited:
Is it what you want or why you want it that matters? Psychological
Science, 9,
289-292.