SelfhelpMagazine

by Kennon M. Sheldon, Ph.D., Andrew J. Elliot, Ph.D. & Youngmee Kim, Ph.D.

Contrary to what American television would have us believe, attaining popularity, influence, money or luxury are not the life goals that make the majority of people happy. In fact, research often finds these factors to be rated at the bottom of the list of typically recognized psychological needs.

The study described in this article gives us more information about those psychological needs often rated more highly. Topping the list of needs that appear to bring happiness are:

• autonomy (feeling that your activities are self-chosen and self-endorsed),
• competence (feeling that you are effective in your activities),
• relatedness (feeling a sense of closeness with others) and
• self-esteem.

In the study, psychologist Kennon M. Sheldon, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri-Columbia, and co-authors conducted three studies with different groups of college students in the United States to determine which of 10 basic psychological feelings humans find most fundamental. One of the studies included college students from South Korea to see if the results could be replicated in students from a more group- and tradition-centered culture.

The first study asked participants to identify what was the single most personally satisfying event they experienced during the last month. The second study asked the same question, but the participants were told to consider just the most satisfying event from the past week. The final study examined the most satisfying event of the semester and also asked participants to describe the most unsatisfying event they experienced during the semester.

The researchers found relatively consistent results across the three different time frames and across the two different cultures, with autonomy, competence, relatedness and self-esteem emerging as the most important psychological needs.

When asked about their most unsatisfying event, the participants' responses revealed that the lack of the top four needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness and self-esteem) were the most important factors. The lack of security also emerged as a fifth prominent feature of unsatisfying events. "It appears that when things go wrong, people may strongly wish for the safety and predictability that they often take for granted," said the authors.

If one were to pick a single need that is most important to satisfy in the United States, the current research suggests it would be self-esteem, which was at the top of the list in all three U.S. samples. Relatedness, however, was at the top of the list within the South Korean sample. The authors say this may be because of the nature of Korean culture, but continued research within and across multi-cultural groups is needed, to be sure.

Reference:

"What Is Satisfying About Satisfying Events? Testing 10 Candidate Psychological Needs," Kennon M. Sheldon, Ph.D., Andrew J. Elliot, Ph.D., Youngmee Kim, Ph.D. & Tim Kasser; Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 80, No. 2.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.