Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

The Exploration of Happiness pp 117–139Cite as

Living Well: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Eudaimonia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Happiness Studies Book Series ((HAPS))

Abstract

This article distinguishes between hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to wellness, with the former focusing on the outcome of happiness or pleasure and the latter focusing not so much on outcomes as on the process of living well. We present a model of eudaimonia that is based in self-determination theory, arguing that eudaimonic living can be characterized in terms of four motivational concepts: (1) pursuing intrinsic goals and values for their own sake, including personal growth, relationships, community, and health, rather than extrinsic goals and values, such as wealth, fame, image, and power; (2) behaving in autonomous, volitional, or consensual ways, rather than heteronomous or controlled ways; (3) being mindful and acting with a sense of awareness; and (4) behaving in ways that satisfy basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. In fact, we theorize that the first three of these aspects of eudaimonic living have their positive effects of psychological and physical wellness because they facilitate satisfaction of these basic, universal psychological needs. Studies indicate that people high in eudaimonic living tend to behave in more prosocial ways, thus benefiting the collective as well as themselves, and that conditions both within the family and in society more generally contribute toward strengthening versus diminishing the degree to which people live eudaimonic lives.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aristotle (2002) Nichomachean Ethics (Trans and commentary: Broadie S, Rowe C). Oxford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura A (1989) Human agency in social cognitive theory. Am Psychol 44:1175–1184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broadie S, Rowe C (2002) Preface in Aristotle (2002) Nichomachean Ethics (trans: Broadie S, Rowe C). Oxford, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown KW, Kasser T (2005) Are psychological and ecological well being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Soc Ind Res 74:349–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown KW, Ryan RM (2003) The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol 84:822–848

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown KW, Ryan RM (2004) Fostering healthy self-regulation from within and without: a self-determination theory perspective. In: Linley PA, Joseph S (eds) Positive Psychology in Practice. Wiley, New York, pp 105–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Carver CS, Baird E (1998) The American dream revisited: Is it what you want or why you want it that matters? Psychol Sci 9:289–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher JC (1999) Situating psychological well-being: exploring the cultural roots of its theory and research. J Couns Dev 77:141–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci EL (1980) The psychology of self-determination. In: DC Heath, Lexington

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci EL, Ryan RM (1980) The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In: Berkowitz L (ed) Advances in experimental social psychology, vol 13. Academic, New York, pp 39–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci EL, Ryan RM (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum Publishing Co, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci EL, Ryan RM (2000) The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychol Inq 11:227–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener E (1984) Subjective well-being. Psychol Bull 95:542–575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin G (1988) The theory and practice of autonomy. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson H (1990) The science of pleasure: cosmos and psyche in the bourgeois world view. Routledge, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedman M (2003) Autonomy, gender, politics. Oxford University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Grouzet FME, Kasser T, Ahuvia A, Fernandez-Dols JM, Kim Y, Lau S, Ryan RM, Saunders S, Schmuck P, Sheldon K (2005) The structure of goal contents across 15 cultures. J Pers Soc Psychol 89:800–816

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huta VM, Ryan RM (2006) Pursuing pleasure versus virtue: links with different aspects of well-being, University of Rochester, Rochester (unpublished manuscript)

    Google Scholar 

  • Isen AM (2003) Positive affect as a source of human strength. In: Aspinwall LG, Staudinger UM (eds) A psychology of human strengths: fundamental questions and future directions for a positive psychology. American Psychological Association, Washington, pp 179–195

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman D, Diener E, Schwarz N (1999) Well-being: the foundations of hedonic psychology. Russell Sage Foundation, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T (2002) Sketches for a self-determination theory of values. In: Deci EL, Ryan RM (eds) Handbook of Self-Determination Research. University of Rochester Press, Rochester, pp 123–140

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T, Cohn S, Kanner AD, Ryan RM (2007) Some costs of American corporate capitalism: A psychological exploration of value and goal conflicts. Psychol Inquiry (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T, Ryan RM (1993) A dark side of the American dream: correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. J Pers Soc Psychol 65:410–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T, Ryan RM (1996) Further examining the American dream: differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 22:280–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T, Ryan RM (2001) Be careful what you wish for: optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In: Schmuck P, Sheldon KM (eds) Life goals and well-being: towards a positive psychology of human striving. Hogrefe and Huber Publishers, Goettingen, pp 115–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasser T, Ryan RM, Zax M, Sameroff AJ (1995) The relations of maternal and social environments to late adolescents’ materialistic and prosocial values. Dev Psychol 31:907–914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King LA, Hicks JA, Krull JL, Baker AK (2006) Positive affect and the experience of meaning in life. J Pers Soc Psychol 90:179–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Locke EA, Latham GP (1990) A theory of goal setting and task performance. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

    Google Scholar 

  • Maddux JE (2002) Stopping the “madness”: positive psychology and the deconstruction of the illness ideology and the DSM. In: Snyder CR, Lopez SJ (eds) Handbook of positive psychology. Oxford, New York, pp 13–25

    Google Scholar 

  • McGregor I, Little BR (1998) Personal projects, happiness, and meaning: On doing well and being yourself. J Pers Soc Psychol 74:494–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McHoskey JW (1999) Machiavellianism, intrinsic versus extrinsic goals, and social interest: a self-determination theory analysis. Motiv Emot 23:267–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niemiec CP, Ryan RM, Deci EL (2006) The path taken: consequences of attaining intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations in post-college life, University of Rochester, unpublished manuscript

    Google Scholar 

  • Nix G, Ryan RM, Manly JB, Deci EL (1999) Revitalization through self-regulation: the effects of autonomous versus controlled motivation on happiness and vitality. J Exp Soc Psychol 35:266–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfander A (1967) Phenomenology of willing and motivation. In: Spiegelberg H (ed) Translator. Northwestern University Press, Evanston (Original work published 1908)

    Google Scholar 

  • Reis HT, Sheldon KM, Gable SL, Roscoe J, Ryan RM (2000) Daily well-being: the role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 26:419–435

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricoeur P (1966) Freedom and nature: the voluntary and the involuntary. In: Kohak EV (ed) Translator. Northwestern University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM (1993) Agency and organization: intrinsic motivation, autonomy and the self in psychological development. In: Jacobs J (ed) Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Developmental Perspectives on Motivation, vol. 40. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, pp 1–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM (1995) Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. J Pers 63:397–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM (2005) The developmental line of autonomy in the etiology, dynamics, and treatment of boderline personality disorders. Dev Psychopathol 17:987–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Chirkov VI, Little TD, Sheldon KM, Timoshina E, Deci EL (1999) The American dream in Russia: extrinsic aspirations and well-being in two cultures. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 25:1509–1524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Connell JP (1989) Perceived locus of causality and internalization: examining reasons for acting in two domains. J Pers Soc Psychol 57:749–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Deci EL (2000) Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. Am Psychol 55:68–78

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Deci EL (2001) On happiness and human potentials: a review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. In: Fiske S (ed) Annual review of psychology, vol 52. Annual Reviews Inc., Palo Alto, pp 141–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Deci EL (2004) Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture: a comment on Pyszczynski, Greenberg, Solomon, Arndt, and Schimel. Psychol Bull 130:473–477

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Frederick CM (1997) On energy, personality and health: subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well-being. J Pers 65:529–565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Rigby S, King K (1993) Two types of religious internalization and their relations to religious orientation and mental health. J Pers Soc Psychol 65:586–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan RM, Sheldon KM, Kasser T, Deci EL (1996) All goals are not created equal: an organismic perspective on the nature of goals and their regulation. In: Gollwitzer PM, Bargh JA (eds) The psychology of action: linking cognition and motivation to behavior. Guilford, New York, pp 7–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff CD, Singer B (1998) The contours of positive human health. Psychol Inq 9:1–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmuck P, Kasser T, Ryan RM (2000) The relationship of well-being to intrinsic and extrinsic goals in Germany and the US. Soc Indic Res 50:225–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon KM, Kasser T (1998) Pursuing personal goals: skills enable progress, but not all progress is beneficial. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 24:1319–1331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon KM, McGregor HA (2000) Extrinsic value orientation and the tragedy of the commons. J Pers 68:383–411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheldon KM, Ryan RM, Deci EL, Kasser T (2004) The independent effects of goal contents and motives on well-being: It’s both what you pursue and why you pursue it. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 30:475–486

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vallerand RJ (1997) Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In: Dans Zanna MP (ed) Advances in experimental social psychology, Academic Press, New York, pp 271–360

    Google Scholar 

  • Vansteenkiste M, Lens W, Deci EL (2006) Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in self-determination theory: another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educ Psychol 41:19–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vansteenkiste M, Simons J, Lens W, Sheldon KM, Deci EL (2004) Motivating learning, performance, and persistence: the synergistic effects of intrinsic goal contents and autonomy-supportive contexts. J Pers Soc Psychol 87:246–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman AS (1981) Individualism and interdependence. Am Psychol 36:762–773

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman AS (1993) Two conceptions of happiness: contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. J Pers Soc Psychol 64:678–691

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams GC, Cox EM, Hedberg V, Deci EL (2000) Extrinsic life goals and health risk behaviors in adolescents. J Appl Soc Psychol 30:1756–1771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams GC, Freedman ZR, Deci EL (1998) Supporting autonomy to motivate glucose control in patients with diabetes. Diabetes Care 21:1644–1651

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Richard M. Ryan, Veronika Huta & Edward L. Deci

Authors
  1. Richard M. Ryan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Veronika Huta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Edward L. Deci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard M. Ryan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Pathophysiology, and Transplantation, University of Milan, Via G.B. Grassi 74, Milan, 20157, Italy

    Antonella Delle Fave

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Ryan, R.M., Huta, V., Deci, E.L. (2013). Living Well: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Eudaimonia. In: Delle Fave, A. (eds) The Exploration of Happiness. Happiness Studies Book Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5702-8_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation