In plain language
Decades of research in self-determination theory show that pursuing intrinsic life goals — like personal growth, relationships, and community — tends to support well-being more than pursuing extrinsic goals like wealth, fame, and image. But most of that research looks at goals one at a time. Real people hold whole constellations of aspirations at once. This study asked: do the particular configurations, or profiles, of a person's aspirations matter for well-being beyond the individual goals that make them up?
The researchers conducted a person-centered analysis of the Aspiration Index in three nationally distinct samples — Hungarian (N = 3,370), Australian (N = 1,632), and American (N = 6,063) — using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling and latent profile analysis. This approach lets subgroups of people with similar goal configurations emerge from the data, rather than imposing categories in advance.
Three replicable aspiration profiles emerged across countries. Strikingly, people whose profiles reflected greater social breadth — aspiring toward community relationships and not only close interpersonal ones — reported significantly higher well-being. Profile membership predicted well-being even after controlling for the individual intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations that comprised the profiles, though the authors note the practical size of this added effect was modest. The findings suggest that widening one's circle of concern beyond family and friends toward the broader community is a distinctive marker of a flourishing life.
Key findings
- A person-centered analysis of the Aspiration Index was conducted in three nationally distinct samples: Hungary (N = 3,370), Australia (N = 1,632), and the United States (N = 6,063) — more than 11,000 participants in total.
- Using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling and latent profile analysis, three replicable aspiration profiles were identified across the three countries.
- People in profiles characterized by aspiring for community relationships more than close interpersonal relationships — greater social breadth — reported significantly higher well-being.
- Profile membership predicted well-being over and above the specific intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations that comprised the profiles, showing that goal configurations carry information that individual goals do not.
- The incremental effect of profile membership, while statistically reliable, was modest in practical terms.
- The results extend self-determination theory research on intrinsic versus extrinsic aspirations by demonstrating the value of configural, person-centered approaches to life goals.
How to cite
APA
Bradshaw, E. L., Sahdra, B. K., Ciarrochi, J., Parker, P. D., Martos, T., & Ryan, R. M. (2021). A configural approach to aspirations: The social breadth of aspiration profiles predicts well-being over and above the intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations that comprise the profiles. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 120(1), 226–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000374
BibTeX
@article{bradshaw2021configural,
author = {Bradshaw, Emma L. and Sahdra, Baljinder K. and Ciarrochi, Joseph and Parker, Philip D. and Martos, Tam{\'a}s and Ryan, Richard M.},
title = {A configural approach to aspirations: The social breadth of aspiration profiles predicts well-being over and above the intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations that comprise the profiles},
journal = {Journal of Personality and Social Psychology},
year = {2021},
volume = {120},
number = {1},
pages = {226--256},
doi = {10.1037/pspp0000374}
}
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Author: Joseph Ciarrochi (ORCID 0000-0003-0471-8100). Free copy hosted with permission for scholarly use. Please cite the published version via the DOI above.