The dark side of the pursuit of happiness comes from the pursuit of hedonia: The mediation of materialism and the moderation of self-control

Abstract

Researchers have highlighted the dark sides of the pursuit of happiness; it does not perturb people from pursuing happiness. Relatively few existing studies explore unethical behaviors as the dark side of the pursuit of happiness, but do not distinguish the roles of different happiness orientations. Based on hedonic and eudaimonic orientations, the current research proposes that hedonic motives are more likely to lead to unethical behavior than eudaimonic motives, mediated by materialism. The study sampled 331 participants in an attempt to test these hypotheses. The results confirmed that hedonic motives induce unethical behavior through the mediation of materialism, and they positively predict unethical behavior after controlling for eudaimonic motives. The study further found that self-control plays a moderating role in the relationship between materialism and unethical behavior. Overall, the study suggests that the dark side of the pursuit of happiness may arise from the pursuit of hedonia. As hedonic motives direct people toward the pursuit of extrinsic material goals, under low self-control level, people are more likely to choose instrumental means to achieve extrinsic goals, leading to a higher tendency to engage in unethical behaviors. The implications of this finding for studies on unethical behavior and happiness orientation are discussed.