Alan S. Waterman

Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment.

Aristotles concept of eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment constitute 2 philosophical conceptions of happiness. Two studies involving combined samples of undergraduate and graduate students (Study 1, N = 209; Study 2, N = 249) were undertaken to identify the convergent and divergent aspects of these constructs. As expected, there was a strong positive correlation between personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Analyses revealed significant differences between the 2 conceptions of happiness experienced in conjunction with activities for the variables of (a) opportunities for satisfaction, (b) strength of cognitive-affective components, (c) level of challenges, (d) level of skills, and (e) importance. It thus appears that the 2 conceptions of happiness are related but distinguishable and that personal expressiveness, but not hedonic enjoyment, is a signifier of success in the process of self-realization. The qualities deemed to represent optimal, healthy, or effective psychological functioning have been a perennial concern within personality psychology. However, work on optimal functioning has generally been carried out within diverse theoretical systems with few efforts made to interrelate or integrate concepts proposed as optimal within the different theories. Four such constructs are (a) a sense of personal identity (Erikson, 1963, 1968—ego analytic theory), (b) self-actualization (Maslow, 1968,1970—humanistic theory), (c) an internal locus of control (Rotter, 1966—social learning theory), and (d) principled moral reasoning (Gilligan, 1982, Kohlberg, 1969—cognitive developmental theory). In an analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of these constructs, I (Waterman, 1981, 1984) have demonstrated that they share individualistic philosophical assumptions regarding the role of self-realization as a component of optimal psychological functioning. The philosophical theory that corresponds to the perspectives advanced with regard to each of the four constructs, and that is foundational to claims made for each, is eudaimonism.

Reconsidering happiness: a eudaimonist's perspective

Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, and King (2008) provide a wide-ranging critique of eudaimonic theory and research. In this paper, I question whether the timing of their analysis is appropriate given that work on eudaimonic constructs has begun only recently. In an effort to increase the clarity regarding points at issue, both conceptual and operational definitions of hedonia and eudaimonia as two conceptions of happiness are analyzed along with definitions of four conceptions of well-being (subjective, hedonic, psychological, and eudaimonic), and both hedonism and eudaimonism as ethical philosophies. Responses are provided to numerous points in the Kashdan et al. (2008) critique including their claims that work from a eudaimonic perspective (1) does not fully capture the philosophical roots of eudaimonia, (2) is overly abstract, (3) lacks clarity at the point of operationalization and measurement, (4) is overly complex thus preventing meaningful scientific inquiry, (5) provides evidence only for quantitative, not qualitative, differences, (6) is potentially elitist, and (7) misrepresents the moral standing of hedonia and eudaimonia. Evidence is presented in support of the view that hedonia and eudaimonia represent inter-related but reliably distinguishable and qualitatively distinct conceptions of happiness making independent contributions to an array of outcome variables. A set of recommendations is advanced as to how theory-building and empirical research can be strengthened in light of the multiple conceptualizations of happiness and well-being now current in the literature.

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being: Psychometric properties, demographic comparisons, and evidence of validity

The Questionnaire for Eudaimonic Well-Being (QEWB) was developed to measure well-being in a manner consistent with how it is conceptualized in eudaimonist philosophy. Aspects of eudaimonic well-being assessed by the QEWB include self-discovery, perceived development of ones best potentials, a sense of purpose and meaning in life, intense involvement in activities, investment of significant effort, and enjoyment of activities as personally expressive. The QEWB was administered to two large, ethnically diverse samples of college students drawn from multiple sites across the United States. A three-part evaluation of the instrument was conducted: (1) evaluating psychometric properties, (2) comparing QEWB scores across gender, age, ethnicity, family income, and family structure, and (3) assessing the convergent, discriminant, construct, and incremental validity of the QEWB. Six hypotheses relating QEWB scores to identity formation, personality traits, and positive and negative psychological functioning were evaluated. The internal consistency of the scale was high and results of independent CFAs indicated that the QEWB items patterned onto a common factor. The distribution of scores approximated a normal curve. Demographic variables were found to predict only small proportions of QEWB score variability. Support for the hypotheses tested provides evidence for the validity of the QEWB as an instrument for assessing eudaimonic well-being. Implications for theory and future research directions are discussed.

Identity Formation: Discovery or Creation?

The contrasting metaphors of discovery and creation are proposed here as alternative ways of understanding the nature of the task of identity formation. These two metaphors are related to the philosophies of eudaimonisn and existentialism, respectively. The processes of discovery and creation are shown to have distinctive theoretical implications regarding (a) the sources of identity elements, (b) the methods used in the evaluation of competing identity alternatives, and (c) the decision-making level on which a resolution of an identity crisis is most likely to be reached. Some practical implications of the two metaphors for counseling adolescents and others with identity concerns are also presented.

Ego Identity Status, Identity Style, and Personal Expressiveness An Empirical Investigation of Three Convergent Constructs

This study represents an investigation of relationships among three sets of identity constructs, including the ego identity statuses, the identity styles, and personal expressiveness. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire was used to assess identity status as conceptualized by J. E. Marcia. The Identity Style Inventory was used to assess identity style as conceptualized by M. D. Berzonsky. The Personally Expressive Activities Questionnaire was used to measure feelings of personal expressiveness as described by A. S. Waterman. Data were collected from two samples of students at two universities. The measures were considered in pairs to examine the convergence among the constructs. Results revealed that these three measures, and perhaps the underlying constructs, are convergent. Associations between measures are discussed in relation to previous research and theory.

Psychosocial development in adulthood: A 22-year sequential study.

Data supporting the notion of adult personality stability are challenged by the present findings, in which developmental change was demonstrated using the Eriksonian-stage-based Inventory of Psychosocial Development (IPD; Constantinople, 1969). A sequential design over the ages 20-42 was used on 2 cohorts of college students and alumni originally tested in 1966 and 1976-1977 (ns in 1988 = 99 and 83, respectively), and a 3rd cohort of college students in 1988-1989 (n = 292). Results of longitudinal, cross-sectional, and sequential analyses challenged ideas about personality stability, with evidence of increasingly favorable resolutions of the early Eriksonian psychosocial stages up through the oldest age studied. There was evidence of a trend over the past decade toward less favorable resolution of ego integrity versus despair. The findings were interpreted in terms of developmental change processes during the adult years interacting with culturally based environmental effects on psychosocial development.

Predicting the Subjective Experience of Intrinsic Motivation: The Roles of Self-Determination, the Balance of Challenges and Skills, and Self-Realization Values

A series of studies was conducted to investigate the contributions of self-determination, perceived competence, and self-realization values to the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation. Using varying sets of instructions in these studies, college undergraduates generated and subsequently evaluated panels of identity-related activities. Three measures of the subjective experience of intrinsic motivation were used as outcome variables: (a) interest, (b) flow experiences, and (c) feelings of personal expressive-ness. These subjective experience measures were strongly intercorrelated. Across studies, self-determination was found to be strongly associated with all of the subjective experience measures. In contrast, self-realization values made larger contributions to flow experiences and to personal expressiveness than to interest. Perceived competence, although significantly correlated with all subjective experience measures, played a considerably smaller role in the prediction of intrinsic motivation.

Doing Well: The Relationship of Identity Status to Three Conceptions of Well-Being

A study involving 217 college undergraduates was conducted to evaluate the relationship between measures of ego identity status and three conceptions of well-being: subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic. The various measures of well-being were found to be positively correlated, mostly in the low to moderate range. As predicted, scores on the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status for the identity achievement status were positively correlated with measures of all three conceptions of well-being, while corresponding negative correlations were obtained for identity diffusion scores. The correlations for the moratorium and foreclosure scales were negative for the various measures of psychological well-being but nonsignificant with measures of subjective and eudaimonic well-being. Multiple regression analyses for the moratorium and foreclosure scales yielded a more complex understanding of the associations of various well-being measures for these statuses.

Identity status theory and Erikson's theory: communalities and differences

Abstract Cote and Levines (1988, Developmental Review 8 , 147–184) critique of identity status theory focuses on two questions: (a) whether the theory can appropriately be considered as “Eriksonian” theory and (b) whether the theory and the research it has generated has furthered an understanding of the nature of identity or its development. While it is readily acknowledged that the terminology employed within identity status theory differs in some important respects from that used by Erikson, the usages are conceptually related and most often compatible. The numerous points of theoretical communality between identity status theory and Eriksons theory are sufficient to justify the claim that those using the identity status paradigm are working from a foundation provided by Erikson. The numerous points of theoretical differences between the theories reveals the extent of independence between the two perspectives. Responses are also provided to a number of specific criticisms of the identity status paradigm including those pertaining to (a) the “continuum concept,” (b) the developmental implications of the paradigm, (c) elitism, (d) ethnocentrism, and (e) construct underrepresentation. The contributions of the identity status paradigm to date and the future of identity research are also discussed.

A Longitudinal Study of Ego Identity Development at a Liberal Arts College.

Ego identity development in the areas of occupational choice, religion, and political ideology was studied using Marcias categorization system. The results indicated a significant increase in the frequency of the identity achiever status for occupational choice and corresponding decreases in the frequency of the moratorium and identity diffusion statuses. A significant decrease in the frequency of foreclosures on religion was also found. In those instances where students underwent an identity crisis, the probability of resolving it successfully was very high. High scores on the Cultural Sophistication scale of the College Student Questionnaire-Part 1 were found to be associated with presence in the identity achievement status. For students not in the achiever status as freshmen, an interest in various literary and art forms was predictive of becoming an achiever while in college.