Two levels of personality: Temperament and values and their effects on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being

Abstract

According to McAdams and Pals, American Psychologist, 61(3), 204-217 (2006), personality is not only expressed through traits but also through characteristic adaptations, including values. In the present study we analyze how two aspects of personalitytemperament traits (Strelau 2008) and values (Schwartz 2007)-are related to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Earlier studies showed that temperament is linked to hedonic well-being, but the links between values and hedonic well-being are unclear. There is only little data on how traits and values are linked to eudaimonic well-being. We hypothesised that traits predict hedonic wellbeing, while values predict eudaimonic well-being because the roots of eudaimonia require the realization of one's potential that may be achieved through realization of value related goals, while hedonic well-being is more closely linked to stable differences in emotionality. 130 adults reported on their temperament, values, hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. We conducted hierarchical regressions for each well-being component. All components of hedonic well-being (positive affect, negative affect and satisfaction) were predicted by temperament only, while eudaimonic well-being was predicted by temperament and by value dimensions: positively by Openness to change, Self-transcendence, Conservation and negatively by Self-enhancement. This shows that mechanisms governing the experience of well-being are attached to at least two levels of personality-one stable and partly linked to human biology and the other to a culturally determined set of individual values. It also shows that the experience of eudaimonia relies on culturally acquired values, while hedonia may be determined more by temperamental dimensions.

Is Person-Group Value Congruence Always a Good Thing? Values and Well-Being Among Maladjusted Teens and Their Peers

“…Our first hypothesis stated that some values would be related to well-being but also that these links will be moderated by group (supervised vs. their peers). First, the results showed that, in general, the relationships between values and well-being are weak to moderate, which is in line with other studies ( Vansteenkiste et al, 2006 ) and with a notion that values are related with eudaimonic rather than with hedonic well-being being studied here (see Joshanloo and Ghaedi, 2009 ; Bojanowska and Piotrowski, 2018 ). However, while it was true for adolescents from the general population, values had a significantly stronger impact on supervised teens’ satisfaction with life.…”

“…A person for whom domination is a key element in their value hierarchy may be difficult in relationships, as cooperation would not be their default stance and they would rather focus on competition. This was confirmed in one study with reference to eudaimonic well-being (Bojanowska and Piotrowski, 2018). The function of humility, conformity, tradition, security, and face values for well-being is unclear.…”

“…In general, it seems that values such as self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism are related to higher well-being because they express a growth orientation, which motivates people to engage in activities related to self-actualization, the expression of their ideas, abilities, and feelings, and to satisfy the need for autonomy ( Yahyagil, 2015 ; Bojanowska and Piotrowski, 2018 ; Schwartz and Sortheix, 2018 ). The function of achievement and power values for well-being is unclear—they also express a growth orientation, but striving for achievement and power may inhibit the ability to maintain positive relationships with other people.…”

“…Focusing on others decreases well-being because it directs attention to the needs and problems of others and to social requirements and obligations that limit autonomy. Universalism and benevolence values are consistently positively related to well-being ( Cohen and Shamai, 2009 ; Sortheix and Schwartz, 2017 ; Bojanowska and Piotrowski, 2018 ), probably because they foster positive relationships with others and express an underlying positive attitude toward others and a belief that people are good and the world is friendly. Other researchers suggested that the relationship between values and well-being is related to the quiet ego—finding a balance between self-concern and focus on others—which may explain why a combination of universalism, benevolence, and self-direction seem to be beneficial for well-being ( Wayment and Bauer, 2018 ).…”

“…Naturally, this led to a conclusion that moderating factors influence relationships between values and well-being. These factors may be sociocultural, such as the level of economic development in the country where the data were collected ( Sortheix and Schwartz, 2017 ), temperament traits ( Bojanowska and Piotrowski, 2018 ), personality ( Haslam et al, 2009 ), or self-esteem ( Fetvadjiev and He, 2019 ). A strong argument has been made that one of the crucial factors moderating these relationships is congruence in values held by individuals and the values preferred in their environments ( Sortheix and Lönnqvist, 2015 ), on which we will focus in this article.…”